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Exhibition Information |
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Special Exhibit
1,250 Years since the Consecration Ceremony of
the Great Buddha at Tôdai-ji Temple
Sponsored by
Nara National Museum, Tôdai-ji Temple, Asahi Newspapers,
Asahi Broadcasting
April 20 (Sat.) through July 7 (Sun.),
2002, 9:30 am to 5:00 pm
Nara National Museum (tel.: 0742-22-7771)
Closed on May 7 and every Monday except April 29 and May 6 |
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On the ninth day of the fourth month
of 752, in the then capital city of Nara, a great event was held to
celebrate the dedication of the Great Buddha at the temple Tôdai-ji.
The Great Buddha, Vairocana, is the Buddha who not only rules the
universe, but is the universe itself. The Emperor Shômu and
a host of devoted Buddhist men and women each took hold of a long
thread attached to the ceremonial “eye-opening” brush of
the Indian priest Bodhisena in this historic moment. On that day rare
foreign music and dances were performed for the ceremonial dedication.
Magnificent, profound, even comical performances, with a cosmopolitan
flair were given in an atmosphere overflowing with the vibrant colors
of the flowers and the Buddhist banners that filled the temple. The
people who first gazed up at the great Vairocana Buddha on this day
must have felt at one with his world and experienced its harmony.
In the centuries after the Nara Period, the Great
Buddha Hall was burned down twice and struck with other calamities,
however, after every incident that threatened the existence of the
Great Buddha, many people worked together to restore it. Thanks to
their efforts this magnificent image is still with us today.
This year, 2002, marks the 1,250th year since the
consecration ceremony of the Great Buddha. To commemorate this event,
the Nara National Museum is holding an epoch-making exhibition, ULTIMATE
TÔDAI-JI: Incomparable Masterworks from Nara’s Great Eastern
Temple. From internationally-renown collections of Tôdai-ji
and museums around the world, over 200 items, including 25 National
Treasures and 92 Important Cultural Properties have been selected
to introduce Tôdai-ji and to reawaken the knowledge and importance
of its many treasures as part of the heritage of Japanese culture.
Many exhibitions on Tôdai-ji have been held
in the past, however, the scale and quality of this exhibition will
be unparalleled. Among the most prominent features will be items that
are known to most Japanese from their history textbooks, the greatest
masterpieces from Emperor Shômu’s reign, two statues from
the Sangatsu-dôHall, the Standing NikkôBodhisattva
and the Standing GakkôBodhisattva. These National Treasures
will be on display from April 20 to June 2. The Standing Images of
the Four Shitennô Guardians, also designated National
Treasures, will be on display from June 4 to July 7. Visitors will
be able to view these rarely-shown works up close in a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity.
Many other treasures will be shown during this special
exhibition, including the National Treasure portraits, Priest Rôben
(April 20 to June 9), and Priest Shunjô(May 21 to June
30), both of which were crafted in the Kamakura Period by the sculptor
Kaikei. These and numerous other works rarely shown to the public,
such as another National Treasure, Seated Hachiman as a Monk
(June 11 to July 7), will be on display. In addition, many other works
from Tôdai-ji that have gone to foreign collections will be
brought together again in this exhibition, including the sublime Lotus
Hall Mandala (April 20 to May 19), now in the collection of the
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, which will return home for the first time
in twenty years. Many items that recall the grandeur of the consecration
ceremony 1,250 years ago, including 23 Gigaku masks, will also be
on display. This spectacular event will surpass all previous exhibitions
of its kind.
Shigaraki, where the Miho Museum is located, has
a deep connection with the Great Buddha. In 743, Emperor Shômu,
who frequently visited his detached palace, Shigaraki-no-miya,
issued the proclamation that the Great Buddha should be built to promote
the ideal of Buddhism. The nearby Koga Temple was the chosen site,
where the Emperor himself participated in the construction, and the
framework of the Buddha statue is said to have begun to be built.
The Great Buddha of Shigaraki was abandoned for political and other
reasons, and construction was moved to the then capital city of Heijôkyô
resulting in the building of the Great Buddha of Tôdaij-i. The
story of how the construction of the Great Buddha began in Shigaraki
should enrich the experience of visiting this wonderful exhibition.
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Yasuo Inamoto
Nara National Museum
Associate Curator |
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