hossai　髪際

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

Also hassai 髪際. Lit. Hairline. The point where the hair meets the forehead on a sculpted figure. The hairline is used to measure the height of Buddhist statues. A standing statue is measured from the hairline to the feet, and a seated image from the hairline to the point where the torso meets the pedestal jitsuki 地付き. This means that the measured height, known as hassaikou 髪際高, does not include the height of the hairstyle or ornaments on the head. In ancient records the hassaikou was used to indicate the height of the entire image.

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