By KENSAKU NISHIDA/ Staff Writer
April 3, 2024 at 15:16 JST
The interior of the storage facility of the mural paintings of the Kondo main hall of Horyuji temple in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
IKARUGA, Nara Prefecture--Horyuji temple here will hold a limited public showing in May of its precious Buddhist mural paintings, which were scorched in a fire at the Kondo main hall in 1949, it was announced April 2.
Up to 880 people will be invited to view the murals, which are state-designated important cultural properties.
The exclusive viewing will be for donors to a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for the preservation and utilization of the murals.
This is the fourth time the wall paintings will be made available to the public, but the first time they will be shown in the spring.
The murals were painted in the late seventh to early eighth century and depict the world of Buddha.
Considered one of the greatest treasures of Buddhist paintings in East Asia, the murals were badly burned in the 1949 calamity. They are now kept in a storage facility on the temple grounds.
In 2015, the temple, in cooperation with the Agency for Cultural Affairs and The Asahi Shimbun, established a committee for the preservation and utilization of the murals, and continues to conduct research and studies to make them accessible to the public in the future.
The limited exhibition of the murals will also examine environmental changes in the storage building due to visitors coming in and out of the facility.
The past three viewing events were held in the fall but will be changed to spring this time to assess the environmental impact of the season.
The exhibition will run from May 11 to 26, except May 15, 16 and 20-22, with eight visitors each taking a 30-minute turn.
Crowdfunding starts at 10,000 yen ($66) per donation with a goal of 5 million yen. Funds raised will be used to prepare plans for the renovation of the storage facility.
Applications are being accepted from 9 a.m. on April 3. The application website is (https://readyfor.jp/projects/horyujikondo2024). Donations that do not come with a viewing will also be accepted.
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