tachikibutsu　立木仏

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

Lit. standing tree Buddha. A Buddhist image carved on a living tree or on wood that retains the form of the original tree. A manifestation of the fusion between Buddhism and indigenous Japanese tree-spirit worship. Often a tree located in a high mountain was thought to house the spirit of a god. A tree which had been struck by lightning was also believed to be inhabited by spirits. In these cases, a Buddha figure was simply carved into the tree as it stood. Sometimes the figure was then painted, although originally tachikibutsu retained the natural wood surface. Unlike other Buddhist statues, the wood was not Japanese cypress hinoki 桧, but fir momi 樅, Judas tree katsura 桂, camphor kusu 樟, and Japanese cedar sugi 杉, which grow in Japan's mountain forests. However, as a tree in this condition was liable to rot, it was often cut away at the roots, or a statue was simply carved to look as though it was part of a standing tree trunk. These statues are also known as tachikibutsu and are thought to have originated in the 8c, though most surviving examples date from the 10c to 12c. Tachikibutsu are most numerous in eastern Japan. Famous examples of tachikibutsu still retaining the original tree roots include the Shou Kannonzou 聖観音像 in An'youji 安養寺, Shiga prefecture, and the Senju Kannonzou 千手観音像 in Rinnouji 輪王寺, Tochigi prefecture.

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