誕生仏たんじょうぶつ

  • 日本
  • 飛鳥時代
  • 7c
  • 青銅鍍金

悉多太子(しっだたいし:のちの釈迦)が摩耶夫人(まやぶにん)から誕生したあと七歩あゆんで「天上天下唯我独尊」と獅子吼している姿とされる。灌仏会の本尊。頭部は螺髪をあらわさない素髪とし、頭上に挙げられた右手が第二・三指を伸ばし、いっぽうまっすぐに下げられた右手は腰脇に当てて全指を伸ばす。上半身裸形だが、下半身には足のくるぶしまで垂れる裙を着す。
 面長な顔であるが、鼻や口唇を小づくりとして童顔とし、簡素な彫りの体部とともに愛くるしいこどもの形姿をあらわしている。長く垂れる裙(くん)を着すところや浅い衣文は上代には少ないが、その童形表現は飛鳥時代後期(いわゆる白鳳時代)に一般的なことを考えると、その頃までさかのぼることを示唆している。

Catalogue Entry

This figure depicts Prince Siddhartha (later Sakyamuni) just after being born to Queen Maya, when, according to legend, he took seven steps and proclaimed “Holy am I alone throughout heaven and earth.” Such depictions of the infant Buddha are the principal images for the annual celebration of the Buddha’s birthday. In this case, the head is rendered with a simple hairstyle rather than the rahotsu spiral curls common in Buddha iconography. The infant Buddha holds his right hand up above his head with just the forefinger and middle finger extended, and his left hand straight down along his side with all fingers extended. The upper body is naked, and from the waist down he wears an ankle-length kun. The face is long but its undersize nose and lips give it a babyish look that combines with the simply sculpted body to create the effect of an endearing child. Aspects such as the long kun and the shallowness of the kun folds are rare among pre-Heian works, but since childlike depictions were common in the late Asuka period (the Hakuho period), there is a possibility that this work may date as far back as that time.