Description of Exhibition

Since ancient times, people have imbued objects with their prayers and buried them in the ground. Such interments were deeply intertwined with Buddhist thought, functioning like time capsules that combined supplications to purify and protect the land with aspirations to transmit teachings to the distant future.
This exhibition focuses primarily on deposited objects excavated in the Kyoto–Osaka region, tracing examples from different time periods: the interment of earthenware in the Kofun period (ca. 3rd–6th c.); offerings buried beneath building foundations (chindangu) and coins from the Asuka (592–710) and Nara (710–794) periods onward; and sutra deposits and sutra mounds (kyōzuka) from the Heian (794–1185) and Kamakura (1185–1333) periods. It also provides an overview of the history of such practices through the Muromachi (1392–1573) and Edo (1615–1868) periods. The exhibition further highlights the diverse beliefs—including Buddhism—that underlie the practice of depositing objects, exploring the wishes and prayers people consigned to the earth.

Tile Incised with Monk
Excavated from Katagihara Bonyama, Kyoto
Kyoto National Museum