igarakuri　鋳繰

Also ikarakuri. A method of casting metal statues by joining several sections. In the case of a large statue it was difficult to cast the entire form in a single piece, so parts were cast separately and then joined together. The head, hands, torso, and so on were cast separately, or the statue may have been divided vertically. The most common technique, however, was to divide the statue in several horizontal sections and to join these together working upward from the lowest piece. One method used to secure the pieces was by means of projections from the lower sections.