Rock-carved Buddha - Imitation Buddha

A type of stone Buddha, carved into natural cliffs or large stones to create images of Buddha or other objects in relief. Also written as "rock-carved Buddha." Many of them are built in the style of rock-cut temples, where a cave is dug out like a normal temple, or a wooden building is built with a Buddha statue at the back. This style has been around in India since the 3rd century BC, and the Ajanta Caves are famous. Colossal statues were also built in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, but were destroyed by the Taliban regime in 2001. In China, most of the colossal statues are cliff-carved. The caves known are mainly from the Northern Wei to Sui and Tang dynasties, such as the Thousand Buddha Caves of Dunhuang, built from the mid-4th century, as well as Maijishan, Yungang, and Longmen. In Japan, most of the remains were made in the late Heian period, but because the geology is new, good quality materials are not available, and there are few stone Buddha statues, including rock-carved Buddha statues. A representative example is the Usuki Stone Buddha statues in Oita Prefecture, which are dozens of statues carved into tuff. There are also some carved into granite at Mt. Kasagi in Nara, and the Oya Rock-Carved Buddha statues in Tochigi Prefecture are carved into Oya stone that contains a soft part called miso, and some are almost entirely covered in soil with the details expressed as if they were molded.

[Akio Sato]

"Japanese Stone Buddhas" by Hiroshi Mizuo et al. (1970, Kajima Institute Publishing Association) " "Japanese Art 36: Stone Buddhas" by Ken Kuno (1975, Shogakukan)" "The Smiles of the Rock-Carved Buddhas - A Visit to the Dazu Grottoes (Sichuan Province, China), a Treasure Trove of Rock-Carved Buddhas" by Minoru Nishii (2002, Shinsei Publishing, DDN Publishing)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

石仏の一種で、自然の懸崖(けんがい)や大石を彫刻し、仏像などを陰刻や浮彫りで表したもの。摩崖仏とも書く。その多くは石窟(せっくつ)寺院の形式でつくられ、洞窟を普通の寺院のように掘り抜いたり、差しかけの木造の建物をつくったりして、その奥に仏像をつくる。この形式はインドでは紀元前3世紀ごろからあり、アジャンタ石窟などが名高い。アフガニスタンのバーミアンにも巨像がつくられていたが、2001年タリバン政権により破壊された。中国でも巨像はほとんど摩崖（磨崖）像である。4世紀なかばからつくられた敦煌(とんこう)千仏洞をはじめ麦積山(ばくせきざん)、雲崗(うんこう)、竜門など、おもに北魏(ほくぎ)から隋唐(ずいとう)代の石窟が知られている。日本では遺例の多くが平安後期につくられたが、地質的に新しいため良質の材が得られず、磨崖仏を含めて石仏が少ない。代表的な磨崖仏は大分県臼杵(うすき)石仏で、凝灰岩に高肉彫りで数十躯(く)の像をつくりあげている。また奈良の笠置(かさぎ)山には花崗(かこう)岩に線刻したものもあり、栃木県の大谷(おおや)磨崖仏の場合などは、ミソとよばれる軟質部のある大谷石に彫り付けてあり、なかにはほとんど全面を土で覆って、細部を塑造(そぞう)のように表現したものもある。

［佐藤昭夫］

『水尾比呂志他著『日本の石仏』（1970・鹿島研究所出版会）』▽『久野健著『日本の美術36　石仏』（1975・小学館）』▽『西井稔著『磨崖仏たちの微笑み――磨崖仏の宝庫　大足の石窟（中国・四川省）を訪ねて』（2002・新生出版、ディーディーエヌ発売）』

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