CHAPTER V
METAL WORK
We have already treated, with some fulness, of the beautiful bronze statues which adorned the old Buddhist temples; but though his highest achievement, these represent only a small part of the work of the Japanese bronze caster. The old temple bells, the incense burners, the great temple lanterns, all were of exquisite workmanship. And the art was also applied to domestic uses, the ordinary cooking utensils, the more ornamental vases, and the dainty bronze mirrors being but a few of its products.
One of the finest and oldest bells is at the temple of To-Dai-ji at Nara. Cast in 732 A.D., it stands 13 feet 6 inches high, the diameter across the rim is 9 feet 1 inch, while the weight of metal is over forty tons.
The method of ringing such a bell is different from that to which we are accustomed. Instead of a loose tongue hung inside, a heavy swing beam is mounted outside the bell, which it strikes on the rim. The vibrations of each stroke are allowed to die away ere the next is struck, and the great waves of sound go pealing for miles over the quiet countryside.
The casting of a temple bell was made the occasion of a great religious festival. A large kiln was built, worshippers attended from all the surrounding country, women casting their ornaments into the melting-pot. The priests announced with a loud voice the successful accomplishment of each stage of the work, and the concluding operations took place amid scenes of great rejoicings.
At To-Dai-ji is also a very fine specimen of a temple lantern, ornamented with beautiful openwork panels; while at the temple of Kofukuji, Nara, is a masterly piece of bronze in the shape of a musical instrument, a sort of gong, called the Kwagen-Kei, surrounded by four twining dragons—a most fantastic but vigorous piece of modelling.
The mirrors of polished bronze are said to have been first cast in the reign of Keiko, about 100 A.D. They are of two kinds—the first fitted with a handle, or with a stand of metal or carved wood; and the second much smaller, often not more than four inches in diameter, with a hole at the back through which a cord passed. The face was burnished, and the back beautifully wrought in designs of great delicacy.