Buddha Standing In Asian Art Analysis

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The artwork Buddha standing in Asian art museum at San Francisco is a pair unique statues in Nara period in Japan in the 700s. The pair artwork Buddha standing in Asian art museum include the two separate status. One of them depict Braham (Bonten) and another one depict Indra (Taishakuten). Brahman and Indra or Bonten and Taishakuten were Hindu gods but some how they combine into Buddhist myth and they attend as the Buddha. The two sculpture were created for Kofukyji temple that one of the most important temples at capital of japan in Nara period. The artwork impressed me because it is not only the rare Buddhist status have a pair but also attractive me by a special technique making a pair, a historical mystery and significance of the artwork. …show more content…
The statue depicts Braham wear costume as the monk. Originally Taishakuten was stated as God of war (Indra) of Hindu and Zoroastrianism and Guardian at Buddhism. His sculpture rises his left hands high making 90-degree angle with his body and relaxed his right hands. He gestures sign of Vitarka mudra that this variant of Dharmachaka mudra stand for intellectual debate at both the hands. Braham was a god of Hindu god, too. Braham appears as the creator of the universe. Early Buddhist texts describe several different Brahmas coexisting in the same universe; some of them think they are creators of the world, but they are corrected by the Buddha. His sculpture has same action with Taishakuten status but Bonten status opposite side with Taishakuten status. The both of statues is twisted into a knot that resembles a seashell (Kapardin), a style that is primary characteristic of early figural image of Buddha in north India. The both of statues have a elongated earlobes symbol of Buddha but the both of them do not have the Urna. This raise to me the question that imagination of Buddha changes a little when Buddhism came to Japan or it was a simple mistake of artist.

In the Nara period, Japan have great influence of culture, politic and special religion of China. Japan at the period, Japanese upper classes patterned themselves after Chinese, including adapting Chinese written character. Buddha became to dominate religion in

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