Ryukoku Museum

The Ryukoku Museum is located in the ancient capital of Japan, the city of Kyoto, in this place tourists have the opportunity to get acquainted with the history of Buddhism from its appearance in India to the present day. Particular attention is paid to the spread of religion in Japan. The state-of-the-art building houses a variety of religious artifacts that testify to various historical events, culture and spiritual practices of Buddhists. The museum has been operating since 2011.

Architecture features

The Ryukoku Museum is built next to the 17th-century Buddhist temple Nishi Honganji, and Ryukoku University, after which the museum was named, is also located nearby. Despite the fact that the museum is dedicated to more than 2 thousand years of religion, the building looks quite modern. The famous architectural company Nikken Sekkei successfully combined ancient Japanese traditions and modern convenience and comfort for visitors in one project.

To achieve this, unique solutions were used. For example, 4,000 ceramic blinds on the facade wall not only regulate the temperature inside the building, but also give it a characteristic oriental flavor. The interior of the Ryukoku Museum is dominated by glass and wood. There is a patio where you can admire elements of landscape design, as well as exhibits in the form of small architectural forms. The building has everything for the convenience of citizens with limited mobility.

Exhibition of the Ryukoku Museum

It’s best to start getting acquainted with Buddhism with the exhibition “Asian Buddhism”. Here you can find out how religious teaching first appeared in India and then spread throughout Asia. This section presents the most ancient artifacts. The image “Robe of Death” dates back to the 1st-2nd century, “Seated Avalokiteshvara” - 7th-8th century, texts from the Tang era in China - the end of the 9th century.

The section “Japanese Buddhism” of the Ryukoku Museum presents artifacts that testify to the emergence and strengthening of religion in Japan. These are the legends of the Muromachi era of the 14th century, the Descent of Amida of the 15th century, and the Standing Daikoku-ten of the 16th century.

Collection of Otani Kozui (1876 - 1948)

This is a famous Japanese explorer and sponsor of expeditions to study Buddhism. Organized three large expeditions, during which the development of Buddhism in China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Nepal and India was studied. During his travels, he collected a lot of archaeological and written evidence of the advancement of religion to the east. His findings are still of undoubted value to researchers today. The collection of artifacts is so extensive that it is located not only in Japanese museums, but also in scientific institutions in China and Korea. The collection of Chinese porcelain collected by the scientist is of great value.

Ryukoku University

The Ryukoku Museum occupies 4 floors and covers an area of 4,441.93 square meters. The exhibition related to Ryukoku University is of great interest. The educational institution was founded in 1639, initially it operated as a school of Buddhist monks, and only in 1887 it became secular. Here are texts from 12th-century Buddhist monks and priests, 4th-century letters, songs of Maneshu, and drawings used in the construction of the Ryukoku University and dormitories.

If we talk about the frescoes from the Bezeklik cave temples, thanks to modern digital technologies, those who wish can find themselves in medieval China and see a fragment of 9 unique murals of the cave monastery. The corridor, about 15 meters long and 3.5 meters high, is an exact digital copy of cave No. 15.