Tetsuro WATSUJI also praised this statue in "Koji Junrei (Pilgrimages to Ancient Temples)" (published in 1919) as the best work of the Tempyo sculptures (sculptures made around the Tempyo era).
和辻哲郎も『古寺巡礼』（大正8年・1919年刊）でこの像を天平彫刻の最高傑作とほめたたえている。