This paper examines the Hōryū-ji Temple as the earliest and most significant example of Buddhist influence on Japanese art and culture. Tracing Japan's artistic history from the Jōmon period through the Asuka period, the paper analyzes the temple's architectural design, its celebrated treasures — including the Tamamushi Shrine, the Shaka Triad, and key wooden sculptures such as the Chugu-ji Miroku — and their connections to Chinese and Korean artistic traditions. The paper demonstrates how Buddhism, introduced to Japan from Korea in 552 A.D., transformed Japanese architecture, sculpture, and painting, leaving a legacy visible in the arts to the present day.
For thousands of years, Japanese artists have been creating distinctive works in a variety of styles and media. Many of their pieces are rooted in religious philosophy and tradition. This is especially true of Zen Buddhism, which has left a deep mark on Japanese thought and is expressed most vividly in black-and-white ink paintings, architecture, gardens, and the applied arts used in tea-ceremony rooms. The Hōryū-ji Temple is the first and finest example of the use of Korean and Chinese Buddhism in Japan.
Because of Japan's close geographical proximity to China and Korea, its inhabitants continually maintained contact with the cultures of those countries. The earliest historic period known in Japan is the Jōmon culture, which extended from the earliest times to about 200 B.C., followed by the Yayoi period until A.D. 200, and then the Kofun, or Tumulus, period until the mid-sixth century, when Buddhism reached Japan. The name of this last period derives from the practice of burying honored dead in huge tumuli, or burial hills.
It was not until 552 A.D. that Buddhism and its culture were introduced by Korea on a large scale into the Japanese islands. This event began Japan's first cultural awakening and marks the start of what is recognized today as Japanese art. When Buddhism first arrived, it sparked a religious and political conflict between those who supported and those who opposed the new religion. In time, Buddhism's compelling way of life overcame the opposition, and Japan adopted the religion throughout the country. For many centuries Buddhism would remain the dominant mode of thought and culture. This new culture took shape during the Asuka period. The Hōryū-ji Monastery represents the first Japanese Buddhist synthesis of architecture, sculpture, and painting, influenced by India through China and Korea (Yashiro, 1958: 24).
The Hōryū-ji was the first temple constructed in Japan, and it spread Buddhist teachings throughout the country, greatly influencing the design of later temples. As Peter Popham wrote: "Each type of temple represents a different way in which the initial Buddhist message, architectural as well as doctrinal, was interpreted down the centuries. They are like a thousand streams, the character of each stream formed by the geology through which it travels. The great ancestor of them all, the spring from which, in a sense, they all sprang, is…Hōryū-ji" (Popham, 1990: 33).
The Hōryū-ji Temple is divided into an east and west precinct, which contains two of its most important buildings: the Golden Hall and the Pagoda (Mizuno, 1974: 9). The complex is arranged in a structure called the garan, featuring a covered corridor in the shape of a rectangle and a southern gate. When viewed through the gate, the pagoda stands to the left and the Golden Hall to the right. Behind these buildings is the hall where monks assembled.
The Pagoda is a five-story structure derived from the Indian stupa, and it "enshrines a holy relic and thereby symbolizes the presence of a Buddhist sanctuary" (Suzuki, 1980: 54). The temple is believed to be one of the oldest wooden buildings in the world. Its central pillar stands 32.45 meters (approximately 122 feet) high and is believed to have come from a tree felled around 594 A.D. It is set three meters below the surface on a massive stone base. Beneath the base is a cavity for storing religious items (Takada, 2007: 195). Although the pagoda rises to an impressive height, it was never intended for climbing; its purpose is to be admired from the outside for its beauty.
The temple is also notable because it includes a statue of the Bodhisattva Kannon, although "the multitude of small embossed Buddha-figures on the doors and walls of the interior suggests that the original image was a figure of Shaka" (Mizuno, 2003: 48). The temple's four sides bear paintings that, "done in lacquer, represent Bodhisattvas, pagodas, and scenes of devotion such as the sacrifice to a hungry tigress. There are also narrative scenes taken from the Jataka stories, depicting the virtuous deeds accomplished by the Bodhisattvas and how they managed to attain Buddhahood as a result" (Popham, 1990: 40). Because of this temple's design, it has served over the centuries as a model for repairing other buildings damaged by fire, including the Golden Hall itself (Lee, 1994: 167).
"Jade Beetle shrine and early Buddhist paintings"
"Famous bronze Buddha by sculptor Tori Busshi"
"Kannon and Miroku statues in Six Dynasties style"
The Hōryū-ji Temple housed some of the most important sculptures of the early Asuka period. The temple represents the history of Japan and the beauty of its arts. Most importantly, it is the earliest place in Japanese history where one can observe the profound influence that Buddhism exerted on Japan — an influence that has continued to the present day. The temple will always be remembered for its enduring representation of art and religion.
You’re 51% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 3 sections.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.