Carving the Buddhaalpha 日本語

Carving the Buddha

A record of Buddhist sculpture in Japan and the people who carved it. From the Asuka period to the present, on the same terms. Where it is, when it was made, what it is made of.

This English edition carries the factual record only. Titles follow the holding institution where one is given; otherwise a conventional English rendering is used. The Japanese pages carry the descriptive text.

Next openingsthe next openings of images normally kept closed

Seated Thousand-armed Kannon Seated Thousand-armed Kannon Fujii-dera, Fujiidera, Osaka Opened on the 18th of each month, at the Kannon service. Next 18 September 2026
Photographs wanted
Standing Fudō Myōō (Acala), the 'Mizuhiki Fudō' Main hall, Chōju-ji (Kihara Fudōson), Kumamoto Shown on the 28th of every month, the temple's fair day; otherwise kept in a closed shrine Next 28 September 2026
Photographs wanted
Seated Amida Nyorai (Amitābha) of the five kalpas of meditation Amida hall, Kanjinsho, Tōdai-ji, Nara Opened only on 5 October. The Kanjinsho precinct is otherwise closed to visitors. Next 5 October 2026 Seated Hachiman in the Guise of a Monk Seated Hachiman in the Guise of a Monk Hachiman-den, Kanjinsho, Tōdai-ji, Nara Opened only on 5 October, for the Tegai-e. The Kanjinsho precinct is otherwise closed to visitors. Next 5 October 2026

Dates change. Always check the temple's own announcement before you travel.

See every opening (27)

Sculptors 376 of 37

Tankei湛慶 Kamakura period　1173–1256 5 works Kōshō康勝 Kamakura period　dates unknown 1 work Unkei運慶 Kamakura period　?–1223 9 works Zenkei善慶 Kamakura period　1197–1258 4 works Morikawa Toen森川杜園 Modern era　1820–1894 1 work Kihara Sannosuke木原三之助 Modern era　dates unknown 1 work

See all sculptors (37)

By periodAsuka to the present, 237 works

Asuka period9 Nara period11 Heian period68 Kamakura period72 Muromachi period24 Edo period17 Modern era10 Contemporary7

See all works (237)

Photographs wanted (96) — works whose location and date are known, but for which no freely usable photograph has been found.

This is an alpha. 237 works, 37 sculptors, 47 prefectures, Asuka period to the present. Published while it is still being built, and what is not known has been left visible: 103 works have no photograph, 30 have no recorded type, and 19 have no recorded date. Rather than leaving those fields blank, the archive says that the record is missing. If you notice anything, please write to info@hotokewohoru.org.