Tōdaiji: The Eastern Great Temple in Japan

Ancient Chinese influences in modern day Japan China. Throughout the ages, China has proven to be a country that has a society that is unique in the known world. Culturally, politically, China has its own way for everything, and this way has spread across the globe. In modern day, China has distinctive influences in the Western world, but the spread of Chinese civilization started in the surrounding Asian countries. Almost all countries were reached by land and were handed the Chinese ideas through war; all but one.

The role of tradition within religion in medieval Japanese society was of great significance. Shinto and Zen Buddhism were two of the major religions practiced in medieval Japan. Shinto was mainly concerned with daily life, while Zen Buddhism prepared the people for the life to come. The samurai also followed an important code called Bushido, a form of warrior philosophy. The ancient Japanese religions helped people understand the universe and also provided a connection between the physical world on earth and the spiritual world.

The Meditating Buddha or Seated Buddha from Gandhara is an early statue of Buddha from Gandhara, Pakistan. This work of art is from the Culture of Buddhism and was made around the 2nd or 3rd century. Buddhism still exists today and is one of the leading religions in the world, which explains why the statue is still well known to this day and why it is still represented over and over again throughout history. The statue is now located in Room 33, British Museum in London.

Introduced by a mission from Korea in 552 C.E., Buddhism has long been a central theme in Japanese artwork. Since the king of Paekche, a kingdom in the South East of the Korean peninsula, first gave the Japanese emperor a bronze Buddha statue, the Buddhist art forms that were periodically introduced from China and Korea were tempered in the crucible of local custom and usage, to yield a rich tradition of religious art.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization the sculpture “Peace Statue” (Heiwa Kinen-zo) was built by Nagasaki sculptor Seibou Kitamura in 1955. This 9.7 meter high statue is made of Bronze and has been placed on a 3.9 meter base; the statue weighs about 30 tons. The statue’s right hand is pointed toward the sky while his left hand is pointed horizontally from his body in a flat handed gesture. The figure itself is a muscular, blue, shirtless man sitting in a peaceful position with one leg under him as he sits on a pedestal. The figure’s eyes are closed within a face that does not look Japanese. This statue is more than just a work of art; it is a monument to those lost during a horrible event in mankind’s history.

Showa: The Japan of Hirohito, edited by Carol Gluck and Stephen R. Graubard, seeks to find the answers to many questions that are commonly asked about Japan and its history. As stated in the title, this book focuses on the Hirohito era in Japanese history from 1926 to 1989. In the Introduction, Gluck states that there were two main issues for Japan in the twentieth century, “how Japan came to aggressive war and then to macroeconomic might” (xi). The unstable relationship between Japan and the United States is also an underlying theme of the book. The three chapters to be examined in this paper are, “The Useful War,” “The People Who Invented the Mechanical Nightingale,” and “Japan Meets the United States for the Second Time.”

Japan was ultimately beneficial over its time span of its existence because of its many advances and benefits to the people who were a part of the empire. Though there were negative and harmful aspects of its rule, the good of the empire outweighed the bad. The Japanese were among the last to develop a complex society and completely isolated itself from outside influence. An era occurred where they began to borrow many things from China. They adopted their writing and imitated their literature. By the late 1800s, however, an imperial restoration occurred with Commander Perry in charge . In order to stop westernization in Japan, the country adopted western culture. The Empire of Japan emerged and was more reformed than ever. By rapidly expanding under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei (“Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Army”), Japan began its journey to beginning a world power. Japan began to seek profits overseas increasing their exposure to the outside world and their cultures. With all of these advancements, the overall success and benefit to its people of the empire of Imperial Japan came from its militarization.

The long, battle-weary, four hundred year period from the late twelfth century through the Kamakura period (1185-1333), Muromachi period (1336-1573), and well into the sixteenth century is referred to as Japan’s medieval period. The imperial government’s authority was deteriorating, the provinces were in chaos as warrior clans fought amongst themselves, and regional military chieftains challenged the imperial government for the right to rule. Medieval Japan saw the development of feudalism and a militaristic society led by samurai clans. The Gempei War, Shokyu War, Mongol Invasions, Kemmu Restoration, and The Onin War are five key turning points in Japan’s transition from a centralized imperial government to feudalism. These conflicts also demonstrate the evolution of the samurai ethos.

