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

At first glance, this image looks like a traditional Buddhist image, as exemplified by the disproportionately big head compared to the body and relatively simple ornaments. However, the tassel-shaped hanging decoration in the center of the chest ornament has an atmosphere similar to that of the Shokannon image at the Toindo of Yakushiji Temple. Moreover, it is also worth noting that the shape of the sharply rising down-turned lotus petals on the pedestal resembles that of the attendants of the Yakushi trinity at the Kondo of Yakushiji Temple and that there is a new design of arranging the upturned lotus petals of the pedestal in gyorinbuki (a design where the rows of petals alternate like fish scales).
The image, including the pedestal, is created in one cast and the left armpit and the area above the hips on the back have been tinkered with. Although the image is hollowed out up to the head, the inner chest is extremely narrow due to molten copper (in the area around the neck, there is a round hole connecting the body and the hollow in the head, which looks like traces of where an iron core was pulled out). A gamma ray photo of this area suggests that the area around the left chest might have been tinkered with. The thickness of the copper is thin and almost even throughout, except for the area that was tinkered with. There are more mold cavities above the thighs than in other areas. The round holes at the bottom of the third and fourth fingers of the right hand seem to be traces where a separately cast symbol (maybe a water jar) was attached. Gold plating remains over almost the entire surface except the reverse side of the head ornaments and the back of the head. For coloring, lapis lazuli remains on the hair, black sumi can be seen on the eyeballs and a slight amount of vermillion (or Bengala) remains on the lips.