{"id":828,"date":"2011-08-28T07:41:45","date_gmt":"2011-08-28T12:41:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/Buddha-Statues\/?p=828"},"modified":"2020-07-20T05:18:39","modified_gmt":"2020-07-20T10:18:39","slug":"buddha-statues-japan-august-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/Buddha-Statues\/?p=828","title":{"rendered":"Buddha Statues & Japan – August 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Hello Readers,
\nLots to report this month.<\/p>\n

Kamakura Bonbori Festival<\/h2>\n

https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/html\/bonbori.html<\/a>
\nEnjoy nearly 140 photos of paper lantern artwork. Bonbori \u96ea\u6d1e is a Japanese paper lantern. In August\u00a0each year, bonbori lanterns are lit in the sacred precincts of the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in central Kamakura city. Other cities around\u00a0Japan have similar lantern festivals. In Kamakura, lanterns are submitted by many artists, novelists and famous people. Roughly 400 bonbori with\u00a0hand-drawn pictures, calligraphy, and poems are displayed in the shrine’s precincts during the festival.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Some of the Bonbori artwork in Kamakura 2011. Click image for slideshow.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n

Becoming a Shint\u014d Priest or Priestess<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
https<\/a>:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/html\/shinto-priesthood.html<\/a><\/div>\n
\n
To work officially as a priest in modern Japan, individuals must pass examinations given by the Association of Shint\u014d Shrines (Jinja Honch\u014d\u795e\u793e\u672c\u5e81) — these tests are open to both men and women who want to become Shint\u014d priests. But until modern times, there was no standardized\u00a0certification or qualification system. <\/em>Throughout most of Japan’s recorded history, appointments to the priesthood were controlled by the\u00a0imperial court, priestly family lineages, and various Shint\u014d schools. Essentially, the Shint\u014d priesthood was a hereditary profession — passed\u00a0along from father to son — until the Meiji Era (1868-1912). On 14 May 1871, the Meiji government issued orders abolishing the hereditary\u00a0system and private ownership of shrines. Theoretically, these ordinances should have eradicated the hereditary system, but in practice, priests\u00a0were still able to inherit their positions by applying for and receiving the approval of authorities.\u00a0Before World War II, it was virtually unheard of for a Shinto priest to be a woman. World War II apparently gave a boost to female priests, with wives and daughters replacing the missing menfolk. Also, today, with the lack of interest in religion, and with families growing smaller, shrine priesthoods have had to open up to daughters to keep the priesthood in the family.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>

Shinto priest & miko (female attendants) at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu in Kamakura<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Current Exhibitions & In The News<\/h2>\n

\u00bb Tokyo National Museum.\u00a0July 20 through September 25, 2011 . <\/strong>Kukai’s World: The Arts of Esoteric Buddhism.<\/a> If you are in or near Tokyo,\u00a0don’t miss this exhibition. I recently attended this exhibition. What a splendid\u00a0experience. The 99 pieces (of which 98 are national treasures or ICPs) came primarily from Toji Temple. What a delight. And this time the museum\u00a0got innovative — many of the pieces could be enjoyed “in the round,” letting viewers walk behind the pieces to view the multiple heads and\u00a0hanging robes and platforms in their entirety. This exhibition introduces masterpieces of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism, with a focus on the objects brought by Kukai from Tang China; works directly related to him (such as his writings and sculptures produced under his instruction). \u00a0Even Tendai’s much neglected Saicho makes an appearance (calligraphic scroll).\u00a0Due to massive PR efforts, this exhibition is extremely popular. The place was packed on Wednesday (when I visited), requiring one to wait\u00a0patiently in line to view the 99 pieces. It is also OBON here, so that too explains the multitude. It took me and my friend (an esoteric\u00a0practitioner) over three hours to complete the circuit — nonetheless, it was extremely impressive.<\/p>\n

\u00bb Kyoto National Museum. July 16 to August 28, 2011. \u00a0Now Ended.<\/strong>
\nCreatures’ Paradise: Animals in Art from the Kyoto National Museum.
\n<\/a>See review of this exhibit entitled Japan’s interpretation of\u00a0all creatures great and small.
\n<\/a>By SACHIKO TAMASHIGE. \u00a0Special to The Japan Times.<\/p>\n

\u00bb Nara National Museum.\u00a0Special Exhibitions Page.<\/a> On to India! Xuanzang’s 30,000-Kilometer Trek. July 16 through August 28, 2011. Secret Treasures & Sacred Image of Yoki Tenman Jinja: “The Hallowed Yoki Shrine at Hatsuse.” July 16 through August 28.<\/p>\n

\u00bb\u00a0Bronze sculptures by UK artist Sukhi Barber
\n<\/strong>https:\/\/sukhibarber.com<\/a>.\u00a0She spent twelve years in Kathmandu (Nepal) studying Buddhist philosophy\u00a0and lost-wax bronze casting.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

UK artist Sukhi Barber<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00bb\u00a0Japanese brothers who championed Korean ceramics.<\/strong>
\nBy SACHIKO TAMASHIGE. Special to The Japan Times
\n https:\/\/search.japantimes.co.jp\/mail\/fa20110825a1.html<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00bb\u00a0Buddhist Art News <\/strong>https:\/\/buddhistartnews.wordpress.com<\/a>
\nNews on Buddhist art, architecture, archaeology, music, dance, and academia.
\nWritten and updated regularly by Jonathan Ciliberto and John Johnston. Includes
\nreviews of new books related to Buddhist art.<\/p>\n

\u00bb\u00a0IBM helping National Diet Library of Japan digitize its literary artifacts on massive scale. <\/strong>https:\/\/rdmag.com\/News\/Feeds\/2011\/08\/information-tech-ibm-develops-full-text-digitization-system-for-nat\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00bb\u00a0Mask maker keeping Shimane tradition alive | The Japan Times Online<\/strong>
\nEnglishman’s skills help sustain 17th-century Iwami-Kagura ceremonial dance rituals.
\n https:\/\/search.japantimes.co.jp\/mail\/fl20110827a1.html<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00bb\u00a01893 expo’s historic Japanese Phoenix panels reunited, restored.<\/strong>
\n https:\/\/southtownstar.suntimes.com\/7068303-522\/1893-expos-historic-japanese-panels-reunited-restored.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Enjoy
\nmark from kamakura<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hello Readers, Lots to report this month. Kamakura Bonbori Festival https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/html\/bonbori.html Enjoy nearly 140 photos of paper lantern artwork. Bonbori \u96ea\u6d1e is a Japanese paper lantern. In August\u00a0each year, bonbori lanterns are lit in the sacred precincts of the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in central Kamakura city. Other cities around\u00a0Japan have similar lantern festivals. In Kamakura, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,15,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bonbori","category-shinto-topics","category-buddha-and-buddhist-statues-in-japan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/Buddha-Statues\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/Buddha-Statues\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/Buddha-Statues\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/Buddha-Statues\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/Buddha-Statues\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=828"}],"version-history":[{"count":76,"href":"https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/Buddha-Statues\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1492,"href":"https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/Buddha-Statues\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828\/revisions\/1492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/Buddha-Statues\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/Buddha-Statues\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onmarkproductions.com\/Buddha-Statues\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}