uchiguri　内刳

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

A technique used to hollow out the interior of a wooden statue. The hollow produced is also called uchiguri. Hollowing out a wooden statue allows the wood to dry and prevents cracking and also is lighter. Uchiguri was used in early Buddhist sculptures in single-block works *ichiboku-zukuri 一木造 and wood-core dry lacquer statues *mokushin kanshitsu 木心乾漆. An early example is Kudara Kannonzou 百済観音像 in Houryuuji 法隆寺, Nara, from the first half of 7c. The technique became widely used from the late 8c. In single-block statues, the back of the head was hollowed out, and the body was hollowed out from the back of sitting figures, and from the back and lower portion of standing figures. The hole cut into the sculpture was then covered with a separate piece of wood. This technique is also known as back-hollowing seguri 背刳, and the separate piece of wood applied is called a back-board se-ita 背板. Sitting figures were also hollowed out from the base. Uchiguri developed as statue construction changed. With the introduction of the *warihagi 割剥 technique, where the statue is split in half during the making process and then rejoined, it was possible to carve out the interior more deeply. This was succeeded by the hollow joined block technique *yoseki-zukuri 寄木造, where a sculpture was made in separate sections, making it possible to hollow out thoroughly and make thin walls. This technique was first used for large sculpture in the late Heian period and was widely used after the Kamakura period. The chisel marks on the interior were often smoothed, covered with cloth, or lacquered. Sometimes the signature of the sculptor can be found in the interior. The space inside the sculpture was also used for storing small Buddhist statues and other objects (see *zounai nounyuuhin 像内納入品).

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