Cave temple

Cave-style religious architecture excavated into the cliffs of rocky mountains. Originally it developed from simple caves where ascetics would retreat. They were mainly built by the three major religions of India: Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism, and spread to Central Asia and China under their influence. The term "cave temple" is a Chinese translation of the English term "cave temple" or "rock-cut temple," and is also abbreviated to "sekito" or "kutsuin." In China, individual caves are sometimes called "caves," such as Cave 17 of the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, which is called the Library Cave. The oldest rock caves today are those built by Ajivika monks in Bihar, India, dating back to the 3rd century BC. Buddhist caves began appearing around the 2nd century BCE, and were divided into two types: Chaitya caves (towers), in which a stupa was installed within the cave for worship, and Vihara caves (monasteries), in which rooms were set up for monks to practice. Gradually, this changed to placing statues of Buddha in Vihara caves and worshipping them as the principal image. In Afghanistan, the Bamiyan caves were built in the 4th century AD, and in China, the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang were built in the mid-4th century, and this style of cave spread to other places, such as Yungang and Longmen. The walls of the caves were decorated with illustrations explaining the life story of Shakyamuni, diagrams of the life of the Buddha, and biographies of the builders, to explain the pictures to believers. On the Korean Peninsula, there are some examples of structures similar to cave temples at Gyeongju Seokguram Grotto and Gunwi Seokgull Grottoes, but in Japan, only rock-carved Buddha figurines were made as a further degeneration, and full-fledged cave temples did not develop.

[Hiroshi Etani]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

岩山の断崖(だんがい)面を利用して掘削した洞窟形式の宗教建築。本来は修行者が隠遁(いんとん)する簡単な洞窟から発展したものである。主として、インドの三大宗教である仏教、ヒンドゥー教、ジャイナ教によってつくられ、その影響を受けて中央アジアや中国にも広まっていった。石窟寺院という語は英語のcave templeあるいはrock-cut templeの漢語訳で、略して石窟、窟院ともいう。中国では敦煌莫高窟(とんこうばっこうくつ)第17号窟を蔵経洞というように、個々の窟を洞とよぶこともある。現在もっとも古い石窟は、インドのビハール州にあるアージビカ派僧侶(そうりょ)の窟で紀元前3世紀に始まる。仏教窟は前2世紀ごろから現れ、石窟内にストゥーパを設けて礼拝するチャイティヤ窟（塔院）と、僧侶が修行する部屋を設けたビハーラ窟（僧院）の2形式ができ、しだいにビハーラ窟に仏像を置いて本尊として礼拝するように変化した。アフガニスタンでは紀元後4世紀にバーミアン石窟がつくられ、中国では4世紀中ごろに敦煌莫高窟がつくられ、やがて雲崗(うんこう)、竜門(りゅうもん)など各地でこのような形式の石窟が広まっていった。石窟内の壁面には信者に絵解きをするための釈迦(しゃか)の本生譚(ほんじょうたん)、仏伝図、造営者の伝記などを描いて荘厳(しょうごん)した。朝鮮半島では慶州石窟庵(あん)や軍威石窟でわずかに石窟寺院に似た形式が伝わっているが、日本ではさらに退化したものとして磨崖仏(まがいぶつ)がつくられただけで、本格的な石窟寺院は発達しなかった。

［江谷　寛］

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