Quick Links: Archaeology and Temples

Once again, I have put off talking about certain topics long enough that they have piled up… so, it’s time for another Quick Links post.

(1) The pagoda of Yakushi-ji, one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan, has never been open to the public in the 1300 years since it was built. That is, until yesterday. Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of pagodas are not meant to be entered. Having evolved out of the Indian stupa tradition – large mounds erected over the grave, or simply some relics, of a major figure – pagodas serve chiefly as reliquaries and symbols, and not as prayer halls or some other type of building designed for human occupation and use.

The pagoda at Yakushiji is about to undergo an eight-year renovation, during which not even the exterior will be visible. So, perhaps to make up for that, and to help maintain/attract interest in and attention to the site, and to the marvels of Asuka period architecture and design (all of these reasons are just speculation on my part and not mentioned in the article), they are allowing visitors, up until March 21, to take a peek inside.

I wish I were in Japan right now to take advantage of this opportunity…

(2) Speaking of renovations to ancient monuments, WIRED has a new article on the reconstruction of the Great Buddas of Bamiyan.

We’ve been hearing about reconstruction efforts for years, ever since the Buddhas – surely some of the largest Buddha statues in the world, carved right out of the mountainside in the 6th century – were dynamited and destroyed by the bigoted, religiously intolerant, and anti-culture Taliban in 2001. Now, a researcher from Germany claims to have an actual plan for the reconstruction, which he is expected to present at an upcoming UNESCO meeting in Paris.

UNESCO, as I understand it, is generally against the dramatic alteration of World Heritage Sites, and especially against reconstructions being counted as World Heritage Sites. (This is why the rebuilt Shuri Castle in Okinawa does not count as a World Heritage Site, but rather the site it sits on and the ruins and such below it are the listed/designated UNESCO Site.) … But, should UNESCO really be opposed to the reconstruction of these statues, so inappropriately destroyed? I suppose if they are not restored, the empty caverns could continue to stand for centuries, or millennia, as a monument to intolerance and religious hatred, reminding us all what an asshole thing it is to allow your own beliefs to supercede appreciation of other cultures, and of the past.

(3) A figurine excavated from the Chihara Ohaka tomb in the town of Sakurai, in Nara prefecture, is the oldest humanoid haniwa figure to ever be discovered. The 4th century figure is 67 cm (26.4 in) tall, and 50 cm (20 in) wide, predating the previously earliest found haniwa figure by several decades.

More can be found (in Japanese) at the Asahi Shimbun, for as long as they decide to keep that article up.

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Recent Finds: Gangôji

In addition to the Utamaro paintings I found out about (and blogged about) recently, I have just come across news articles relating a number of other interesting finds in Japan.

(1) The World’s Oldest Timbers in active use, Older than at Hôryû-ji, found at Gangô-ji

The temple of Hôryû-ji in Ikaruga, just outside the city of Nara, is often said to contain (some of?) the oldest wooden structures in the world. Core elements of the pagoda and kondô (main hall; lit. “Golden Hall”) have been dated to the 6th and 7th centuries, respectively, and I suppose it is generally believed or assumed that enough of the rest of these structures (beyond just the core pillars and such) dates back to that time as well that it can be said that the building as a whole, despite later repairs and the like, is that old.

However, the Asahi Shimbun reported a few days ago on the discovery of timbers at Gangô-ji, another temple in the Nara area, which date back earlier than the Hôryûji structures. As usual, the Asahi cannot be trusted to maintain any kind of archive, and the link could stop working at any moment. So, for the sake of posterity, and for the sake of informing the public, I provide the original text and a translation. No claims of authorship or ownership of the original Japanese text are made, and all intellectual property rights belonging to the Asahi Shimbun and the original author (reporter) are acknowledged and recognized.

It may be a small point, but one thing which stands out to me in this article is the fact that these timbers, dated to the 6th century, and installed in a building built in the early 8th century, should be in a place called the “Zen Hall” or “Zen Room”, when Zen did not come to Japan until the 13th century or so.

