The are a group of large religious statues carved in
bas-relief into a
tuff cliff in Odaka neighborhood of the city of
Minamisōma,
Fukushima Prefecture
Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miya ...
in the
Tōhoku region of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. The site was designated a
National Historic Site of Japan in 1930.
Overview
The statues are in three groups. These statues are believed to have been carved during the early
Heian period, but do not appear in any surviving documentary records, and their history is unknown. In terms of size and time period, they correspond to the
Usuki Stone Buddhas
The are a collection of stone sculptures of Buddhas, in Usuki, Ōita Prefecture, Japan.
History
The Usuki Stone Buddhas were estimated to be carved during the 12th century, and consist of four groups of stone Buddhas. The reason why these ston ...
in
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
but are in much poorer preservation.
* The has a height of 5.5 meters and a width of 15 meters, and consists of four seated images of
Yakushi Nyōrai and other Buddhas, flanked by two
bodhisattva. The carving is the best preserved of the group, and is protected by a chapel. Some traces of yellow and vermilion pigment remains, indicating that this statue was once colorfully painted; however, the face of the main image is largely obliterated.
* The is centered on a seated image of
Senju Kannon with a height of nine meters, surrounded by many smaller images. It is located slightly to the northeast of the Yakushidō Stone Buddha. It was exposed to the elements and is poorly preserved, but in style it is similar to a statue of Kannon found at
Kiyomizu-dera in
Kyoto. The chapel protecting the carving was destroyed by the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake
Eleven or 11 may refer to:
*11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12
* one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11
Literature
* ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn
*''El ...
, but has since been repaired.
* The is located approximately 100 meters to the north of the Yakushi-dō Stone Buddha, but is so badly worn that it is unrecognizable. The outer layers of the carving have completely peeled off, leaving only the core of the image. It is named as a statue of
Amida Nyōrai by tradition.
The site is located approximately 20 minutes on foot from
Momouchi Station
is a railway station in the city of Minamisōma, Fukushima, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Momouchi Station is served by the Jōban Line, and is located 273.5 km from the official starting point of th ...
on the
JR East
The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...
Jōban Line.
See also
*
List of Historic Sites of Japan (Fukushima)
This list is of the Historic Sites of Japan located within the Prefecture of Fukushima.
National Historic Sites
As of 17 December 2021, fifty-four Sites have been designated as being of national significance.
...
References
{{reflist
External links
Minamisoma Cty Tourist Information
Minamisōma
Tourist attractions in Fukushima Prefecture
Buddha statues in Japan
Historic Sites of Japan
Buddhist archaeological sites in Japan