Digital Restoration of the Nara Great Buddha

This chapter describes the attempt to digitally restore the original appearance of cultural heritage objects. The chapter focuses on the Nara Great Buddha statue in the Todaiji Temple, Japan. The Todaiji Temple has been destroyed by natural and artificial disasters a number of times. The current building and statue were rebuilt hundreds of years ago, but their shapes are different from the original shapes. In order to recreate their original appearance, we have utilized 3D geometric models that are obtained from the current Buddha statue. We have also recreated the appearance of buildings by using laser range sensors. The original Great Buddha statue was reconstructed by morphing the model of the current Great Buddha statue based on a literature survey. The Buddha’s Palace was reconstructed by assembling partial 3D models of the other temple that was constructed during the same period as the Todaiji temple. By combining the original Buddha’s Palace and the original Buddha statue, we created the virtual appearance of the Nara Great Buddha at the time it was created.