A Report on the Exhibition

The most famous Buddhist statue in Japan is Great Buddha of Todai-ji Temple in Nara that was created in 752. In order to celebrate the 1250 anniversary of its consecration YABUUCHI Satoshi held an exhibition entitled "The Sun and the Flowers" from May 8, 2002 at the Kinsho Hall within the temple grounds. The event was an overwhelming success and was visited by 7,431 people in the twelve days before it closed safely on May 19.

The Kegon sect (Avatamsaka school) of Buddhism, of which Todai-ji is the chief temple in Japan, believes that Birushana-Butsu (Vairocana), whose image the Great Buddha represents, is an existence like that of the sun. Birushana-Butsu shines the light of benevolence across the face of the entire world and every phenomenon that occurs after receiving this light can be likened to lotus flowers that rise up out of the mud to bloom. It is in order to expound upon this philosophy that "The Sun and Flowers" was chosen as the theme for the exhibition which comprised of approximately sixty works connected with Buddhism that YABUUCHI Satoshi has created over the years for various temples around the country.

The Kinsho Hall where the exhibition was held is situated to the west of the huge temple gateway, Nandaimon (a national treasure) [image], that was rebuilt during the twelfth century. This hall originally served as the auditorium/gymnasium for Todai-ji Gakuen, a school affiliated to the temple, but since the school moved to new premises ten years ago, it has adopted the original name of the Todai-ji, Kinsho-ji, and is used as a general-purpose event hall. For the twelve days of the exhibition, its bare interior was suddenly filled with the splendors of the world of Birushana-butsu, much to the surprise of not only the visitors but also the temple priests.

A screen bearing a picture of YABUUCHI Satoshi's sculpture of the sun, enlarged to ten times its original size, was hung at the rear of the hall with a statue of Kokuzo-bosatsu (Akasa-garbha-bodhisattva), the symbol of the universe, standing in front of it. This was surrounded by numerous "Lotus Flowers" representing the three thousand worlds, of which ours is one, and included a statue of the newly-born Buddha to symbolize the Buddhist worldview. [image]

A circular room was created in the center of the hall to represent the lotus flower upon which our world exists. It was surrounded by statues of the 16 Rakan (Arahats) and the Ten Great Disciples of Buddha, while the center stage was given over to characters that represent the human world. [image]

After the exhibition finished, YABUUCHI Satoshi made the following comment:
"The roots of my work as a sculptor may be found in Nara. I often think back to my youth when I was involved in the restoration and study of ancient Buddhist statuary, frequently travelling to Nara to view the many statues that remain in Todai-ji and other temples here.

As a sculptor, I am very proud to have been given this opportunity to exhibit my work here next to the Nandaimon gateway which houses magnificent statues by the twelfth century master-sculptors, Unkei and Kaikei.

I would like to express my gratitude to everybody who helped bring about this exhibition and I believe that this experience and the various people I was able to meet as a result, will serve as an inspiration for my future activities."

Of the works that were exhibited here, "Uwamuki Doji" and "Yamori Doji" (bronze) [image] will be donated to the Todai-ji Seishiien School for the handicapped that is run as one of the charitable works carried out by Todai-ji temple. We sincerely hope that they will become good friends to the forty-odd children who live there.