The Ashura statue in Kofuku-ji Temple was made of Urushi and linen cloth. Urushi was quite expensive and it ceased to be used to make Buddhist statues after the Heian period in the late 8th century.
Professor Takayuki Yamasaki spent 5 months to make a replica of the Ashura statue using the same method that was employed in the past. With the help of the latest technology, he was able to identify what other material was combined with Urushi in order to make the smooth surface.
The first part of this video shows you how he made the replica.
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