浮(う)き彫(ぼ)り

うきぼり
noun
relief (sculpture); bringing to light
artcognition
1. relief, raised carving
A sculptural technique where figures are carved so they project from a flat background. Includes bas-relief and high relief.
神殿(しんでん)の壁(かべ)に浮(う)き彫(ぼ)りがある。
There are relief carvings on the temple walls.
この装飾(そうしょく)は大理石(だいりせき)の浮(う)き彫(ぼ)りで作(つく)られている。
This decoration is made from marble relief carving.
2. bringing to light, highlighting, making clear
Making a problem, issue, or fact stand out clearly, as if in relief. Most commonly used in the figurative expression 浮(う)き彫(ぼ)りになる (to come to light, to be highlighted).
問題点(もんだいてん)が浮(う)き彫(ぼ)りになった。
The problems were brought to light.
今回(こんかい)の事件(じけん)で制度(せいど)の欠陥(けっかん)が浮(う)き彫(ぼ)りになった。
This incident brought the flaws in the system to light.
調査(ちょうさ)によって地域(ちいき)間(かん)の格差(かくさ)が浮(う)き彫(ぼ)りにされた。
The survey highlighted the disparity between regions.
災害(さいがい)が起(お)きるたびに、インフラの脆弱(ぜいじゃく)さが浮(う)き彫(ぼ)りになる。
Every time a disaster occurs, the fragility of the infrastructure is highlighted.

Usage

The figurative sense (sense 2) is far more common in modern Japanese. The key expression is 浮(う)き彫(ぼ)りになる (to become highlighted / to come to light) or 浮(う)き彫(ぼ)りにする (to bring to light / to highlight). Very common in news and formal writing when discussing problems, issues, or facts that have become apparent.

Common collocations

Related Words

Synonym: 浮(う)かび上(あ)がる (to emerge, to come to light)
general
Added 2026.2.24 18:01 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
13000/13305_ukibori