Japan Society has recently opened the first major international exhibition devoted to a comparative examination of Korean and Japanese Buddhist art entitled "Transmitting the Forms of Divinity". It explores the formative links between the ancient cultures of Korea and Japan and the early development of Buddhist art in each nation. Our entire Spring 2003 program of lectures and events is inspired by this phenomenal collection, and will therefore be of significant interest to scholars of Buddhism residing in or visiting the New York area.

The exhibition examines the important early relationship between Korea and Japan, from the origins of Korean Buddhist art and its transmission to Japan in the sixth century, to the creation of independent styles and modes of expression in each nation by the ninth century. Several National Treasures and masterworks of the sixth through ninth centuries rarely (if ever) seen in the West are included among an unprecedented selection of sculptures in gilt bronze, wood, iron and stone; ceramic roof tiles from Buddhist temples; reliquaries, sutras and ritual objects, drawn from important museum and temple collections in Korea and Japan. Inspired by recent research on the close political and cultural ties between the kingdoms of the Korean peninsula and the burgeoning Japanese state, the exhibition illuminates a long-neglected dynamic in the development of Buddhist culture in northeast Asia.

You will find a complete listing of all events related to this exhibit at the site below.

Please feel free to contact us for any further information.