Chuson-ji: Bringing 900 Years of Buddhist Faith to Life

Visitors to the Golden Hall of Chuson-ji Temple special exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum should prepare themselves. They will have their breath taken away.

The exhibition occupies part of the first floor of the main Museum hall. On entering, visitors are met with a towering screen alive with scintillating color. 8K resolution graphics fill the screen with a lifesize representation of the central altar (shumidan) of the Golden Hall of Chuson-ji.

The display is lifesize, but in its clarity and vibrancy is larger than life. Nine hundred years of Buddhist faith are made to come alive in this must-see exhibition of Japan's religious history and cutting-edge visual technology.

900 Years and More of Buddhist Faith

In the year 1124, a golden prayer hall (konjikido) was built in the Chuson-ji Buddhist temple complex. Its sponsor, Lord Fujiwara no Kiyohira (1056-1128), was the first head of the Oshu Fujiwara clan. The clan dominated the area around what is now Hiraizumi in Iwate Prefecture in northern Honshu.

Lord Kiyohira had the golden hall built as his mortuary. He also wanted to offer prayers for the souls of those killed in the political turmoil enveloping Japan.

Lord Kiyohira did so out of deep Buddhist faith. This is apparent to anyone who views the Golden Hall nine hundred years later. The hall contains three altars upon which are arranged thirty-three Buddhist statues. Among them are images of Amida Buddha, Jizo (Ksitigarbha), and devas, or protecting deities. Lord Kiyohira's remains, held in a wooden coffin, were placed under the Buddha's protection inside the central altar.

A devout Buddhist, Lord Kiyohira chose well in selecting Chuson-ji as his final resting place. Chuson-ji may have been founded in the year 850 by the monk Ennin (Jikaku Daishi) (794-864). Ennin traveled to the Tang regions and helped spread Tendai Buddhist teachings on his return to Japan. While there is no written evidence to substantiate this claim, Chuson-ji has long been the heart of Buddhism in Hiraizumi.

Even today, buildings in the Chuson-ji temple complex stand as testimony to the faith of generations of Buddhist believers in northern Japan.

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Special Exhibition: Three images above are the Golden Hall of Chuson-Ji Temple, Tuesday, January 23, 2024 to Sunday, April 14, 2024, Tokyo National Museum, Main Hall, specifically Exhibit Room 5 (©︎NHK/Tokyo National Museum/National Center for the Promotion of Cultural Properties/Chusonji)

A Golden Heaven of Infinite Light

Lord Fujiwara no Kiyohira was not only devout. He was also extraordinarily wealthy. The Golden Hall at Chuson-ji was built with private donations, including Lord Kiyohira's own money and that of three women.

The best artisans, the best lacquer, the best gilding, shells from distant oceans, and the finest of every other material and technique were used in the Golden Hall's construction. No expense was spared.

The result is, in a word, stunning. It is also recreated in rich, almost hyper-real 8K resolution color on the exhibition screen. Even at nine hundred years' removed, the Golden Hall overwhelms viewers with artistic triumph. The golden statues and lacquered and gilded altar works and pillars are suffused with otherworldly glory.

On first entering the exhibition hall, I felt I had gone to a golden heaven of infinite light.

Do I exaggerate? See for yourself! There is no way to do the experience justice, even in photographs. Those who wish to know the beauty of the presentation must go to Tokyo National Museum in person. (The exhibit runs through April 14, 2024.)

Filled with Cultural Treasures

There is a darkened hall filled with artifacts from, and related to, the Golden Hall and Chuson-ji temple behind the gigantic screen that visitors encounter when entering the exhibit. It features National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties in abundance.

For example, there is a gilt coffin from the twelfth century, an Important Cultural Property.

A Lankavatara Sutra from the 12th century, written in silver and gold ink on paper dyed with indigo, is another. The sutra, and others like it also on display, is a National Treasure of Japan.

Other national treasures include 12th-century long swords (tachi), the altar devas Jikokuten and Zochoten, and statues of the bodhisattva Kannon, bodhisattva Jizo, and Amida Buddha.

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Most of the materials on display are from the twelfth century when the Golden Hall was completed. But there are also materials from later, such as two 14th-century copies of the Chuson-ji dedicatory prayer. One of the copies is by Fujiwara no Sukekata. The other is by Kitabatake Akiie, a loyal follower of the Southern Court during the Nambokucho period of Japanese history.

This exhibition is a wonderful way to sample some of the best of Japan's pre-modern past.

An 'Overwhelming Sense of Immersion'

Daisuke Kojima, chief researcher with the East Asian room of the Tokyo National Museum, gave a brief talk to media members assembled for a special pre-opening event in January.

In his remarks, Kojima stressed that he wanted patrons to feel as though they "have gone into the Golden Hall themselves, albeit virtually, to visit the temple. I want patrons to experience the overwhelming sense of immersion (botsunyukan) in the scene."

Immersion into the visual scene is almost guaranteed. I had my breath taken away by the 8K resolution display. Other visitors should be prepared for a similar experience.

But as one moves through the rest of the exhibit, one becomes immersed also in the strong Buddhist faith that moved men and women to make and preserve such beauty.

Nine hundred years have passed. Still, the faith that compelled Lord Fujiwara no Kiyohira to honor the Buddha with lacquer and gold is calling pilgrims to the Golden Hall of Chuson-ji.

About the Exhibition:

Special Exhibition: The Golden Hall of Chuson-Ji Temple
When: Tuesday, January 23, 2024 to Sunday, April 14, 2024
Where: Tokyo National Museum, Main Hall, Exhibit Room 5
Access: The Tokyo National Museum is in Ueno, Tokyo. It shares English language instructions for access on its website.

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Author: Jason Morgan, PhD
Jason Morgan is an associate professor at Reitaku University in Kashiwa, Japan.