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

This is a standing Nyorai (Tathagata) statue of the Tori School, the head and hands of which are large for its body. The style of wearing a Daie (a formal robe), in which one end of the Daie is draped below the left forearm seen from the front while it is draped over its left shoulder seen from the rear, is common to Tori style Nyorai images. The joints of its fingers are clearly drawn in engraved lines and its nails are slightly visible from the tips of the fingers, which are also seen in the images of the style of the Tori School. Around the small petals of the Kaeribana (a downward-facing lotus petal decoration) of the pedestal, throne-like lines are engraved. It is notable that this type of lotus petal can be found in several cases in the lotus flower pattern on Nokimarugawara (a semi-cylindrical or half-round eave-end pendant tile) in the seventh century.
This statue was, including its main body and Kaeribana-za (a downward-facing lotus petal decoration of the pedestal), created in one cast and was hollowed out up to slightly below the Nikkei (lump on the head). Clay of the Nakago (an inner mold) is stuck to the inside of its neck and in the center of which a small hole that opens to the hollowed inside of its head remains (it may be a mark left from the removal of the iron core). In the center of the back, a square chaplet is found. The casting of this statue is good on the whole, as there are not very many pores. Plating remains over almost the entire surface except for its hair. As for coloring, however, patina can be only found on part of its hair (possibly rust).