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Japanese Buddhist Buddhism has been practiced in Japan since about the 6th century CE. Japanese Buddhism () created many new Buddhist schools, and some schools are original to Japan and some are derived from Chinese Buddhist schools. Japanese Buddhism has had ...

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

s or statues concealed from public view. ''Hibutsu'' are generally located within Buddhist temples in shrines called . They are generally unavailable for viewing or worship, although they are brought out for specific religious ceremonies; it is also possible in some cases for the ''hibutsu'' to be viewed in exchange for an offering to the temple. Certain ''hibutsu'', such as the wooden statue of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

Seiryō-ji is a Buddhist temple in the Saga district of Ukyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. It is also known as Saga Shaka-dō. It is devoted to the practice of Yuzu Nembutsu. Initially, the temple belonged to the Kegon sect; then it became a Pure Land temple. The ' ...

or the Amida statuary at

Zenkō-ji is a Buddhist temple located in the city of Nagano, Japan. The temple was built in the 7th century. The modern city of Nagano began as a town built around the temple. Historically, Zenkō-ji is perhaps most famous for its involvement in the b ...

, are almost never displayed, even to initiates of the temples in which they are held (such examples are known as ''zettai hibutsu''). Others are put on public display only rarely, in a ceremony called .

History

Whilst the practice of concealing important religious artefacts within ''zushi'' or behind curtains dates to the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

, the concept of ''hibutsu'' is slightly later. It is possible that the original practice was based on

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

concepts, in which are without physical form, however a document from Kōryū-ji indicates that it began at that temple with the concealment of a statue of

Kannon Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She w ...

imported from

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms ...

in 616. The earliest record of an actual ''hibutsu'' dates from 1106, when sources indicate the Amida statues at Zenkō-ji were briefly put on display. By the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...

''hibutsu'' had become a popular concept in Japanese Buddhism, and during this time ''kaichō'' ceremonies became major public events, drawing crowds of thousands. It has been noted by art historians such as Shiro Ito that ''hibutsu'' are a uniquely Japanese phenomenon; other Buddhist cultures do not have any equivalent practice. The concealment of the ''hibutsu'' is intended to emphasise their potency and transcendence. It may also serve to protect them from pollution by the impure influences of the mundane world, or to preserve the personal privacy of these "living" embodiments of Buddhism.

Liza Dalby Liza may refer to * Liza (name), including a list of people named Liza * ''Liza'' (fish), a genus of mullets * ''Liza'' (1972 film), a 1972 Italian film * ''Liza'' (1978 film), a 1978 Malayalam horror film * Hurricane Liza (disambiguation), the ...

's novel ''Hidden Buddhas'' is based on the concept of ''hibutsu''.

References

{{reflist, 30em Buddhism in Japan Buddhist art Buddha statues