616 THE ART OF CASTING BRONZE IN JAPAK 



during- the entire period, excepting two insignificant boxes for holding 

 seals (dated respectively 908 and 1098 A. D.) and nine distinct coin- 

 ages of bronze money (from 810 to 958 A. D,). After this last date even 

 the coinage of money appears to cease, and is not resumed until 1457 

 A. D. — live hundred years afterwards. 



THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 



During the hist years of the twelfth century, when peace was estab- 

 lished throughout the country by the victories of Yoritomo, there are 

 the first signs of a revival of the old art of the Kara period. From 

 1190 A. D. up to the date of his death (1198 A. D.), this remarkable 

 warrior devoted all his energies to the cultivation and advancement 

 of the arts of peace. Stimulated by his example and enthusiasm, the 

 artistic spirit of the people was aroused from its dormant condition, 

 and for nearly a liundred years we have a notable period of renaissance 

 in art, a period chiefly remarkable in the history of bronze for the 

 casting of that magnificent masterpiece the colossal image of Amit- 

 abha, usually called the Daibutsu of Kamakura. This image, one of the 

 finest examples of bronze founding, can not be adequately described 

 by any word painting; it must be actually seen in the midst of its 

 grove of conifers and evergreens to appreciate fully its grandeur and 

 beauty, its soberness of design, and noble expression of majesty and 

 repose. It stands alone and incomparable among all the chefs d'deuvre 

 of Japanese bronze founders. 



Although slightly smaller than the great Buddha of JS^ara, it far 

 excels it in artistic execution. Like it it has been cast in segments, 

 but these have been "burned together" with bronze of similar compo- 

 sition to tliat of the image itself^ the exterior of the joints having been 

 subsequently finished by chiseling. 



Japanese histories relate that it was cast about the middle of the 

 thirteenth century (begun 1252 A D.) by Ono Goroyemon, one of the 

 first bronze founders whose name is recorded. Its dimensions, taken 

 from a woodcut sold to pilgrims who visit its shrine, are as follows: 

 Height, 49 feet 7 inches; length of face, 8 feet 5 inches; breadth from 

 knee to knee, 35 feet 8 inches. 



The measurements of both this and the Nara Buddha, however, 

 require revision ; the heights in both cases are, 1 think, exaggerated, 

 and should have 6 or 7 feet deducted from them. Its thickness is vari- 

 able, ranging from 1^ inches to 3 or 4 inches, or even more in some of 

 the castings, and its weight will not probably exceed 150 tons. 



Other bronze images of the divinities of the Buddhist hierarchy, of 

 less colossal proportions and of varying degrees of excellence, were 

 made for the temples of Yamato and Kioto, one of the chief groups 

 being a trinity for the ancient monastery Horyuji. Several bells were 

 also cast, one at Kamakura being worthy of note, as the record given 

 of it indicates the source of the metal from which they were occasion- 

 ally made. It is said that 300,000 copper coins, which had been 



