Abstract
Abstract
Beginning with Asukadera, a large number of temples were built in Asuka during the Asuka period, when the imperial palace was located in that region. Among these, there are many for which the identity of the founder is still unclear. The temple at Okuyama Kume is one such example. This ancient temple was built in the central portion of the Asuka River basin, and a type of eave tile used for its roof, bearing a simple lotus blossom design with the inflection of the petal ends represented by small dots, is widely known as the" Okuyama Kume temple style." As tiles found at this temple also include items made from the same molds as tiles used in the initial phases of Asukadera and Toyuradera, the temple is thought to have belonged to a collateral line of the Soga clan; further, based upon the recovery in recent investigations of an ink-inscribed vessel bearing a temple name, it is presumed that the site was called" Oharidadera, " and that Oharida no Omi was the probable founder.
In the research conducted to date, however, the relationship between the founder of this temple and the kilns which produced the tiles still appears inadequately examined. This paper accordingly attempts a consideration of this problem, giving weight to links with the kilns which supplied eave tiles for the construction of the temple at Okuyama Kume. From this, based on the relation to the locations of the kilns and the clans which owned them, it is proposed that temple's founder was Sakaibe no Omi Marise, regarded as the younger brother of Soga no Umako, rather than Oharida no Omi. In addition, this paper takes up the question of the historical significance of the distribution of duplicate tiles made from the same mold, which are prominently seen in ancient temples of this period.
