zouzouki　造像記

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

Also zouzou daiki 造像題記, zouzoumei 造象銘. A record that keeps track of the completion and repair dates of a Buddhist statue. Usually, it is an inscription on the statue itself, often found on the back, the foot, the pedestal or the nimbus. The zouzouki is written in ink *sumi 墨, chinnabar ink, engraved or molded. In the case of hollow wooden statues the zouzouki is often written on the carved-out inner surface, or on the tenon where the foot is attached to the body. Sometimes a piece of paper or wooden card containing the inscription is placed inside the statue. It states the origin of the image, who the artist or artists were, who commissioned the work and why, who made donations towards its production, the date of production and so on. Zouzouki originated in the Northern Wei Dynasty in the Three Kingdoms period in China. Inscriptions dating back to this period have been found in caves in Lungmen (Jp; Ryuumon 龍門), where Buddhist images were enshrined or engraved in the cave. In Japan inscriptions on Buddhist statues are found from the Asuka period onward, as for example on the gilt bronze Shaka sanzonzou 釈迦三尊像 in Houryuuji 法隆寺, Nara. In the Heian period, with the spread of wooden statuary and the influence of Esoteric Buddhism mikkyou 密教, it was common to record not only the making of a statue but also details of its consecration ceremony and sections of the Buddhist scriptures inside the hollowed figure.

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*uchiguri 内刳, *hozo ほぞ .

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