METAL INDUSTRY 



445 



Tenno. In 1180 a fire destroyed the head. The present ugly one 

 was cast in 1570, at a time when art industry was in a very low 

 state. The oldest part of the body and the lotus flower consist of 

 plates from 18 to 30 centimeters thick, having a surface of 30 to 36 

 centimeters, which are soldered together at the edges with Handaro 

 (tin-solder). The entire height of this Buddha is 1605 meters 

 (53'50' the length of the face 4-80 meters (16'), the width, 2-35 

 meters (9-5'), the width of the shoulders 8-6i meters (287'), the 

 length of the middle finger 1-5 meters (5'), that of one ear 2*55 

 meters (8*5'). The halo which surrounds the head has a diameter 

 of 23-4 meters {j^') and each of the 16 figures which appear in it, 

 a length of 2*4 meters (8'). 



The total weight of this Buddha is estimated at 450 tons. In 

 its casting, which did not succeed until after several vain attempts, 

 copper, tin, quicksilver and gold are said to have been used.^ If 

 the quantity of these metals be reckoned as they are given, in 

 kilogrammes and per centage, the alloy will be found as follows : 



Copper 447,273 kg. = 98-06 per centage 

 Tin 7,633 „ = 1-68 



Quicksilver 977 „ = 0*21 

 Gold 227 „ = 0-05 



456,110 =100-00 



and therefore 456 tons as the weight of the metal used. 



The great Buddha of Kamakura which is so often copied (see 

 vol. i. p. 460) is not so large as that of Nara, but far excels it in 

 artistic execution. This bronze figure represents Amida sitting on 

 a lotus flower, but without the aureole. The nobly formed head 

 is most symmetrically built and well proportioned in all its parts. 

 The artist has succeeded in lending to the expression of counten- 

 ance, and to the whole bearing, the blessed peacefulness of Nirvana. 

 The hands lying in the lap with the fingertips touching each other, 

 heighten the indications of restfulness, which are unmistakable. 



This Buddha also, which was cast in 1252 A.D. by Ono Goroye- 

 mon,does not consist of one piece only but was put together from 

 many plates of about three centimeters thickness, with such care 

 and skill, that those seams only can be recognised which have been 

 exposed by the weather during the course of time. Many of the 

 foundation stones of the great building which formerly enclosed 

 this monument are still preserved, and on these stood the sixty- 

 three massive columns of Keaki wood, which supported the roof. 

 This Buddha also consists mainly of copper. Its height is 15-11 

 meters, the circumference at the base 29-6 meters, and the distance 



^ I do not know the chemical analysis. As Japan furnishes no quicksilver 

 and does not use it in other bronzes, its employment in this case is doubly 

 striking. 



