Category: Uncategorized

• April Buddhas: This spring’s divinities at Taimadera Temple

  The city is suffused with the haze of cherry blossoms, and with them, branches on soft spring nights speckle petals against the sky. Among all things that heighten beauty and accentuate the charms of an environment – rain, snow, sunlight – pink cherry blossoms must be one of the most magical and charming. When they…

  Elizabeth Tinsley

  April 11, 2025

  Uncategorized

• April Buddhas: This spring’s divinities at Taimadera Temple, Nara

  The city is suffused with the haze of cherry blossoms, and with them, branches on soft spring nights speckle petals against the sky. Among all things that heighten beauty and accentuate the charms of an environment – rain, snow, sunlight – pink cherry blossoms must be one of the most magical and charming. When they…

  Elizabeth Tinsley

  April 11, 2025

  Exhibition Reviews, Exhibition Round-up, Japanese Buddhas, Temple Spotlight, Uncategorized

  Art, Buddhism, Buddhist art, Buddhist icons, food, Japan, Japanese Art, Japanese Buddhism, JapaneseBuddhism, Nara, Photography, Taimadera, travel

• Translations

  The Splendid World of Automatic Music: The Nagamori Music Box Collection I just received a copy of the newly published The Splendid World of Automatic Music: The Nagamori Music Box Collection (from the Nagamori Culture Foundation) which I translated from Japanese to English. Gorgeous, isn’t it? A luxury book for the enthusiast, introducing 243 antique…

  Elizabeth Tinsley

  April 11, 2024

  Uncategorized

  Japan-English Translation, Japanese Museums, Museums

• May exhibition round-up

  MAY 2024 ART/MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS IN NARA Celadon, Genji, and More Shingon Esoterica The Age of the Tale of Genji – The Prosperity of the Early Heian Court at Kasugataisha Museum will be compelling, given the ever-popular subject of that magnificent work of literature, Genji Monogatari, and the fascination with its cultural backdrop – the highly refined and…

  Elizabeth Tinsley

  April 9, 2024

  Uncategorized

• Buddhist Icon Special Viewings at Nara Temples, March-April 2024

  Temples in Japan hold limited-period viewings of their icons, particularly the rarer and more valuable ones that are actively worshipped. This means there is a constantly changing calendar of rare opportunities available and is a huge draw for those who enjoy the history of Buddhist art. Some temples show a certain statue or painting on…

  Elizabeth Tinsley

  March 16, 2024

  Uncategorized

  Art, Buddhism, Buddhist art, Buddhist icons, Japan, Japanese Art, Nara, travel

• exhibition round-up

  MARCH 2024 ART/MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS IN NARA Photographer Maoka Ayane’s Coral on Land, Swords & Sword-smiths, and The Unveiling of a Buddhist Icon March exhibitions in Nara (listings below) include three that showcase swords and sword-smiths, ranging from the characteristic luxury of the shrine treasures held by Kasugataisha Museum – here, swords owned by aristocrats and…

  Elizabeth Tinsley

  March 7, 2024

  Uncategorized

  Art, asia, blog, Buddhist art, Buddhist icons, Exhibitions, Japan, Japanese Art, Museums, Nara, Painting, Photography, Shinto art, travel

• Tōdaiji’s Omizutori: Mystery and Otherness Restored

  Todaiji Temple’s Omizutori Ritual – & Omizutori Museum Exhibitions in Nara Religious practice in Japan is sometimes tamed by way of museum exhibitions and by the contemporary secular viewer of such exhibitions, making it, whether consciously or not, “mere ritual”: performance art or piece of theatre, political expression, or display of eccentric quirky superstition. It…

  Elizabeth Tinsley

  November 30, 2021

  Uncategorized

  Art, Buddhism, Buddhist art, Buddhist icons, Japanese Art, Museums, Nara, Ritual Art, Rituals, Temples