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

Photographs wanted
Relief portrait of Kōbō Daishi (Kūkai) Daishi hall, Jingo-ji, Kyoto In 2026: 1–7 November (9:00–16:00). Next 1 November – 7 November 2026 Standing Seshin (Vasubandhu) Standing Seshin (Vasubandhu) Hokuen-dō, Kōfuku-ji, Nara Autumn 2026 special opening of the Hokuen-dō: 24 October – 8 November (no closing days, 9:00–17:00). Next 24 October – 8 November 2026 Standing Mujaku (Asaṅga) Standing Mujaku (Asaṅga) Hokuen-dō, Kōfuku-ji, Nara Autumn 2026 special opening of the Hokuen-dō: 24 October – 8 November (no closing days, 9:00–17:00). Next 24 October – 8 November 2026 Standing Eleven-headed Kannon (Ekādaśamukha) Standing Eleven-headed Kannon (Ekādaśamukha) Hokke-ji, Nara Three special openings in 2026: 20 March – 7 April, 5–10 June, and 25 October – 10 November. Next 25 October – 10 November 2026

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

See every opening (36)

Sculptors 376 of 37

Mokujiki木喰 Edo period　1718–1810 3 works Zenkei善慶 Kamakura period　1197–1258 4 works Morikawa Toen森川杜園 Modern era　1820–1894 1 work Jōkei定慶 Kamakura period　dates unknown 1 work Takuo Hasegawa長谷川 琢士 Contemporary　born 1983 1 work Enkū円空 Edo period　1632–1695 2 works

See all sculptors (37)

By periodAsuka to the present, 358 works

Asuka period18 Nara period24 Heian period115 Kamakura period124 Muromachi period24 Edo period17 Modern era10 Contemporary7

See all works (358)

Photographs wanted (150) — works whose location and date are known, but for which no freely usable photograph has been found.

This is an alpha. 358 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: 163 works have no photograph, 33 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.