Letters link Kaikei to 800-year-old statue
Kongobuji temple is located on Mt. Koya.
The seven letters, which were written in ink and placed inside the chest of the 149-centimeter-tall statue, were found when the statue was restored at the Nara National Museum.
The letters include such phrases as “March in Kenkyu 8th year (1197)” and “at Todaiji temple’s branch site,” which reveal that Chogen asked Kaikei to create the statue in 1197. Chogen worked to rebuild Todaiji temple, which was burned down by the Heike clan in 1181.
As part of the restoration, noted sculptors of Buddhist images such as Unkei and Kaikei created the Niozo statues of Nandaimon.
The recently discovered letters confirm the relationship between Chogen and Kaikei.
Shukongoshinryuzo and one of the seven letters will be exhibited at “Koyasan 1,200th Anniversary Treasures of the Sacred Mountain,” an event sponsored by The Yomiuri Shimbun and others at the Suntory Museum of Art in Tokyo from Oct. 11 to Dec. 7. [ The Japan News ]