Dharma Drum Journal of Buddhist Studies

    As early as 1871, in the fourth year of the Meiji era, local residents of Kyoto held the first exposition of the Meiji period at Nishi Hongan-ji. Following the event, a permanent organization called the "Kyoto Exposition Society" was established, which had a semi-official nature, and in 1872, it held its first official exhibition at venues including Nishi Hongan-ji, Chion-in, and Kennin-ji. Although the Kyoto Exposition promoted the goal of "exploring new knowledge to strengthen the nation," it did not specifically aim to promote Buddhist culture. However, due to the substantial involvement of ancient temples providing exhibits and the use of temple grounds as venues in the early stages, the exposition became a platform for temple artifacts to be viewed by new audiences. In the context of shifting modes of viewing, even though the temple artifacts remained in their original spaces, their cultural significance underwent a tremendous transformation. The Kyoto temples and their artifacts, originally embedded in the religious practices of devotees and the aesthetic traditions of the local cultural sphere, found their positions within the knowledge systems drastically altered. These shifts included the inclusion of new audiences and changes in the perspectives of existing ones. It is particularly noteworthy that the organizers of the Kyoto Exposition intentionally sought to attract foreign viewers and devised various specific measures for this purpose. Observing the participation of these new audiences from diverse cultural backgrounds reveals the trajectory of how the meanings of temple artifacts evolved in the modern era.

    This study does not limit itself to the official goals set by the Kyoto Exposition, but rather carefully examines the details of the actual events. These substantive conditions help to elucidate how such new activities, which did not primarily aim to promote "fine arts" or "Buddhist culture," facilitated the incorporation of ancient artifacts into modern knowledge systems before the emergence of standardized artifact compilation activities.

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