National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

This is a typical single-nimbus Buddhist trinity, in which three Buddhist statues are set before a large lotus petal-shaped halo. The dressing style of the Nyorai (Tathagata) statue wearing Sougishi (a robe worn under the outer Kesa robe), covering both shoulders with Daie (a formal robe) and showing a cummerbund on its breast, as well as the design of the celestial garments with symmetrical finned protrusions that are worn by the attendants, is common to the Tori style statues. However, the entire design including the gentle expressions of the faces with its round cheeks and the style of the engraved lines of the eyebrows (only for Nyorai) is not common to that of the Tori School, but that of the Buddhist statues in the three ancient kingdoms of Korea, especially Paekche. The fragment of the halo found at Nachi-san Mountain, which is stored in the Tokyo National Museum, has a strong commonality with the large halo of this trinity in terms of the pattern of the flames and the expressions of Kebutsu (Buddha in manifestation). By recently measuring the isotopic ratio of lead, it was verified that this fragment was made of bronze of the Chungcheongbuk-do (North Chungcheong) type in Korea. Chungcheongbuk-do is a place that was included in Paekche in the period of the three ancient kingdoms in Korea. Thus it seems to imply more strongly the relationship between this trinity and Paekche.
The Nyorai statue (including the body, the central section of the lotus flower pedestal and the tenons created from underneath of the section), both attendants and the large halo were cast separately, while each was created in one cast. All the casts are porous on the whole. The Nyorai statue is hollowed out from both its shoulders to the hem of the skirt, and the undersides of the skirt and sleeves are open to the outside. Both its ankles are created from inside the hem of the front skirt. The bronze thickness of its hollowed body is rather thin, but there is a slight difference in the thickness, as the left half is thinner. Inside its body, a total of seven small, bronze nail-like projections (possibly Kougai; nails used to secure the molds used in metal casting) are seen at the right end of its breast, the left part of its belly and its back. The part from the roots of the fingers on the back of its right hand to the middle and ring fingers was created separately and riveted in place. As for both attendants, only the front was created like a relief. As the large halo was not cast well, it was corrected by metal inlay in many places on both sides. Plating remains on almost the entire surface of the Nyorai statue, both attendants (except for their backsides) and the large halo. As for coloring, it is found that the hair of Nyorai was painted in ultramarine while the outlines of its eyebrows and eyes, its irises and mustache were all drawn in black ink. In addition, black (possibly black ink) is seen on the hair of both attendants. The accessorial halos of both attendants are made of open-worked copper plates, on which a small bead pattern is beaten out and dots lined along the edge of each pattern are also beaten out using a burin. The pedestal on which the trinity is set now was made of wood to which gold foil was applied with lacquer (Shippaku). It was replaced in the Edo period (1603-1868).