Seated Shakyamuni Tathāgata (one of the Tower-Based Four Buddhas)

Wood-core dry-lacquer construction; lacquer foil · Nara period · 8th century · Saidaiji, Nara

A Nara-era Buddha that has looked out from a pagoda for a thousand years; the name "Shakyamuni," however, was only fixed in the Kamakura period.

Exhibition: Celebrating 1250 Years Since the Birth of the Great Master Kūkai: Kūkai and the Treasures of Shingon Buddhism — Tokyo National Museum · 2026-07-14 – 2026-09-06