What is the Magnificent 1400-Year-Old Art “Butsuzo”?
Understanding the Cultural Significance of Buddhist Statuary in Japan
“Have you heard of the word butsuzo?”
The direct translation of is Japanese Buddhist statuary, but this word encompasses much more.
Needless to say, Japan has had a long historical relationship with Buddhism. Buddhism first arrived in the 6th century and since then has principally co-existed in harmony alongside Japan’s original religion, Shintoism. From this combination emerged variations and interpretations of Buddhism that differ from other parts of the world.
In this unique environment, the Japanese developed an artistically profound Buddhist statuary culture and to this day you can see its legacy throughout the country.
Our movie, Carving the Divine — Buddhist Sculptors of Japan, explores a group of artisans, busshi, practitioners of a 1,400-year-old lineage of Buddhist wood carving at the heart of Japanese Mahayana Buddhism. The busshi create breathtaking Japanese Buddhist statues, butsuzo.
At first, the styles of Japanese Buddhist sculptures closely resembled those of contemporary China and Korea, and the primary material used was bronze. But around the 11th century, due to Japan’s diplomatic break from China and the prominence of a legendary Busshi named Jocho, among other factors, Japanese Busshi began producing their own style, called Wayo, utilizing wood.
The great Buddha and Kongōrikishi of Todaiji Temple, the 1,001 statues of Kannon bodhisattvas at Sanjūsangen-dō, and the massive 11-Headed Kannon at Hasedera (featured in Carving the Divine) are all the work of busshi.
Beyond mere crafts, the sculptures created by busshi have a deep spiritual connection to the collective Japanese psyche. The movie explores the art and discipline of busshi but ultimately attempts to reveal the meaning of Butsuzo for the people of Japan and beyond.
Carving the Divine is finished and ready to go. As much as we would like to share the film with the world, we are limited due to ongoing film festival submission requirements.
However, there is an abundance of content available today through our social media — Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and of course our website www.carvingthedivine.com.
Each platform has its own unique twist and approach to entertain fans and followers. but I would especially like to call your attention to our YouTube channel, Carving the Divine TV, and our blog, Butsuzotion.
Carving the Divine TV:
Hosted by filmmaker Yujiro Seki, Carving the Divine TV is a series of Q&A sessions with Buddhist scholars and practitioners. These Q&A sessions explore the basic concepts of Buddhism and the history of Buddhism so that when viewers finally watch Carving the Divine they will get the maximum value of the documentary.
https://www.youtube.com/c/carvingthedivine
Butsuzotion is a blog dedicated to Japanese Buddhist sculpture appreciation. This blog educates and inspires the people who would like to learn about butsuzo from the scratch and the people who already have a good understanding/education of butsuzo to share his/her knowledge. Our aim is to educate and increase an appreciation for butsuzo that goes deeper than the surface of simple admiration.
Throughout my journey of making and promoting the documentary, Carving the Divine, I have realized that this project must go beyond the documentary. By using the documentary as a launching point, I would like to promote this magnificent ancient Japanese spiritual art, butsuzo and the artisans who carve butsuzo, Busshi to the world.
So, simply put there is no one single concise definition that can encompass all the profound meaning of butsuzo. If you would like to learn more about butsuzo I invite you to come to our website and social media to learn more about it!
https://www.instagram.com/carvingthedivine/