現役木材、法隆寺より古かった　奈良・元興寺、世界最古
2010年8月14日3時3分

　奈良市中院（ちゅういん）町、元興寺（がんごうじ）（極楽坊）の禅室（国宝）に、飛鳥時代初期の５８６年ごろに伐採されたヒノキが使われていることが、総合地球環境学研究所（京都市）の光谷拓実（みつたに・たくみ）客員教授（年輪年代学）の調査でわかった。世界で最も古い木造建築とされる法隆寺（７世紀末～８世紀）を約１００年さかのぼり、世界最古の「現役」の木造建築部材になる。

　元興寺は国内初の仏教寺院・飛鳥寺（法興寺、奈良県明日香村）を前身とし、平城遷都（７１０年）に伴って平城京内に移された。奈良時代の７１８年に建立が始まり、建物は新築とされてきたが、少なくとも禅室は飛鳥寺からの移築だった可能性が高まった。

　禅室は東西２６．８メートル、南北１２．８メートル、高さ８．４メートルの細長い木造平屋建て。僧侶らの住居「僧坊」として使われ、後世には修行の場を兼ねた。

　光谷教授は奈良文化財研究所の発掘技術研究室長だった２０００年、終戦前後の修理で禅室から取り外された部材の年輪を調査し、５８２年ごろの伐採を示す部材を見つけた。現在使われている部材にも同時代のものがあるとみて、０７年にデジタルカメラで屋根裏の部材の年輪などを撮影。年代の判明している年輪データと比較して割り出す年輪年代法に基づき画像をコンピューター解析した。その結果、複数の柱の上部に水平方向に渡した「頭貫（かしらぬき）」で、最も外側の年輪が５８６年を示した。

　飛鳥寺の正確な建立年は不明で、５９０年に用材を伐採したことが日本書紀に記されている。飛鳥寺の部材が禅室に再利用されたとみられる。光谷教授は「国内初の寺院の部材がいまだに健在なのは、加工しやすく耐久性に優れたヒノキだったから。日本の木の文化を象徴する建物として、禅室は貴重だ」と話す。 禅室の屋根裏は１０月１７日～１１月１３日、１日１６０人の限定で公開される。申し込みは往復はがきで９月１７日必着、先着順。詳しくは元興寺文化財研究所のホームページ（http://www.gangoji.or.jp/）で。（編集委員・小滝ちひろ）

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　〈元興寺〉　蘇我馬子（？～６２６）が飛鳥地方（奈良県明日香村）に創建した飛鳥寺を、奈良時代に北約２２キロの平城京内に移した寺。東大寺などとともに南都七大寺のひとつに数えられる。室町時代に金堂などが焼失、江戸時代には五重塔や観音堂などが焼けた。現在は、本堂と禅室からなる極楽坊と、観音堂の系譜を引く寺院の二つに分かれる。極楽坊は１９９８年、「古都奈良の文化財」のひとつとして世界遺産に登録された。

A survey performed by Visiting Professor Mitsutani Takumi of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature in Kyoto has revealed, based largely on the counting of tree rings, that pieces of cypress used in the Zen Hall (a National Treasure) of Gangôji (also known as Gokuraku-bô), which is located in the Chûin neighborhood in the city of Nara, were originally felled in the Asuka period, around the year 586 CE. Dated to roughly 100 years before the construction of Hôryûji (late 7th to early 8th century), the site of the oldest wooden buildings in the world, this would make these timbers the oldest wooden architectural elements in active use (that is, serving a functional purpose within a structure) in the world.

Gangôji was preceded by Asuka-dera (now Hôkô-ji, in Asuka village, Nara pref.), the first Buddhist temple to be built in Japan. [Though the site remained active as a temple, now called Hôkô-ji], along with the moving of the capital in 710, [significant elements of Asuka-dera] were moved to Heijô-kyô [i.e. Nara]. Construction on Gangô-ji began in 718, and though the buildings are acknowledged as having been newly constructed at that time, there is a strong possibility that the Zen Hall at least was moved there from Asuka-dera.

The Zen Hall is a long, narrow wooden one-story building, 26.8 meters from east to west, 12.8 meters from north to south, and 8.4 meters tall. It is used as a monastic residence, and since a later time has also come to be used for ascetic practices.

In 2000, when Professor Mitsutani was head of the Excavation Techniques section of the Nara Cultural Properties Research Institute, he began surveys on the tree rings on wooden elements taken from the Zen Hall as part of repairs in the 1940s, and found pieces which showed that they were from a tree felled around 582. Seeing that elements from the same period were still in use, in 2007, he used a digital camera to capture images of the tree rings evident in elements on the underside of the roof, and employed computers to analyze the images. As a result, it was determined that a number of horizontal pieces called kashiranuki, which run between the upper sections of the vertical pillars, were the oldest, dating back to 586.

