Bodies Of Devotion: Buddhist Statuary In The American Art Museum And Japanese Temple

Abstract

Statues of the Buddha are seldom created for museums. They are instead intended to be displayed in temples, where they might be distanced from viewers by partitions or obscured in darkness — a stark contrast to well-illuminated museum spaces. Nonetheless, the temple is also an intimate space in which rituals such as wafting incense over one’s head connect practitioners to their religion. This research focuses on the nuances of Japanese Buddhism and how Japanese Buddhism can be conveyed to Western museum visitors, who might be unfamiliar with Asian religion. First, this study investigates major themes in Japanese Buddhism through primary research conducted at Buddhist sites. Then, it explores how these contexts relate to the role and obligations of a museum in displaying Buddhist statuary through secondary research in museum studies and personal experience during an internship at the Walters Art Museum. This research concludes that museums can employ digital installations to convey the original cultural context of Buddhist statues while simultaneously embracing the differences between the museum and temple space.