The Hsi Lai Buddhist temple is located in Hacienda Heights and is the largest Buddhist temple in the West. The building was constructed to be a religious site by a Buddhist organization in Taiwan. The first thing that catches the attention, is the Chinese architecture of the temple and all of the Chinese words on the outside of the temple. The words on the four pillars of the gate, represent the four bodhisattva vows the Buddhists take to complete

Sayre the author says, “The Buddha is the most extensive collection of large-scale sculptures in the world and can be found an hour north of New York City in the lower Hudson Valley at Storm King Art Center (“A World of Art”). Zhang seems to like the traditional aspects of chinses culture, because he re-used an ash material form other artists, to create his own sculpture. The techniques he used to create the sculpture is casting, assemblage, and construction. Without using these three additive techniques of sculpting, the artwork wouldn’t have been fragile, and not overwhelming in size. The subject of the “three Legged-Buddha” is another conflict with the governmental rules and regulations, and it has drawn a lot of attention due to its strong message that it conveys. When I initially examined the art piece for the first time, it looked like a huge dismantled, three legged human figure. I thought it was a symbol for keeping your body in better shape over your mind. The most amazing part of the sculpture is how extremely large it is compared to the electrocution sculpture. After reading and interpreting the sculpture it struck me that it was made for ceremonial gathering, where incense placed and burned from inside of the sculpture, and pours out of the head. I think that the artist was trying to involve the visitors in his sculpture. Since Zhang Huan

This unique temple is the 61st temple of the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) and is one of fifteen BCA temples in the Southern District. The Buddhist Churches of America represent a specific denomination of the Buddhist religion known as Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, a religion originally founded in Kyoto, Japan.

The cuirass and sleeves were from the late 16th century, the helmet from the 17th century and the remainder was from the 18th-19th century.

The history of japan goes back in time to the early 800s. It went through many eras and periods of time under different rules and situations and continued to evolve in culture, politics, ideologies and all different aspects. A period of time where japan was known for its peace, prosperity, growing economic stability, cultural productivity and had the last feudal Japanese government is the Tokugawa Shogunate, also known as Tokugawa Bakufu and Edo Bakufu. It was founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu the first shogun (general) of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603 and lasted until the Meiji restoration took over in 1868. As any other nation in history. The Edo period, lasting for more than two centuries, went through many changes through time. The last decade

Buddhism began to dominate Japanese culture during the Heian period from 794 C.E. to 1185 C.E. and affected both spiritual and political issues in Japan. For example, every time an emperor died during this period, the capital would have to move, as the people were superstitious. This period is also marked by Chinese influence with the adoption of Buddhism in Japan and ideally planned cities. The Head of the Buddha was made during the twelfth century and The Head of the Bodhisattva was made circa 1053 C.E. These two pieces fit into this time period stylistically, as they relate to Buddhist ideals during the Heian period. These sculptures demonstrate their nature through their subject matters, their location of display, their form, style,

Portrait of an Arhat (Rakan) was created in Edo period of the Japanese art culture. This period started in 1615-1868 when culture expression started to really blossom for the Japanese culture (Singer). From statues, lavish paintings, and religion the art speaks vibrant vibrations. This culturally diverse period gets its name from the city of Edo, known as Tokyo modern day. Which became the headquarters of the government when Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542 – 1616) unified the country (Department of Asian Art). The Tokugawa regime was started in 1603, when the emperor, in “recognition of Ieyasu’s supremacy on the battlefield”, appointed him shogun. Shogun is the highest military position you can carry in Japan (Singer). After this Japan had strict laws on not using motor vehicles were put into place. Going into the 1630s, contact with the outside world was stopped through “official prohibition of foreigners” (Department of Asian Art). Around 1720 Edo had a population of “more than one million residents having more population than London or Paris at the time” (Singer). According to Art of Edo Japan Kyoto, was city of temples and shrines. It was the leading center of arts and crafts production with a population of close to 400,000 (Singer).