Detail
| Cultural Resources Category | Sculptures |
|---|---|
| Cultural Properties Category | National Designation Tangible Cultural Properties (Sculptures) |
| Title | Bronze statue of Amidanyorai (Amitabha) |
| Designation Date | 1950/08/29 |
| Cities / Towns | Utsunomiya |
| Owner / Manager | Ikko-ji Temple |
| Public Information | [公開] |
| Description | It is housed in a storage room on the south side of the main hall of Ikkouji Temple. This statue of Amida Nyorai is mounted on an iron and Oya stone pedestal. The statue is 105 cm tall, and was created in the early Muromachi period (1333-1573). 1105 characters are inscribed from both shoulders to both collars and knees, but all inscriptions are on the robe only. According to the inscription, the statue was created in April 1405 by Kutsuna Shonin of Ikkou-ji Temple, with Mitsutsuna, the 12th lord of Utsunomiya Castle at the time, as the deity's chief supporter, and 345 people related to him. It was cast by Yasu Kageshige, a carpenter active mainly in Utsunomiya at the time, and dedicated as the principal image to Chorakuji Temple, which was a family temple of the Utsunomiya clan. In the early Edo period (1603-1867), when Utsunomiya Castle was expanded, Chorakuji Temple was moved to an adjoining site of Ikkouji Temple, and later became a guest temple of Ikkou-ji Temple when Chorakuji Temple was closed down. The main deity is also popularly known as "Sweaty Amida. This nickname comes from the fact that the deity sweats all over his body when a major event of the Utsunomiya clan or an urgent national crisis occurs. It is said that during the Boshin War, an incarnation of Sweating Amida stood over the main hall and protected it from fire by pouring out a waterfall of sweat from his body. |
| Copyright | 著作権あり |
