Maijishan Grottoes - Maijishan Grottoes

A rock-cut temple located 45 km southeast of Tianshui County, Gansu Province, China. The name of this mountain comes from its shape, which resembles stacked wheat straw, and it is mentioned in the "Records of the Great Monk," which tells us that as early as 420 AD, as many as 300 monks were already living there. Many rock-cut caves and Buddhist altars were built during the Northern Wei period, and construction continued during the Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties. The rock-cut caves are located in a collapsed area in the center of the southern face of the mountain, which divides the cliff into two, the eastern and western cliffs. There are currently 194 rock-cut caves and cliff-carved Buddhas on both sides of the east and west sides, and within the caves remain Buddhist statues, wall paintings, and ceiling paintings. Famous caves on the eastern cliff include No. 1 Nirvana Grotto, No. 3 Thousand Buddhas Hall, No. 4 Seven Buddhas Temple on Sanhua Lou, No. 5 Niujidou Cave, and No. 13 Cliff-carved Great Buddha, while on the western cliff No. 98 Cliff-carved Great Buddha, No. 133 Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall, and No. 135 Tiantang Cave are connected to each other by multiple plank walkways built into the towering cliffs. The sculptures include stone, clay, and stone-built clay statues, all of which are characterized by shallow carvings following the style of the Shaan-Gan region, and are noted as a treasure trove of Chinese art history, with paintings of the life of Buddha on the walls.

[Rei Yoshimura]

"Mugizumiyama Cave" by Yonosuke Natori (1979, Iwanami Shoten)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、甘粛(かんしゅく)省天水県の南東45キロメートルにある石窟寺院。この山の名は、麦藁(むぎわら)を積み重ねたような山容に由来するが、『高僧伝』中にもみえ、420年ごろにはすでに300人もの僧が常住していたことを伝えている。北魏(ぎ)時代に開かれた石窟や仏龕(がん)が多く、その後、西魏、北周、隋(ずい)、唐、宋(そう)と造営が続けられた。石窟は、山の南面の中央に崩壊した箇所があり、これを境にして東崖と西崖に二分される。現存の石窟と摩崖(まがい)仏は東西で194を数え、窟内には仏像や壁画、天井画が残っている。東崖では、第1号涅槃(ねはん)窟、第3号千仏廊、第4号散花楼上の七仏閣、第5号牛児堂(ぎゅうじどう)洞、第13号摩崖大仏など、西崖では、第98号摩崖大仏、第133号万仏堂(ばんぶつどう)洞、第135号天堂洞などが著名で、これらの石窟は、そそり立つ断崖に幾重にもつくられた桟道によって互いに連絡している。彫像には石像、塑像、石胎(せきたい)塑像があり、いずれも陝甘(せんかん)地域の様式を踏んだ彫りの浅い造形に特色がみえ、壁面に描かれた仏伝図など中国美術史の宝庫として注目される。

［吉村　怜］

『名取洋之助著『麦積山石窟』（1979・岩波書店）』

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