exquisite canopy

Amidanyora and the canopy

The Yomiuri Shimbun, September 23, 2006

Kyoto, Japan -- Visitors look at part of a canopy at the Byodo-in Museum in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, on Friday. Part of a canopy that usually hangs over a 950-year-old Buddhist statue was opened for public display Friday for the first time.

The Amidanyorai seated statue at Byodo-in temple's Hoodo hall in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, and its canopy are designated as national treasures at the temple, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The canopy, which was made in 1053, was removed from the ceiling for a major restoration project, the first such work in about 100 years. The two-tiered canopy consists of a flower-shaped part and box-shaped part, and usually hangs six meters above the ground directly over the statue. It is considered to be the oldest existing canopy in the country.

A part of the box-shaped section, which measures 1.3 meters tall, 4.8 meters long and 4.6 meters wide, will be exhibited until Dec. 11 at the Byodo-in Museum, where visitors can take a close look at its glided arabesque carvings.

Monsho Kamii, head priest of the temple, said: "This will be the first and last time the beauty of the Heian dynasty will be seen so closely. The canopy was created in the hope of spreading the Buddha's salvation equally, far and wide all across the world."