X-ray imaging of Ashura sculpture

Japan is celebrating the 1,300th anniversary of Kohfukuji Temple in Nara. The temple's sculpture of Ashura, one of the greatest treasures of the early to mid-7th century, is on exhibition at Kyushu National Museum in September. The exhibition features some X-ray imaging results of non-destructive observation of the interior of the sculpture. The images establish that the sculpture is still in good condition and also give a lot of information on the materials and methods used in its creation. Information on Ashura is available at the following Web page, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asura_(Buddhism)