Yakushiji Temple: Master Xuanzang

JAPAN, Nara; Kamakura period

This statue of the Chinese Master Xuanzang was only recently discovered in a repository at Yakushiji Temple and dates from the 13th century. After restoration, it was housed in the Great Treasure Hall of the temple. The status is carved from wood, then painted, and has inlays of semi-precious stones for eyes. The style of the sculpture is characteristic of the Kamakura period (1185–1333). In the left hand, Xuanzang holds a Sanskrit sutra manuscript. He gestures as if he was translating sutras at his translation center in Chang’an (present day Xi’an), after he had returned to China. The right hand is held palm forward with thumb, index, and middle finger raised. The figure gazes authoritatively, and sits cross-legged upon a meditation cloth placed on a rectangular teaching platform with a slatted backrest.