The precise year in which Asuka-dera was constructed remains unclear, but according to the Nihon Shoki, trees felled in 590 were used in the construction. It appears that elements from Asuka-dera were reused in the construction of this Zen Hall. Professor Mitsutani said, “That elements from the first Buddhist temple in this country are still in use is due to the durability of cypress, and the ease with which things can be built from it. As a building symbolizing Japan’s wood culture, this Zen Hall is precious.” The underside of the Zen Hall will be open to the public from October 17 to November 13, with a limit of 160 people per day. The deadline to apply is September 17 [sorry, guys, for the short notice. -T], and applications will be handled in the order in which they are received. For details, see the Gangôji Cultural Properties Research Center website http://www.gangoji.or.jp/ [Japanese site; no English, I'm afraid].

Gangôji: The moved Asuka-dera, which was originally built by Soga no Umako (d. 626), and then rebuilt in the Nara period in Heijô-kyô, roughly 22 km to the north. It is counted as one of the seven great temples of the Southern Capital (Nara), along with Tôdaiji. The Kondô and other structures burned down in the Muromachi period, and the pagoda, Kannon Hall, and other structures burned down in the Edo period. Today, it is divided into two temples, with Gokurakubô containing the Hondô and Zen Hall, and with both drawing upon the heritage of the Kannon Hall. Gokurakubô was recognized in 1998 as a World Heritage Site, along with a number of other sites together comprising the “Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara.”

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Discovery in China of a Stone Inscription of the name “Ennin”

In related news, the Asahi Shimbun reported recently on the discovery in China of a stone inscribed with the name of Ennin (円仁), a prominent 9th century Japanese monk of the Tendai sect who journeyed to China as a member of a Kentôshi (Imperial envoy to Tang) mission in 838, returning to Japan in 847.

As usual, since the link to the article will be dead in a few days, I’ll provide the text and translation here, for posterity and such, since the newspaper apparently has no interest in doing so.

A stone inscribed with what appears to be the name of the Heian period monk Ennin (Jikaku Daishi, 794-864) was discovered at a temple in Henan Province. Ennin, a disciple of Saichô, who is known for his role in overseeing the construction of a number of structures at Mt. Hiei, stayed in China for some time in the 9th century as a member of a Kentôshi (Imperial envoys to Tang) mission. This is the first confirmed concrete evidence of his time there. It is the second Kentôshi relic to be discovered in China, after the epitaph of I no Manari (Sei Shinsei), found in Xi’an.

This slate (with Ennin’s name on it) was found at Fawang Temple in the city of Dengfeng. It was inserted into the fence encircling the temple hall, and is 44cm high, and 62cm wide. At that time, upon the orders of an Emperor who was a strong devotee of Taoism, Buddhism was strongly suppressed. Afraid of losing Buddhist relics, the stone indicates that relics were buried and hidden, and finally, the name Ennin and the phrase “Fifth Year of Huichang of Great Tang” are inscribed. This corresponds to the year 845. Professor Sakayori Masashi, an expert on Ennin from Kokugakuin Tochigi Junior College, confirmed it on site.

Ennin wrote a diary known as “The Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law” based on his observations in China, which is today considered one of the great travel diaries of the ancient period. In the same year as is inscribed on this stone (that is, in 845), as a result of the persecution of Buddhism, Ennin was banished from the Imperial capital of Chang’an, and set out on his journey home. His diary indicates that he made his way from Luoyang to Zhengzhou; Dengfeng is located between the two.

According to Professor Sakayori, no Chinese monk at the time was known as Yuanjin (J: Ennin), and this inscription undoubtedly refers to the Japanese Ennin, whose name was known at the time even in China as a high priest. According to Sakayori, “Ennin wrote that amidst a storm of the destruction of Buddhism, temple treasures and relics are buried and hidden in the ground, and so such a situation can be imagined. The form of Ennin comes vividly floating forth. This is a ground-breaking discovery.” – Watanabe Nobuyuki

平安時代の僧、円仁＝えんにん＝（慈覚大師、７９４～８６４）とみられる名前の刻まれた石板が、中国河南省の寺院で発見された。最澄の弟子で比叡山の基礎を築いたことで知られる円仁は、遣唐使の一員として９年間、中国に滞在した。その間の足跡が具体的に確認されたのは初めて。中国に残された遣唐使の遺物としても、西安で見つかった井真成の墓誌に次いで２例目だ。

