Danzo - Danzo

A statue made from sandalwood, a type of fragrant wood native to Southeast Asia and East India, such as white sandalwood, rosewood, and sendan. In China, sandalwood statues were already found in documents from the Han dynasty, and the first Buddhist statue is said to have been made by He Jingshu during the Taishi period of the Song dynasty during the Six Dynasties (mid-3rd century). They were actively made during the Sui and Tang dynasties, but no remains remain in China today, and extant statues in Japan include the Nine-faced Kannon statue at Horyu-ji Temple (which according to the Horyu-ji Temple Asset Register was brought over from the Yoro era, early in the 8th century, made of sandalwood, and 37.1 cm tall), and the Pillow Honzon at Mount Koya (a sandalwood altar thought to be the one mentioned in the Catalogue of Kobo Daishi's Future Works) which were brought over from the Tang dynasty. To make the most of the hardness, pleasant fragrance, beautiful grain, and rarity of sandalwood, all of the statues are carved from a single piece of wood and intricately engraved, with no coloring or lacquering (though some are colored only in small areas, such as the hair, eyebrows, eyes, and lips), and most are small. Since the Heian period, Japan has been influenced by danzo, and intricately carved statues that are unpainted and leave the wood grain visible have been made from Japanese substitute materials (such as kaya, cherry, and cypress); these are called danzo-style carvings, and are included in the broad definition of danzo.

[Akio Sato]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

東南アジアや東インド産の香木の一種である白檀(びゃくだん)、紫檀(したん)、栴檀(せんだん)など檀木を素材としてつくった彫像。中国ではすでに漢代の文献に檀像のことがみられ、仏像としては六朝(りくちょう)の宋(そう)の泰始(たいし)年間（3世紀なかば）に何敬叔(かけいしゅく)がつくったのが初めだとされる。隋(ずい)・唐ごろに盛んにつくられたが、現在中国には遺品がなく、日本に現存する法隆寺九面観音(かんのん)像（『法隆寺資財帳』によれば養老(ようろう)年間、8世紀初めの請来(しょうらい)品で、白檀製、造高37.1センチメートル）、高野山(こうやさん)の枕(まくら)本尊（『弘法(こうぼう)大師御将来目録』記載のものと推定される白檀製の仏龕(ぶつがん)）などが唐からの請来品である。檀木の堅さと香りのよさ、木目の美しさ、希少性を生かすため、彫像のすべての部分を一材から彫り出して緻密(ちみつ)な彫刻を施し、彩色や漆箔(しっぱく)をしない（髪の毛、眉(まゆ)、瞳(ひとみ)、唇など、ごく一部に彩色するものもある）のが特色で、ほとんどが小像である。平安時代以降は日本でもこの檀像の影響を受けて、彩色をせずに木肌を現した細かい彫刻の像が日本産の代用材（榧(かや)、桜、檜(ひのき)など）でつくられているが、これを檀像様(よう)彫刻とよんでおり、広義の檀像にはこれらも含められる。

［佐藤昭夫］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例