Busshari and fukuzō: Buddhist relics and hidden repositories of Hōryū-ji

Abstract

Horyu-ji in Ikaruga-cho, Nara Prefecture, is believed to have been built on the order of Prince Shitoku in 607. Then known as Ikaruga-dera MiL.-, it was destroyed in a disastrous fire about sixty years later and rebuilt as Horyu-ji on a different spot toward the end of the century. Among its many articles of religious significance are the finest set of relics (busshari aL 1J ) of any early Japanese temple. In addition, there exists good textual documentation on three sets of holy objects buried at some later but quite uncertain time or times. The Japanese term for these sets,fukuzo tkl (concealed stores or hidden repositories), offers little clue as to their specific use, but it seems plausible to regard them as protection for the existing relics and the associated relic-enhancing goods, and as reserve sets in case the original relics should disappear. Their placement can be accepted as evidence of their intent, and the earlier experience with Ikaruga-dera might well have justified such precautions. The practice of concealing substitute relics or relic-protecting articles is virtually undocumented elsewhere, and for a long period even the Horyu-ji deposits received little scholarly attention. The discovery in 1986 of an immense stone slab marking the location of one of the hidden sets raised interest in the problem. My intention here is to reconstruct the characteristics and the place of deposit of the Ikaruga-dera relics, date the HOryf-ji relics on the basis of changing fashions in relic worship, and suggest an occasion and reason for the burial of the hidden repositories in light of Horyu-ji's history.