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1 A pendant *gatou 瓦当, found on semi-circular convex eave-end tiles *nokimarugawara 軒丸瓦, used on temples from around 600-1300. The patterns include: a combination of single petals *soben rengemon 素弁蓮華文; a single petal with leaf sprouts added *tanben rengemon 単弁蓮華文; double petals *fukuben rengemon 複弁蓮華文；or a double layered petal *juuben rengemon 重弁蓮華文. Although the lotus motif can be found after 1300, it was being widely replaced by other motifs by the beginning of the 11c. The lotus petal motif is generally associated with temple roof tiles. However, some scholars think eave-end tiles with this motif began to be used for the roofs of palaces and other government buildings by the end of the 7c. This is corroborated by the tiles unearthed at the site of the palace in the Fujiwara 藤原 capital, in Nara. After the capital was moved to Heijou 平城, Nara, nearly 150 variations of the lotus petal motif developed. There are a number of accompanying motifs including: seed pod *chuubou 中房, with a varying number of seeds; saw-tooth patterns *kyoshimon 鋸歯文, and bead patterns *shumon 珠文. These patterns have been discovered on the circular pendants attached to some nokimarugawara.
2 Lotus petals which are used as decorative motifs in Buddhist imagery. They are used on *kouhai 光背 (mandalas or halos), but most often they appear in *rengeza 蓮華座, the lotus pedestal upon which a Buddhist image may sit or stand. Although lotus petals are found in various places on rengeza, such as in the *kaeribana 反花 (downturned lotus petals) and the *keban 華盤 (flower platter) both in the middle part of the base, the term renben usually refers to the individual petals in the upper register of the base.
Renben may be inserted into the *renniku 蓮肉 (lotus center) or into the *fukijiku 葺軸, a dish-shaped piece of wood with holes placed just below the renniku. The fukijiku was used in the Nara and early Heian periods, but after the mid-Heian period, it was usually omitted and lotus petals were inserted directly into the renniku.
The two main methods of attaching lotus petals to the base are called sashiren 挿蓮 and fukiren 葺蓮. The sashiren technique inserts petals into holes cut into the renniku or fukijiku using metal tenons called *ashihozo 足ほぞ. An example is found in the base of the 9c Nyoirin Kannonzou 如意輪観音像 at Kanshinji 観心寺 in Osaka. The fukiren (also called uchiren 打蓮) technique used nails or drove the petals directly into the renniku. This technique was often used in the late Heian and Kamakura periods. In the bases of the late Heian period, examples of *Amida 阿弥陀 from Houkaiji 法界寺, Joururiji 浄瑠璃寺, Houkongouin 法金剛院, all in Kyoto, the lotus petals were were attached to the renniku using nails or pegs. Visually, these lotus bases seem more open than the earlier bases, such as the pedestal of the Amida Nyoraizou 阿弥陀如来像 (1053) in the Byoudouin *Hououdou 平等院鳳凰堂 in Kyoto. In the kiritsuke renben 切付蓮弁 style, the lotus petals were carved directly into the surface of the renniku. This technique is used in the 9c image of the *Yakushi 薬師 from Shoujiji 勝持寺 in Kyoto.
There are two types of arrangements for the lotus petals of standard and complex rengeza. *Gyorinbuki 魚鱗葺, in which rows of petals alternate like fish-scales, was widely used in the Nara period and later in the Kamakura period. A well-known example is found in the 8c Juuichimen Kannonzou 十一面観音像 at Shourinji 聖林寺 in Nara. *Fukiyoseshiki 吹寄式, in which the petals are arranged in rows evenly on top of one another, was popular in the late Heian period. The bases of the Amida at Houkaiji and the Byoudouin have such arrangements. At some point, the arrangement of the Byoudouin petals was changed to gyorinbuki, but during 1954-5 repairs were carried out and the original arrangement of fukiyoseshiki was restored. In the Kamakura period, the gyorinbuki arrangement again became popular. The Mirokubutsuou 弥勒仏像 (ca. 1212) by Unkei 運慶 in Koufukuji Hokuendou 興福寺北円堂, Nara, is one well-known example.
There are several types of lotus petal. A plain lotus petal called soben 素弁 was often used in the Asuka period. The tanshiben 単子弁 (also simply tanben 単弁) is a petal on which a leaf bud shiyou 子葉 is rendered and is often used for small gilt bronze images dating from the Nara period. Fukuben 複弁 is a petal with two leaf buds. Confusingly, the same term tanben is used to refer to a single lotus petal and double lotus petals where two petals are set together. The kurumigata renben 胡桃形蓮弁 is a petal in the shape of a walnut usually with two leaf buds carved into it. An example is found in the sculptures of the so-called *Roku Kannon 六観音 at Houryuuji 法隆寺, dating from the 8c. In the Kamakura period lotus petals had ridges and this is considered to be an influence from the Chinese Song style. The Yakushi sanzonzou 薬師三尊像 from Kakuonji 覚園寺 in Kanagawa prefecture is a well-known example.
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