Sigiriya - Sigiriya (English spelling)

A rocky mountain about 180 meters high that rises in a forested area about 30 kilometers west of Polonnaruwa in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). It means "Mountain of the Lion" and is famous for its murals. King Kassapa (reigned 478-496) built a castle here after killing his father and fearing retaliation from his subordinates. It is surrounded by moats and earthworks, and at the top are the remains of a palace and a water tank carved into the rock. The mural is painted on a thick layer of plaster in a long, narrow depression on the western side of the rocky mountain. It is a group of women wearing luxurious accessories and are painted in brilliant colors, with their upper bodies exposed above the clouds. It is not clear whether it is a religious painting or simply a genre painting, or when it was created, but it is thought to have been created around the end of the 5th century based on its connection to the murals at Ajanta and Bagh in India. In 1982, it was registered as a World Heritage Site as "Ancient City of Sigiriya" (World Cultural Heritage Site).

[Shinichi Nagai]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

スリランカ（セイロン）のポロンナルワの西約30キロメートルの樹林地帯にそびえたつ、高さ約180メートルの岩山。「獅子(しし)の山」を意味し、壁画で有名。カッサパ王Kassapa（在位478～496）が父王を殺害し、その配下の仕返しを恐れて城を築いた。その周囲に堀や土塁を巡らし、頂上には岩をうがって築いた宮殿や貯水槽の跡がある。岩山の西の中腹の細長いくぼみに、厚く漆食(しっくい)を置き壁画が描かれている。極彩色で、上半身を雲の上に現し、豪華な装身具を身に着けた女人の群像である。宗教画か、単なる風俗画か、またいつごろの作か確証はないが、インドのアジャンタやバーグの壁画との関連から、5世紀末ごろの制作と考えられている。1982年に「古代都市シーギリヤ」として世界遺産の文化遺産に登録されている（世界文化遺産）。

［永井信一］

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