Celebrating the Completion of Conservation Work on Jōruriji Temple's Amida Statues:
Buddhist Sculptures from Minami Yamashiro in Kyoto

This is one of the nine Amida statues installed in Jōruriji Temple’s Hondō (main hall). It demonstrates the gentle sculptural style that was popular from the mid-Heian period. The nine statues symbolize the nine grades of rebirth in the Buddhist Pure Land. During the Heian period, Japan's nobility would often enshrine nine statues of Amida Nyorai, though Jōruriji's statues are now the only surviving examples.

This deity’s narrowed eyes and fierce expression is counterposed by the variegated beauty of the garments. Meticulous craftsmanship is apparent in the way the statue is mainly carved from a single block of wood, from the upper face down to the dais, the fingertips of the right hand, halfway down the left arm, and even including the cloth hanging over the shoulders. One of the overhead faces is a later replacement, but the work is very well-preserved on the whole.

Standing around three meters tall, this huge sculpture is the principal image of Zenjōji, a temple founded by a priest from Nara’s Tōdaiji Temple. Unusually for a Buddhist statue, it was carved from the wood of a cherry tree. The gentle, shallow carving and the youthful face with plump nose and cheeks are both traits of Buddhist statues from the end of the 10th century, with this work emblematic of an era when sculptors were starting to create more Japanized works.

This statue depicts Amida Nyorai descending from the Pure Land to lead departed souls to paradise. It was sculpted by Gyōkai, pupil of the renowned Kamakura-period Buddhist sculptor Kaikei. His teacher's style is apparent in the well-formed face and the intricate lines of the drapery folds, but Gyōkai's own style is also on display in the sharp gaze and the way the garment's many folds branch out like pine needles.