Standing Buddha - Tachikibutsu

A wooden Buddha sculpture made to take advantage of the shape of a standing tree. This refers to a Buddha statue carved directly into a natural tree, but such examples are extremely rare, and their distinctive features are that they have a log-like body that retains the shape of the tree, and stand on a base that has the tree's roots left intact or is made from roughly cut wood in the shape of a rock base. Not only do the body of the statue retain the shape of the tree, but there are also examples where the shape of a standing tree is reproduced by placing actual, subdivided stumps on the base of the statue, or the tree itself with roots is carved. The background to their creation is thought to be the syncretism of ancient belief in sacred trees and Buddhism, and they are thought to have been made from around the 8th century, but many relics date from the 10th to 12th centuries.

The eleven-headed Kannon statue at Chishiki-ji Temple in Nagano Prefecture, the eleven-headed Kannon statue at Saiko-in Temple in Ibaraki Prefecture, and the Thousand-Armed Kannon statue at Rinnou-ji Temple in Tochigi Prefecture were made in the Heian period, but they were also made in the Kamakura period, and Enku and Mokujiki of the Edo period also made standing wooden Buddha statues. Overall, there are many examples of Kannon statues.

[Akio Sato]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

立木の形態を生かしてつくられた木彫仏。自然の立木にじかに彫刻した仏像の意であるが、その例はきわめてまれで、造形上の特色は、立木の形態をとどめる丸太のような像身をもち、木の根部を残したり、荒削りの木を岩座形にした台座に立つ点である。像身が立木の姿をとどめるだけでなく、細分した実際の根株を像の下底に当てて立木の形を再現したり、根のついた立木そのものを彫刻した例もある。その制作背景は、古来の霊木信仰と仏教の習合によるものとみられ、8世紀ごろからつくられたと考えられるが、10～12世紀の遺品が多い。

　長野県智識寺(ちしきじ)の十一面観音(かんのん)像、茨城県西光院(さいこういん)の十一面観音像、栃木県輪王(りんのう)寺の千手(せんじゅ)観音像などは平安時代の作であるが、鎌倉時代にもつくられており、また江戸時代の円空(えんくう)や木喰(もくじき)なども立木仏をつくっている。全体として観音像の作例が多い。

［佐藤昭夫］

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