612 Tfi^l ART OF CASTING BRONZE IN JAPAN. 



inches in height and 1 foot 8 inches in diameter at the base, and does 

 not exceed three-sixteenths of an inch in thickness. It is an excellent 

 casting, and must have been cast in a heated mold. 



SEVENTH AND EIGHTH CENTURIES A. D, 



Two events of marked importance in Jaijanese annals, on account of 

 their influence on the tlevelopment of the arts and culture, occurred 

 during this x)eriod. Buddhism, which had been introduced about 55li 

 A. D., had been adopted as the religion of the country through the 

 energy and enthusiasm of Prince Shotoku Taishi (593-G21 A. D.), and a 

 fixed capital and court had, for the first time iu Japanese history, been 

 established at Nara (709 A. D.). These two centuries form a brilliant 

 epoch in the history of the art of bronze founding, as in that of the 

 sister arts of painting and sculpture. Numerous temples — some on a 

 scale of great magnificence — were erected for the services of the new 

 religion, and the skill of both native and foreign workers iu bronze was 

 specially enlisted for their decoration, as well a's for the production of 

 statues of the divinities of Buddhism and of vessels for the ceremonies 

 of its ritual. 



Stimulated and sujiported by the priesthood in their efforts to produce 

 objects worthy of the services of the church, the bronze founders 

 achieved results in those early times which have not since been sur- 

 passed. Unfortunately many of their works have been destroyed by 

 conflagrations and in the frequent spoliation of the temples during civil 

 wars, but a few have beeu preserved which are masterpieces of the art 

 of the modeler and founder. 



Many tales record the enthusiasm with which the founders of the time 

 were supported by tbeir patrons and of the stubborn manner in which, 

 after many repeated failures, they overcame the difficulties which beset 

 them. The Empress Koken (749-758) herself is said to have aided the 

 founders in stirring the molten metal for a statue of a Buddhist saint, 

 which was only completed after six unsuccessful attempts. The devel- 

 opment of bronze founding and the encouragement of its artists during 

 this period was entirely due to Buddhism, and even for many centuries 

 later the chief works of the art founders were executed for the adornment 

 of its shrines. The survival of most of the older bronzes is also solely 

 due to the care with Avhich they have been preserved in temples and 

 monasteries by the priests of that religion. 



Japanese records and traditions relating to the works of art of this 

 epoch, whether of the painter, sculptor, or founder, invariably sj^eak of 

 the help afforded in their production by Korean or Chinese artists, and 

 not a few of the ancient examples which survive are even attributed 

 solely to them. 



It is very difficult to determine how far these traditions relating to 

 Korean artists are trustworthy, as no traces of similar works have been 

 fouud Ml Korea itself; yet they all present such a close agreement on 

 the point, that we are almost compelled to acknowledge that, if not 



