Brick

A cubic or rectangular brick fired in China, also written as sen, 甎, or 磚. Cubic bricks are called square bricks, rectangular bricks are called striped bricks or rectangular bricks, and those with a hollow interior are called hollow bricks or pit bricks. They are black or gray in color, and hollow bricks have been used in China since the Warring States period to build tombs, and such tombs are called brick tombs. Square bricks are used to cover floors, and from the Qin and Han dynasties onwards, some were used on walls with letters and patterns carved into their surfaces, and during the Tang dynasty, decorative bricks with lotus and precious flower patterns carved in relief appeared. Striped bricks are the most common type, and have been used since the end of the Western Han dynasty to build city walls, houses, and tombs. They were introduced to Japan from Korea, and were used along with tiles on the sides of foundations and floors when Buddhist buildings were built. Among these, the bricks with heavenly beings, grape arabesque, and phoenix patterns unearthed at Okadera Temple in Nara are well-known for their use on walls, and the green glaze wave pattern brick unearthed at Kawaradera Temple is noteworthy as it is thought to have been used to create a lotus pond on a stepped platform.

Another type of picture brick is the brick Buddha. Triads, Five-figure Buddhas, and 1000-figure Buddhas were produced from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period in China, and in Japan the representative examples are the Triads and Five-figure Buddhas excavated from Kawaradera and Tachibana-dera in Nara and Natsumi-hai-ji in Mie, while the 1000-figure Buddhas excavated from Yamada-dera in Nara, which show single, four, and twelve figures, are well-known. The 1000-figure Buddhas excavated from Yamada-dera in particular are stamped with single figures and are thought to have been covered in gold leaf to beautifully decorate the walls.

[Kudou Yoshiaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国で焼成される立方体あるいは直方体の煉瓦(れんが)で、専、甎、磚とも書く。立方体のものは方塼、直方体のものは条塼あるいは長方塼の名があり、内部が中空のものを空塼または坑塼という。黒色か灰色を呈し、空塼は中国では戦国時代から墓室の構築に用いられ、このような墓は塼室墓とよばれる。方塼は床に敷くほか、秦(しん)・漢代以降は表面に文字や文様を刻んで壁面に用いたものがあり、唐代には浮彫りによる蓮華(れんげ)文や宝相華(ほっそうげ)文などの装飾が施された画像塼が出現する。もっとも一般的なものは条塼で、前漢末から城壁・家屋・墓室の構築に用いられた。日本へは朝鮮から導入され、仏教建築の建立に伴い、基壇側面の化粧積みや床面に瓦(かわら)とともに利用された。これらのなかで壁面に用いたものとしては、奈良の岡寺出土の天人文塼・葡萄唐草(ぶどうからくさ)文塼・鳳凰(ほうおう)文塼が著名で、同じく川原(かわら)寺出土の緑釉(りょくゆう)波文塼は須弥壇(しゅみだん)上に蓮池(れんち)として敷かれたと考えられて注目される。

　ほかに画像塼として塼仏がある。中国南北朝時代から三尊仏・五尊仏・千体仏などが制作されたが、日本では奈良の川原寺・橘(たちばな)寺、三重の夏身廃寺(なつみはいじ)出土の三尊仏や五尊仏が代表的遺例で、千体仏では独尊・四尊・十二尊の形式がみられる奈良の山田寺出土のものが名高い。とくに山田寺出土の千体仏は独尊のスタンプが押し並べられ、上に金箔(きんぱく)をはって壁面を華麗に飾ったものと推定されている。

［工藤圭章］

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