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Perhaps the obvious does not need to be stated that Buddhism, began by ?akyamuni in India in the 5th century b.c., played a major role in the development of history of art in Asia. Just as one cannot imagine the trajectory of Western art without Christianity, perhaps the art of Asia would have been monotonous and devoid of depth had it not been for Buddhism.
 
How was mankind to create tangible representations of ?akyamuni or rather, the symbol of the faith itself, Buddha, when his existence transcended the secular world? In the beginning, therefore, ?akyamuni and Buddha were not made into human or any form. Instead, the Buddha was represented by symbols such as the linden tree or the Dharma wheel, that were emblematic to Buddhism. The Buddha was also represented by important historical and holy sites such as Lumbini where he was born, Bodh Gaya where he attained enlightenment, Sarnath where he taught his first sermon, and Kushinagar where he attained parinirvana. The processes of creating images without the Buddha addressed the fundamental questions of depictions—what is meant by the absence of images or how is absence to be expressed. It also challenged how to differentiate between the various locations and furthermore how the mountains, trees, streams, and bodies of water, or the representations of nature were to be imbued with spirituality and the embedded messages communicated to viewers.
 
Since images of ?akyamuni and Buddha were created, the new challenge was the distinction between depictions of ?akyamuni, the actual historical figure versus those of the eternal Buddha. For example, Nirvana has two meanings—the end of ?akyamuni’s life and the other the release from his corporeal body into an eternal state. The former evokes sadness whereas joy in the latter and the question is how to distinguish between them in visual form. The visual form, in turn, also becomes indicative of the creator’s understanding of Nirvana.
 
This publication, New Perspectives on ?akyamuni Faith and Buddhist Art is a compilation of presentations by thirteen spirited scholars of Buddhist art who are internationally recognized. The essay topics span from ancient India to the Meiji period and each discussion begins with the fundamental art historical approach of object analyses which lead to new revelations of their historical significance. The essays will reflect on the issues stated above between objects and concepts while providing new interpretations to them. This publication will provide a fresh dynamism towards the history of objects in Asia and give readers new perspectives on Indian, Western Asian, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese works. The publication will provide basic information regarding the study of Buddhist art while enticing readers for further study. I highly recommend this book to people who are interested in beginning Buddhist art studies and also to those who are interested in the state of Buddhist art studies today.
 

(Written by MASUKI Ryusuke, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology / 2024)