Glen Kaufman
2011: Fudo and Kongo
September 15, 2011
An early morning call from my dear friend Kiyoji Tsuji (We date back to 1983 when he invited me to have my 1st solo show in Kyoto the following year.), Professor at Seian College of Art and Design, with an invitation to join him for lunch and the opening of an exhibition of Buddhist art in nearby Shiga Prefecture, made my day. (“Georgia on my Mind” is playing on iTunes radio from CBC Jazz! What could be more perfect while I type?) A walk, the subway and a train got me to my destination at Otsu station in plenty of time. It was my first remen lunch of this season … cold noodles with strips of veggies, shrimp, small salad with a dressing and a bit of hot mustard.
A local bus got us to the Museum of Modern Art, Shiga with just a bit of mist descending, cooling us a little on a hot day. We arrived in plenty of time prior to the opening ceremony. These are such a ritual that I know and have experienced so many times. Everyone in attendance receives a ribbon flower to wear in a pocket or pinned onto a jacket. Small ones for the regular guests like me and large white or red ones for the honorable and distinguished guests, in this case one woman and seven men lined up in formation. There are always speeches that can drag on for some time and always a professional woman as MC (shikaisha). In this case the distinguished woman who represented the Prefecture Governor (his wife???), a major sponsor of the exhibition (Kyoto Shinbun) and the head priest of one of the local temples each spoke. He joked that he had never been in the company of so many Buddhas at one time and was sorry that it was not possible to bring the temples to the exhibit so we should be sure to visit them on our own.
There are 3 separate exhibitions at 3 different venues for this event. “Buddhist Images of Omi (ancient name for Shiga), Province of Prayer: Ancient to Medieval” was the focus of this show and included all sculpture, mostly wood but some cast in bronze as well. I was, once again, impressed with the serenity of the Buddhist deities and the contrasting ferocity of the guardian figures Fudo and Kongo. I especially enjoyed those of the former in which the garments with their many folds were rendered with great precision, expressiveness and style in wood or bronze. Kiyo (my nickname for him) was helpful to fill me in on all the details, as there was no English to be found except in the catalog. As is often the case at such events, I am the only foreigner in attendance and this time I was the 1st to enter the galleries after the ribbon cutting ceremony … yes, all 8 of the dignitaries donned white gloves, were lined up in the proper order and all cut the red and white ribbons on command. This bit of low-key drama concluded the ceremony. Kiyo knows every one of import and introduced me to each of them. We had afternoon refreshments with the Director of the museum and the Chief Cultural Officer of Shiga who presented me with the huge and beautiful catalog for the show. Well, needless to say, it was a prefect “return to Kyoto” day!!