　石板が見つかったのは登封市の法王寺。お堂を囲む塀にはめ込まれていたもので、縦４４センチ、横６２センチ。当時、道教を強く信仰する皇帝の命令で、仏教弾圧が激しかった。信仰対象の仏舎利が失われるのを恐れ、地中に隠したことを記し、最後に「円仁」「大唐会昌五年」と刻まれていた。８４５年に当たる。円仁を研究する国学院大栃木短大の酒寄雅志教授（東アジア古代史）らが現地で確認した。

　円仁は、中国での見聞を記録した「入唐求法巡礼行記（にっとうぐほうじゅんれいこうき）」を書いており、古代の最も優れた旅行記の一つとされる。今回見つかった石板に刻まれた同じ年、仏教弾圧により円仁は都の長安から追放され、帰国の途についた。巡礼行記には、洛陽から鄭州へとたどったことが記されており、法王寺のある登封は、両都市の中間に位置している。

　酒寄教授によると、円仁という名は、当時の中国僧には見あたらず、当時中国でも高僧として名の知られた円仁にまず間違いないという。「廃仏の嵐の中、寺の宝の舎利を地中に隠すことになり、事情を記す文を円仁が求められて書いた、というような情景が想定できる。円仁の姿がいきいきと浮かんでくる。画期的な発見だ」と酒寄教授は語っている。（渡辺延志）

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Koizumi Junsaku, at it again

The Asahi Shimbun reports today that Nihonga painter Koizumi Junsaku, age 86, who I’ve discussed twice before, has produced a number of sliding screen (fusuma) paintings for the Tôdaiji in Nara. Nara is currently celebrating the 1300th anniversary of its becoming the capital of Japan (though, it only remained capital for about 60 years). To the left, you can see one of these fusuma (actually, it looks like a folding screen, but the article says fusuma) in front of the Great Buddha (daibutsu) of Tôdaiji, the largest bronze Buddha in the country.

Though I must admit Koizumi isn’t exactly my favorite artist or anything, it is quite interesting to see how patronage works these days, and how artists in a rather modern form (Nihonga was first developed around 1900) are commissioned by some of the oldest temples to produce works for them.

Photo copyright Asahi Shimbun.

As usual, as the Asahi is sure to not leave this article up for more than a week or so, leaving you with nothing but a broken link, I’ll provide a translation of the full (very brief) article. Original text is copyright Asahi Shinbun, and no attempts are made to claim that text as my own intellectual property – only to make it available to the world once asahi.com takes it down.

Forty sliding screen paintings by Kamakura-based Nihonga painter Koizumi Junsaku (85) were donated on April 20 to the Tôdaiji (Ueno dôzen bettô) in Nara. The works took him five years to complete, aiming towards completion in time for this year, the 1300th anniversary of the transfer of the capital to Heijô (Nara). The dedication ceremony was held in the Great Buddha Hall (Daibutsuden), and a memorial service was held with one of the works set up in front of the Great Budda.

The fusuma range from 81-197 cm tall, and roughly 3.84 to 20 meters wide. They depict themes such as weeping cherry (shidarezakura, a type of sakura tree), lotus pond, and heavenly musicians, and will decorate the Great Audience Hall (ôhiroma) and jôdan-no-ma for special occasions.

In addition to his “Twin Dragons” ceiling painting produced for Kennin-ji, he painted a portrait of the late Kiyomizu Kôshô (sp?), images of Emperor Shômu and Empress Kômei　(r. 8th century), and a number of other works; his connections with Tôdaiji are quite deep.

The screen paintings will travel the country on exhibition, beginning this September at the Takashimaya Department Store at Nihonbashi in Tokyo.
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奈良市の東大寺（上野道善別当）に２０日、神奈川県鎌倉市の日本画家小泉淳作さん（８５）が描いたふすま絵４０面が奉納された。今年の平城遷都１３００年に向けて５年がかりで仕上げた。大仏殿で奉納式があり、作品の一部を大仏前に安置して法要が営まれた。

　ふすま絵は縦８１～１９７センチ、横３．８４～約２０メートル。「枝垂（しだ）れ桜」「蓮池」「飛天」などがテーマで、行事などの際に本坊の大広間と上段の間を飾る。

　小泉さんは京都・建仁寺の天井画「双龍図」などを手がけたほか、故清水公照別当の肖像画や「聖武天皇・光明皇后御影」を描くなど東大寺とも縁が深い。今回のふすま絵は９月から、日本橋高島屋（東京都中央区）などでの巡回展で公開される。

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New Work by Itô Jakuchû Discovered

Yesterday’s Asahi Shimbun reports that a pair of byôbu (folding screens) by the now-famous and renowned Edo period painter Itô Jakuchû (伊藤若冲) were discovered recently in a former house in the Hokuriku region.

