Exhibition ‘The World of Buddhist Kasaya’ Opened

On October 9, the exhibition titled ‘The World of Buddhist Kasaya’ opened at the Kyoto National Museum (until November 23). It showcased kasaya robes worned by renowned monks who left their mark on Chinese and Japanese Buddhist history, such as Wuzhun Shifan and Musō Soseki. The exhibition consisited of eight chapters: Chapter 1 ‘Kesa no hajimari – ritsue to funzōe (The Origins of the Kasaya: Vinaya Robes and Robes of Rags)’; Chapter 2 ‘Tennō ke to kesa (The Imperial Family and the Kasaya)’; Chapter 3 ‘Kamakura bukkyō to kesa (Kamakura Buddhism and the Kasaya)’; Chapter 4 ‘Denpōe ni miru higashi ajia kōryū I (East Asian Exchange Seen in Robes Passed Down in the Temples I)’; Chapter 5 ‘Dōkyō Shintō to kesa (Taoism, Shinto and Kasaya)’; Chapter 6 ‘Denpōe ni miru higashi ajia kyōryū II (East Asian Exchange Seen in Robes Passed Down in the Temples II)’; Chapter 7 ‘Kesa to meibutsu gire (The Kasaya and Famed Textiles)’; and Chapter 8 ‘Denpōe ni miru higashi ajia kōryū III (East Asian Exchange Seen in Robes That Passed Down in the Temple III)’. It explored the kasaya from multiple perspectives. (Japanese)