Mount Mikasa in Nara Prefecture is a well-known sacred site, said to be where the Shinto kami (gods) first appeared on Earth. In the middle of the 8th century, the powerful aristocratic Fujiwara clan built Kasuga Shrine on the Kasuga plains at the foot of Mount Mikasa, and it is now known as one of the "Three Great Shrines" of Japan.
Japan's unique combination of Shinto and Buddhist beliefs also evolved in Kasuga, and the creation of landscape paintings depicting the area became one of its characteristic activities.
This exhibition presents around 35 Kasuga works of art, including two scrolls from "The Illustrated Tales of the Miracles of the Kasuga Deity," on loan from The Museum of the Imperial Collections, and the "Kasuga Shrine Mandala," a designated Important Cultural Property that is being shown for the first time since its recent restoration; till Nov. 6.
Nezu Museum; (03) 3400-2536; 6-5-1 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku; 8-min walk from Exit A5 of Omotesando Station on the Ginza, Hanzomon and Chiyoda lines. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. ¥1,200. Closed Mon. www.nezu-muse.or.jp.