As the Asahi Shimbun has seemingly decided to not bother translating the article and offering it on their English site, I’ll provide a translation myself.

A folding screen (byôbu) painting seemingly painted by the Kyoto-based Edo period artist Itô Jakuchû in the late years of his life was discovered this past August in a former house in the Hokuriku region by someone associated with the arts. Jakuchû (1716-1800) has recently become quite popular as an eccentric artist.

According to the experts at the Miho Museum in Shiga Prefecture, the two six-fold screens are each 159 cm tall and 354 cm wide. A white elephant sits on the beach in the righthand screen, while a spouting black whale is dramatically depicted on the lefthand screen. Near the artist’s seal is written “painting by Beito’ou of 82 years.” [Beito'ou, 米斗翁, could be literally translated to mean something like "Old Man of the Box of Rice"] This was Jakuchû’s Buddhist posthumous name, which he used as a pseudonym in his early 80s. Okada Hideyuki, a curator at the Miho Museum, said “works from the artist’s last years are rare, and from the point of view of learning more about Jakuchû’s achievements or works, these are very valuable sources.”

The Museum’s director, Tsuji Nobuo, a professor emeritus at Tokyo University and an expert on Jakuchû said “I am extremely surprised by this unbelievable discovery. Based on the image filled with vision and mixed with the figure of the elephant, the expression of the whale wrapped in the waves, and also from the seal, I think this is undeniably a Jakuchû work. As for Jakuchû research, this is a huge discovery.”

Read the original Asahi Shimbun article here (in Japanese)

Article from the Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). Image taken from that article.

I regret not doing so earlier, in my original composition of this post, but I would like to thank Prof. John Szostak of the University of Hawaii, and the rest of the Japan Art History Forum list, for bringing this news to our attention.

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Kyoto temple treasures gutted in blaze

KYOTO–A Buddhist hall and an adjacent rest house at Daigoji temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, were destroyed in a fire over the weekend.

Police suspect lightning may have caused the blaze at the temple, located in Fushimi Ward. Thunder was reported in the area Saturday night.

The one-story wooden Juntei Hall, with a floor space of about 147 square meters, was gutted. The hall is dedicated to the Juntei Kannon bodhisattva. A 50-square-meter rest house next to the hall also was destroyed.

Full article at Asahi.com

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New (old) version of the Genji discovered

How fortunate, what a lucky chance, that in this, the 1000th anniversary of the year generally accepted as that in which Murasaki Shikibu completed her epic Genji monogatari, a version of the text older and more complete than any before uncovered should turn up.

Here’s the article at the Asahi Shinbun’s English website: Discovery of ‘Genji’ text causes a stir. I was hoping that the International Herald Tribune would carry the story, as they so often do Asahi stories, since the Asahi does an atrocious job of keeping online archives of their articles accessible.

But, moving on. As the article says, the Tale of the Genji, oft claimed to be the first example of a “novel” in world history, and easily one of the most famous, most well-known, if not most widely-read classics of Japanese literature, is currently only known from versions written in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, and later, centuries after the original was completed. Even the earliest of these is believed (and now, I suppose, known) to contain a great many edits and changes from the original. Indeed, the version which we now know is believed by many scholars (though many disagree) to be incomplete.

This new discovery, dated to the mid-Kamakura period (so, mid-13th century), does not solve all the mysteries or provide all the answers. In fact, I’d imagine it raises more questions than it answers. It does contain many bits missing from later versions.

I’ve never read the Genji (I’d have to read it in translation; that’s a great undertaking as is), though it is on my list (a very long list it is, though, I must admit). I’m curious to see what more comes out of this discovery. I hope that I have the fortune to be informed as to developments in the research.

Another article about another recently discovered Genji manuscript, from Sankei News: 鎌倉後期の源氏物語写本見つかる (10 March 2008).

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