Exhibition ‘The National Treasures ASHURA and Masterpieces from Kohfukuji’ Opened

On March 31, the exhibition titled ‘The National Treasures ASHURA and Masterpieces from Kohfukuji’ opened at the Tokyo National Museum to commemorate the 1300th anniversary of the founding of Kōhfukuji temple (until June 7). A total of 75 works were exhibited, including statues of the Eight Kinds of Mythological Beings, among which was the statue of Ashura, and the Ten Great Disciples as well as votive objects from the Central Golden Hall and various Buddhist statues. The exhibition attracted over 940,000 visitors, underscoring the growing popularity of Buddhist statues in recent years. The exhibition subsequently toured to the Kyūshū National Museum from July 14 to September 27. (Japanese)