Art Festivals & Events

Spotlighting the animals associated with prayer and faith that are often depicted in archaeological artifacts, sculpture, painting, and craftwork, this exhibit draws on the collection of the Nara National Museum. Buddhist art incorporates auspicious creatures like the dragon, lion, phoenix, crane, and turtle. Other traditions feature the Four Divine Creatures (shishin) of the cardinal directions and the animals of Twelve Earthly Branches (junishi) of the zodiac. The art ranges from meticulous realism to the fantastic, as reflected in the hair-raising demons of the twelfth-century Jigoku-zoshi (Hell Handscrolls).