This statue is a replica of the original statue in Enjō-ji Temple in Nara, Japan. The original is designated as Japan's national treasure, and is considered to be the famous Buddhist sculptor Unkei's very first work. The original is thought of as one of the masterpieces during the Kamakura period (1185-1333)
Dainichi-Nyorai ('Dainichi' means 'The Great Sun') was the central figure in Esoteric Buddhism (mikkyo, 'profound teachings'), a doctrine that came to Japan from China in 804AD. This statue is believed to be the earliest work by Unkei, the most famous busshi (sculptor of Buddhist statues) in the history of Japan
By bringing many years of experience together with technology in producing Buddhist statues, we have achieved excellent molding capabilities that transcend size restrictions, along with affordable prices. The refined gold paint on the statue was installed under the supervision of Chihiro Takamura.
Realizing a molding balance that is the same as the actual statue, especially for a wooden statue measuring only about 10cm was a big challenge. The material used is Japanese boxwood, which is perfect for finely sculpted details, with the face, the statue's most important aspect, being carved exactly in the image of the actual statue. The workshop of Isumu is in charge of applying the gold paint, under the supervision of Ms. Takamura. This is a collection that we can heartily recommend, packed with the know-how of Butuzou World's statuemaking, all in a small size.
About Chihiro Takamura: Born in Tokyo in 1962, she entered Joshibi University of Art and Design (majoring in oil-painting) after high school graduation. In 1987, she was taken in as a student by Fuzan Hirano, a master of colored woodcraft. For the next 20 years, she devoted herself to her craft and began painting wooden statues based in Buddhist imagery and Japanese classics. More recently, she independently established the Chihiro Takamura Painting Institute. Her diverse creative talent ranges from familiar imagery to works of profound artistic merit.. In examining the works of Chihiro Takamura, it is worth noting that up until the Edo Period it was normal to apply color to Buddhist statues, but this changed during the Meiji Period when the formalistic ideas of Western Sculpture became pervasive and the coloring of Buddhist statues stopped. In contrast to such climate of the times, the revival of ancient Japanese colored wood carving was made possible largely due to the efforts of Denchu Hiragushi, a giant of Japanese sculpture world who received the Order of Culture. Denchu left behind many famous works and the color work for these works were mostly taken charge of by the colorist Fuzan Hirano. Chihiro Takamura is a legitimate successor of Fuzan and is the foremost figure in the coloring of Buddhist statues today.