Tamamushi Shrine - Tamamushizushi

A shrine from the Asuka period handed down at Horyuji Temple in Nara. A national treasure, it is currently on display in the temple's Daihozoden (Great Treasure House). Temple legend has it that it was placed by Empress Suiko (reigned 592-628) at her side every day to worship her personal Buddha, but modern research suggests that it was made a little later than that, in the mid-7th century.

Made of wood and lacquered, it is 226.6cm tall. It consists of three parts: a palace-shaped shrine, a pedestal with wooden pillars at each corner and boards fitted into it, and a base. The nageshi, pillars, frames, etc. are decorated with intricate gilt bronze metal fittings with openwork carvings of arabesque patterns, and the palace part got its name from the fact that jewel beetle wing sheaths were stretched all over the metal fittings, and traces of these can still be seen in some areas. The palace part is a single-story irimoya-zukuri style with doors at the front and sides, cloud-shaped elbow beams at the eaves, and a shikorobuki roof with raised ridgepole. The interior of the palace is entirely made of copper plate and 1000 seated Buddhas are attached with gilded extrusions. There is a theory that it originally housed a Buddha statue, and another theory that the 1000 Buddhas themselves were the principal image, but neither theory has been confirmed (a different gilt bronze Buddha is currently housed there). Two heavenly kings are depicted on the two front doors, and four bodhisattva statues are depicted on the four side doors on the left and right. Also, a stupa of Mt. Jutosen and an arhat are painted on the back of the palace.

The front of the throne features a Shari-ku-Kyo (Sutra of the King of the Sea Dragon) offering, while the back features a Mount Sumeru (Shumisen) based on the Sutra of the King of the Sea Dragon. To the right of the throne is a Shashinshiko (Sacrificing Oneself to Feed a Tiger), and to the left is a Seshinmonge (Listening to the Verse of Giving One's Body), both of which are based on the Jataka tales of Shakyamuni's previous life. This Jataka tale in particular uses thin, flowing lines, is simple in its expression, and has a clean composition. The fleshy parts are painted with a mixture of white and vermilion perilla oil, with mitsudaso (lead monoxide) applied to speed up the drying process, in combination with lacquer painting. These panel paintings are not only valuable as the oldest authentic paintings remaining in Japan, but also have great value in terms of architecture and crafts.

[Shinichi Nagai]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

奈良法隆寺に伝わる飛鳥(あすか)時代の厨子。国宝。現在は同寺大宝蔵殿に陳列。寺伝では推古(すいこ)天皇（在位592～628）が念持仏を祀(まつ)るため、日常座右に置いたものといわれているが、今日の研究ではそれよりすこし下って7世紀中ごろの作と考えられている。

　木造、漆塗り、総高226.6センチメートル。宮殿の形をした厨子の部分と、四隅に木の角柱を立て、板をはめ込んだ須弥座(しゅみざ)、それに台座の三つの部分からなる。長押(なげし)、柱、框(かまち)などには唐草(からくさ)文を透(すかし)彫りした精巧な金銅製金具を付すが、宮殿部の金具の下に玉虫の翅鞘(ししょう)が張り巡らされてあったところからこの名があり、一部にその跡がある。宮殿部は単層入母屋造(いりもやづくり)で、正面と側面に扉をつけ、軒に雲形肘木(ひじき)を配し、屋根は錣葺(しころぶ)きで、鴟尾(しび)をあげている。宮殿内部はすべて銅板打出し、鍍金(ときん)の押出(おしだ)し千体仏坐像(ざぞう)が張り付けてあり、もとは仏像が安置されてあったとする説と、この千体仏自体が本尊であったとする説とがあるが、両説とも確証がない（現在は別の金銅仏を安置する）。正面扉の2枚に二天王像、左右側面4枚の扉に四菩薩(ぼさつ)像。また宮殿部背面に鷲頭山(じゅとうせん)の舎利塔と羅漢(らかん)が描かれている。

　須弥座の正面は舎利供養図、背面には『海竜王経』を典拠とする須弥山(しゅみせん)図を描く。また須弥座の向かって右側は「捨身飼虎(しゃしんしこ)図」、左側は「施身聞偈(せしんもんげ)図」、いずれも釈迦(しゃか)の前生の物語である本生譚(ほんじょうたん)（ジャータカ）から題材をとって描いたもの。とくにこの本生図は細い伸びのある線を用い、表現も簡潔で、構図のまとめ方にむだがなく、肉身の部分には白色と朱とを混ぜた荏油(えのあぶら)に、乾燥を早めるために密陀僧(みつだそう)（一酸化鉛）を塗ったいわゆる密陀絵と漆絵の手法を併用している。これらの板絵はわが国最古の本格的な絵画の遺品として貴重なばかりでなく、建築・工芸のうえでも重要な価値を有するものである。

［永井信一］

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