sayū sōshōsei 左右相称性

Lit. "bilateral symmetry." An image whereby the right and left sides of an image are identical. With the practice of contemplating a statue from the front *shōmen kanshōsei 正面観照性 there developed this schematic and abstract form of expression, seen in many statues of the Asuka and Hakuhō periods. The central seated figure of Shaka Nyorai-zō 釈迦如来像 by the sculptor Kuratsuki no Tori 鞍作止利 in Hōryūji *Kondō 法隆寺金堂, Nara, is a good example of this style. The folds in the statue's hanging skirt are carved in an exactly symmetrical pattern. The treatment of the robe hanging down the body and the skirt folds on the attendant Bosatsu-zō 菩薩像 are also symmetrical.