Carved into the Living Rock: Japanese Stone Buddhist Sculpture and Site in the Heian and Kamakura Periods

Abstract

This dissertation examines cliff-carved Buddhist stone sculpture through four site-specific case studies: two from the Heian period (794-1185) and two from the Kamakura period, including both central and peripheral sites in Nara Prefecture, the eastern Kantō region, and eastern Kyushu. The discussion of each site will focus on the role these sculptures played in the creation of a local sacred geography and the relationship between each site and its local pilgrimage practices, ranging from small-scale individual practice to the development of large-scale, multi-temple pilgrimage routes in the Edo period.