“Anxiety and Hope in Japanese Art,” on Display at the Met

“Death of the Historical Buddha”
Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Anxiety and Hope in Japanese Art,” the exhibit currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, offers a unique look at how Japanese art has intertwined grief and suffering with ideas about rebirth. Combining sacred objects from early Japan, medieval painted scrolls, modern woodblock prints, and garments, the exhibit covers a wide range of ways that Japanese artists have responded to Buddhist conceptions of death. The pain of pain and the suffering caused by grief is fully shown in images such as “Death of the Historical Buddha,” in which followers, priests and animals are all shown weeping after the death of the Buddha. Yet the initiated know that the death of the Buddha is not the end, but rather a release from suffering, and some of his wise followers mimic the peaceful expression on Buddha’s face.

“Nyoirin Kannon,” a bodhisattva of compassion in Japan
Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art

While there are images of hellish landscapes and demon kings in the exhibit, there is also a plethora of statues and paintings depicting numerous bodhisattvas descending. In Buddhism, bodhisattvas are those who have reached enlightenment but delay becoming a Buddha in order to help others also reach enlightenment. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, some bodhisattvas are seen as being so highly evolved throughout lifetimes that they develop certain powers to compassionately help others. The iconography of these bodhisattvas helps to relieve some of the anxiety presented elsewhere in the exhibit about the ongoing cycle of life, death and suffering. Instead, bodhisattvas offer a welcome reminder that there is the possibility to release oneself from the cycle of suffering, and that there are celestial protectors to help guide one on this path.

Woman’s kimono with planes and Hinomaru flags
Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art

The exhibit also moves us into more recent times as it continues to explore the suffering of humankind throughout the years — yet also the hope of connection with others. Kimonos decorated with war propaganda are placed alongside photographs of Hiroshima and scars on human bodies, which are then contrasted with peaceful scenes from nature. The depth of the exhibit speaks to the ongoing relationship between anxieties around death and suffering and hope for something better.

“Anxiety and Hope in Japanese Art” is on display now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art until July 14, 2024.