This sculpture is carved from a solid stone of talc. The body is hollowed out from the base, creating a cavity for storing a scroll of the Lotus Sutra. Inscribed across the chest and expanding around to the back of the torso are the identity of this deity, Maitreya Buddha; a reign name and year; and the names of those who dedicated and produced this statue. On the top surface of the lotus pedestal, the nine levels of rebirth are inscribed in a diagram of the nine classes and nine rebirths arranged in circles. 
Object label 

This statue has been carved from a solid block of stone, with a large cavity hollowed out from the base to inter a sutra within it. The names of its sculptor and those who dedicated it have been etched into the robe over the chest and on the statue’s back, along with their prayers for karmic ties to Miroku. Circles are inscribed into the upper surface of the lotus pedestal to signify the nine grades of rebirth in the Pure Land.
 
YOSHIZAWA SatoruEnglish by Mary Lewine 
Buddhist Art Paradise: Jewels of the Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 2021.7, p.346, no.63. 

This statue was excavated from the Hachigatamine sutra mound on Iki island located in the Genkai-nada. The figure was carved from a single piece of talc rock. Sutra scrolls were contained in a square hole at the bottom of the statue, which means that this statue was made as a container for sutra scrolls—which is a rare case. An inscription is engraved into the surface of the statue between the shoulder and the hip part. The inscription begins with the statement of the date, which is 1071, and asserts that the Hoke-kyō (Lotus sutra) had been enclosed in this statue with the expectation that Miroku (Maitreya) would emerge in this world in the future. The figure's hair is curly. Both of its shoulders and arms are covered by the garment, and its hands display the Hokkai-jōin finger sign. The figure is seated cross-legged with its right leg on top. The lotus seat was made from a separate slab of talc rock. The leg part of this statue is small because talc had to be used economically. But the modeling of the body is by and large robust, revealing the characteristics of statues made during the first half of the late Heian period. One noteworthy aspect of this statue is that the symbols of the nine classes of people after death and the names of some people are carved into the top of the lotus seat, implying the mixture of the worship of Miroku and Amida (Amitābha). 
Masterpieces of Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 1993, p.134, no.108.