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

This image can be said to be one of the representative boy images as shown by its innocent facial features and a smaller body compared to the head and limbs. It is said that the origin of boy images goes back to the sculptures of Silla in Korea or those of the period from Ch'I and Zhou to Sui in China. However, a characteristic face like this one, where the eyebrows and eyes are set widely apart, is hardly found even among Korean or Chinese images, suggesting the development of a sculpturing style unique to Japan.
The image, including the lotus pedestal and the tenons below it, is created in almost one cast, except the avatar on the crown, the lotus leaves on both sides of the avatar and the yoraku (a threaded bead or metal ornament) hanging down from the shoulders (currently, the part lower than the right hand and most of the left side are missing), which are all cast separately. There is a round hole in front of the base for the right and left head ornaments, which seems to be a trace of where a separately cast decoration was installed. Only the lotus pedestal is hollowed out and the body above it is solid. The lower base is created in one cast separately from the image, on the top of which is a round hole to receive a tenon at the bottom of the lotus pedestal and on the back of which is a mortise to receive the tenon of the halo support. While there are few mold cavities in the image except some big ones concentrated in the lower part of a mortise on the lotus pedestal, there are small mold cavities in the entire lower base. Raised beads are created on the ornaments with a nanako chisel, while a double dotted design is engraved with a special chisel on the hems of the kun (a skirt) and tenne (a long cloth), the creases of the drapery folds and the rims of the lotus core and lower base. Gold plating remains over almost the entire surface except the reverse side of the crown and part of the back of the head. For coloring, lapis lazuli remains on the hair, vermillion (or Bengala) remains on the lips and black sumi can be seen on the eyebrows, the outline of the eyes, the eyeballs and the mustache. Almost the entire surface inside the lower base is painted in vermillion (or Bengala).