Fantastical Human Beings at Kofukuji National Treasure Hall: Distinctions of Early Japanese Buddhist Art in Nara

Buddhist sutras – and the Buddhist world – are not entirely rationalistic or divorced from the otherworldly but filled with supernatural characters and creatures half-human, half-beast. This was the Buddhism adopted by Japan from the continent in the sixth century. The well-known Japanese school of Zen Buddhism is characteristically minimalist and focuses on meditation and simplicity (though it too included otherworldly beings in its pantheon), yet it wildly diverges from what is sculpturally represented in the set of mythological beings we encounter at the Kofukuji National Treasure Hall, the museum attached to Kofukuji temple in Nara. Here is an Ashura (a titan), a Deva (celestial being), a Naga (snake deity), a Garuda (bird-man), a Yaksa (earth deity), and a group of heavenly and serpentine musicians.

This series of fantastical statues from Indian mythology dates from 734, an early period in the Buddhist art of Japan, but there is another contemporaneous series at the temple too, by the same sculptor but of historical personages – the Ten Disciples of the Buddha. One mythical, one historical, the two sets distinctly contrast with each other, but they originally surrounded a now absent statue of the historical Buddha. How do they fit together? The supernatural creatures are both a part of the Indian mythologies reflected in the sutras – the world into which the Buddha was born – and are incorporated as members into the Buddhist community. As such, the disciples were their teachers, and they were converts and protectors of the faith. Yet all are distinctly human in aspect.

Some time ago, there was a small “Ashura-boom” in Japan, a product of the success in 2009 of the “Kokuho Ashura” (National Treasure Asura) exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum which centred on the statue of the mythological Ashura of Kofukuji. It became the most attended museum exhibition in the world. This Ashura is one of the oldest dry lacquer statues in Japan, and its curious appearance gives it appeal. The six arms, wrapped with thin ribbons clasped in ornament fashioned from lacquer and gold-leaf are unusually, even bizarrely, slender and long. Like that of his companions the decorative patterning on his clothing is quite well-preserved, but he alone wears a simple skirt while his companions are dressed in armour that, like the patterning, is reflective of Central Asian warrior gear. He alone, too, lacks animalistic features.

If compared to South and South-east Asian examples of esoteric sculpture, these mythological figures are still all notably more human and less exotic, especially in their stances and their facial features, giving an insight into the way that Buddhism was adapted into Japanese sculptural aesthetics – even though the centuries to come were to bring dramatic stylistic changes to temple art. In fact, though, while the flatness was filled out and enhanced by muscle and realistic bodily tone and structure, and movement replaced still, upright pose (one can see this in the 13^th century “Kongo Rikishi” warrior figures also at Kofukuji’s Treasure Hall), Japanese Buddhist art did indeed remain relatively “human”. The  “Kongo Rikishi” pair, bursting with aggressive energy and fury, are clearly based on the bodies of real warriors or fighters – simultaneously supremely human and otherworldly. The statues can be well-appreciated by viewing similar  statuary guardians of the gate to Todaiji temple nearby. These were made by the Kei School sculptors, who excelled at this kind of sculptural expression – especially Unkei – and have been compared to Michelangelo. The comparison is not inappropriate even if the materials, techniques, and religious contexts are quite different (they are embedded, like the mythological figures, in Indian Buddhism and in the Hindu elements it absorbed).

In contrast the far earlier mythological beings are less well-defined physically but they are still strangely realistic in their own way. They may be supernatural beings, some with elephant or wild cat heads stretched over their heads like the trophy helmets of triumphant warriors (some of the animal or avian features evoke masks used in traditional Japanese court dance and theatre), but they all have boyish and expressive, individual faces, and resemble each other as if they are family members. In fact, this set, and the set of Ten Disciples, were commissioned in 734 by Empress Komyo, consort of Emperor Shomu, for the repose of her mother who was wife of the founder in Nara of Kofukuji. This was a family temple, and its icons and buildings were as connected to family matters as they were to Buddhist worship. Early Buddhist art was a family affair, and if you wish to see some of the best of it, this is where it can be found.

Kofukuji National Treasure Hall

48 Noboriojicho, Nara, 630-8213 (part of Kofukuji Temple grounds); 5 mins’ walk from Nara Kintetsu station

Open daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (last admission at 4:45 PM)

Adults and University Students: 700 yen; Junior High and High School Students: 600 yen; Primary School Students: 300 yen

Accessibility: There is a slope for wheelchair access, accessible toilets, and one wheelchair available for use inside the building free of charge.

English language textual information on the exhibits (and history of Kofukuji) is plentiful.

Please feel free to contact us here at Kansai Treasure Travel anytime for further details, travel advice, or a custom tour, and see our 1 Day Nara and Uji Private Tailor-made Tour