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

The treasures of Horyuji (Horyu temple) have many kouhai (halo) of ancient gilt bronze Buddhist statues, including the ones originally attached to so-called The Forty-Eight Buddhas. Most of these kouhai had been attached to The Forty-Eight Buddhas until recently, but the majority of them were not originally made for the ones they were attached to, and for that reason, now the statues and kouhai are stored separately, except for N-143 and N-157 (N-157 is mere fragments of a kohai) According to Kondou Nikki (lit. golden-hall diary) of Horyuji, well-over one hundred of small gilt bronze Buddha statues were enshrined in the Horyuji Kondou (the principal hall of Buddhist temple) around Shoureki 2 (1078), including forty-nine pieces relocated from Tachibana-dera (Tachibana temple). As time went by, some of the pieces lost their kouhai, some lost the main statue leaving kouhai only, gradually the statues and kouhai were put together in complicated ways, and they have been handed over until this day. Due to such a historical condition, it is extremely difficult to restore the original combinations of existing statues and kouhai. However, both the quality and amount of kouhai of Horyuji are indeed incomparable, while most of the ancient gilt bronze Buddhist statues have lost their kouhai. Their value as historical record is extremely high.
There are different types in the kouhai of Horyuji, while each of them is unique. Rough descriptions of those types and individual pieces are given starting with N-195. Among the thirty-eight pieces in N-195, all but (12) (numbers in brackets are the serial numbers among the N-195 pieces), which was the metal ornament of Horyuji Kondou Tengai (the canopy of Horyuji Kondou), are of the toukou form (head halo), the kind of kouhai put behind the head of Buddhist statues. The methods of fixing them are classified broadly into two types. The one is to attach the kouhai to the shaft (or the hole for it) on the back of the statue's head directly, the other is to set a pole on the pedestal and attach the kouhai to that. As for the manufacturing techniques, they use either bronze plates or casting. In the case of bronze plates, there are further two methods: to engrave the patterns on a thin plate, and to show the patterns three-dimensionally using a thick plate. Regarding casting, there is only one piece, (37) at present confirmed with the X-ray photos of the pores as made by casting. However, the pieces that are regarded as made from a thick plate, including (18) – (28) and (38), exhibit the three-dimensional finishes with a similar flavor to (37). Thus, at the present stage, it is not determined decisively that all of those pieces are made from bronze plate, not by casting.
Regarding the characteristics of individual pieces, (1) has a design structure consisting of radial pattern, consecutive-circles pattern, and flame pattern, which resembles the design structure of the kouhai of kyouji zou (attendane figures) N-143. The flame-shaped palmette motif of (2) has the same flavor as the kowhai with the inscription of the year of Tsuchinoe (one of the zodiac years, in this case 658 A.D.), owned by Nezu Museum. (3) has some similarity to (2), and these three pieces overall exhibit a rather old style. (6) and (16) are examples of kouhai with kebutsu (transformed Buddha) images, while there are rare cases where the images of heavenly musicians rakuten is used, as in (36). The flame motif resembling the pattern of snake-and-dragon, and the treasure pagoda motif of (11) show the design taste common with the kouhai of Houryuji Guze Kannon–zou [statue of Kannon Bosatsu (bodhisattva)].
(13) and (25) present highly decorative designs. It is especially noteworthy that the arrangement of the floral motifs inside the belt-shaped radial patterns is also seen in the kouhai of oshidashi-butsu (relief of Buddhist deities formed by hammering and pressing on the reverse side) handed down to Horyuji (e.g. N-198, Amida Sanzon and Bikugyou-zou: The Amitabha Triad and Monk Statues). Along with this, it is also to be noted that (14) and (15), which have a similar style to (13), are thought to be originally attached to N-163 and N-164, the statues which have similar features to those of the attendant bosatsu (bodhisattva) of the oshidashi-butsu mentioned above (N-198).
(21), (27), and (28) express their motifs three-dimensionally. The lotus-petal pattern of (21) resembles that of the roof tiles of Horyuji in the period of reconstruction after it was burned down in Tenji 9 (670). The design of floral motifs connected with one another via successive small circles of (27), and the shape of the lotus-petal pattern of (28) are characteristics common to part of the kouhai of "den" Tachibana-fujin Nenji-butsu [Buddhist statue (traditionally believed to be) for Lady Tachibana's personal daily worship] of Horyuji, which thought to have been produced in the same period. Thus, they are suggestive for the investigation of the time of production of the similar kinds of kouhai. (29), (30), (31), and (32) are thought to be later additions made in the Edo period.
One notable aspect of these kouhai in N-195 is their wide variety of styles. This variety corresponds to that of the styles of The Forty-Eight-Buddha statues, including variety with regard to quality: while there are outstanding kouhai such as (11) - (16) and (25) - (27), there are also slightly unskillful ones such as (5), (33), and (34). As for crafting methods, (18) - (28) enhance three-dimensionality by making an edge at the center of the patterns; this technique is also seen in the metal ornaments found in the Takamatsuduka Tomb. It is significant and interesting to observe the features the kouhai have in common with other kinds of metalwork at that time.
Among the pieces other than the head nimbuses, N-196 has the inscription "the year of kouin" (or kinoetora, name of certain years in the lunar calendar), and was previously attached to the kouhai of an ikkou sanzon zou (triad of Buddhist statues arranged in front of one large kouhai). The design of arranging hiten (flying fairies) along the edge is notably significant, since it could contribute to the restoration of the original form of the kouhai of Horyuji Kondou Shaka Sanzon-zou (Statues of the Shaka Triad in Houryuuj Kondou). It is likely that the "year of kouin" is 594 A.D., but it is still a matter of further research, along with the issue of determining the place where this piece was made, in Korea, Japan, or China.
N-197 is a large openwork kouhai of a lotus-petal shape, made from a bronze plate. Embossed bronze kebutsu (oshidashibutsu) are attached to it, which is rarely seen in kouhai. As its flame-shaped palmette motif shows the same touch as the jeweled crowns N-195 (2) and N-158, this kouhai as a whole represents a rather old style.