Updates to Buddha Statue eStore<\/h2>\n
\u00bb Special Year-End Clearance Sale Continues (33% to 70% Off). \u00bb Unkei — Medieval Esoteric Buddhism & the Kamakura Bakufu Exhibition of Unkei’s Work from Jan. 21 through March 6th<\/p><\/div>\n \u00bb Secrets of the Silk Road Exhibition \u00bb Nara National Museum \u00bb Kyoto National Museum \u00bb Tokyo National Museum<\/strong> \u00bb February 3.<\/strong> Bean-Throwing Ceremony (Setsubon \u7bc0\u5206). February 3 each year. A major event, but not a national holiday. People nationwide throw beans outside their home and inside their home chanting Oni wa Soto, Fuku wa Uchi \u9b3c\u306f\u5916\u798f\u306f\u5185 (Get out Ogre! Come in Happiness!). See Setsubun in Japan; A Lunar New Years’ Eve by Steve Renshaw and Saori Ihara.<\/a><\/p>\n \u00bb February 11.\u00a0<\/strong> National Founding Day, Kenkoku Kinen no Hi \u5efa\u56fd\u8a18\u5ff5\u306e\u65e5. National Holiday. Established in 1966.<\/p>\n \u00bb March 3.<\/strong> Girl’s Festival or Doll Festival, Hina Matsuri \u96db\u796d\u308a or Momo no Sekku \u6843\u306e\u7bc0\u53e5 (Peach Festival). A major event, but not a national holiday. Geared towards girls, the first sekku (seasonal festival) after the birth of a baby girl, it is a day when dolls are set out for display and meant to symbolize the family’s wish that their daughter will be healthy, free from calamity, and able to obtain a happy life with a good husband. Today called the Peach festival, as March is the season when peach flowers are in bloom.<\/p>\n \u00bb March 20 or 21.<\/strong> Vernal Equinox Day, Shunbun no Hi \u6625\u5206\u306e\u65e5. Around March 20 or 21. National Holiday. Established in 1948, but in former times a very important day for the imperial family and court.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.buddhist-artwork.com\/html\/special-deals.html<\/a><\/p>\nCurrent & Upcoming Exhibitions<\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>Special Exhibition from Jan. 21 through March 6th at the Kanagawa Prefectural Kanazawa Bunko Museum \u795e\u5948\u5ddd\u770c\u7acb\u91d1\u6ca2\u6587\u5eab in Yokohama. If you live in Japan, don’t miss this exhibition,<\/em><\/strong> which features seven carvings by Unkei, one of Japan’s most lauded sculptors from the Kamakura-period (13th century). It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of Unkei to the world of Japanese Buddhist statuary. He is the undisputed champion of Kamakura-era statuary, which featured a new realism, heroic spirit, power and passion, muscular bodies, plump fleshy faces, and virile strength. Learn much more about\u00a0Unkei at the A-to-Z Dictionary.<\/a> \u00a0The statues on display include:<\/p>\n\n
\n** On display until Feb. 27 **<\/li>\n
\n** On display until Feb. 27 **<\/li>\n
\nCarved by Unkei’s son Tankei \u6e5b\u6176under Unkei’s guidance.)<\/li>\n
\n** On display from Feb. 8 to March 6. **<\/li>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/Buddha-Statues\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/unkei-exhibition-master.jpg\" "\\"unkei-exhibition-master\\"")
<\/a>
\n<\/strong>http:\/\/penn.museum\/china-secrets-of-the-silk-road.html<\/a>
\nFebruary 5 to June 5, 2011. Penn Museum (Philadelphia). Secrets of the Silk Road includes two mummies and the full burial trappings of a third, representative of three different periods of time. In addition to the mummies, the exhibition features more than 100 objects that offer insight into the long and diverse cultural heritage of Central Asia\u2014a crossroads of the Silk Road.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>http:\/\/www.narahaku.go.jp\/english\/exhibition\/special.html<\/a>
\nFebruary 5 to March 14, Treasures of T\u014ddaiji’s Omizutori Ritual. The Omizutori ritual is famed for signaling the advent of spring, but the ceremony is actually called a Shuni-e, which is a ritual of repentance performed before the J\u016bichimen (11-Headed) Kannon. The Omizutori ritual was first performed by monk Jitch\u016b in 752 AD. Sculpture, paintings, calligraphy, works of applied art, and archaeological artifacts associated with the ritual will be on display.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>http:\/\/www.kyohaku.go.jp\/eng\/index_top.html<\/a>
\nJanuary 8 to February 20, 2011. Spirit of Brush and Ink: the World of Chinese Paintings and Calligraphies.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.tnm.go.jp\/en\/servlet\/Con?pageId=A01&processId=02&event_id=7966<\/a>
\nJanuary 18 to March 6, 2011. Hirayama Ikuo and the Preservation of Buddhist Heritage.<\/p>\nWhat’s Happening in Japan in Jan. 2011<\/h2>\n