is an art museum on Kōya-san, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, preserving and displaying Buddhist art owned by temples on Kōya-san. The collection is centered around articles from the Heian and Kamakura periods and includes paintings, calligraphy, sutras, sculpture and Buddhist ritual objects. Among these are a set of the complete Buddhist canon (issaikyō), writings of Kūkai and Minamoto no Yoritomo, founder of the Kamakura Shogunate, mandalas and portraits of priests. The most valuable objects have been designated as National Treasure or Important Cultural Property.
History
Kōbō-Daishi, founder of Shingon Buddhism was a proponent of religious art as a way to enlightenment. Consequently, Shingon temples such as on Koyasan are among Japan's greatest repositories of Buddhist art. Initially, Koyasan's religious treasures were spread among the various subtemples with the highest concentration at Kongōbu-ji. Valuable objects were either locked away or — if used liturgically — placed at a distance from the viewer and often poorly lit. Repeatedly unrolling handscrolls or paintings on scrolls on request of visitors caused further damage. Following the Meiji Restoration, at the end of the 19th century, the government introduced a policy of separation of Shinto and Buddhism (Shinbutsu bunri) and many Buddhist temples became destitute. Some of Koyasan's artworks ended up in collections of museums in Tokyo, Kyoto or Nara or were sold to private persons, both domestically and to foreigners.
In order to stop the outflow of cultural properties the government passed a series of laws starting with the in 1897 and continuing with the in 1929 and the from 1950 which, after a number of revisions and extension, is still effective today.
The Koyasan Reihōkan was established with the help of volunteers by Kongōbu-ji, the head temple at Koyasan, with the aim to preserve and exhibit the precious religious and cultural heritage of Koyasan. Construction of the building in a wooded area southwest of Daishi Kyōkai, the administrative center of Shingon Buddhism, was completed on 30 September 1920. This first museum consisted of two connected halls and was designed to vaguely resemble the Phoenix Hall at Byōdō-in, Uji. The opening of the museum was celebrated on 15 May 1921 and the head priest of Kongōbu-ji, Hōryū Doki (土宜法龍) assumed the position of first director. Subsequently, the temple's head priests continued to work as museum director.
On 16 September 1957, the was established and the museum put under its control. On 1 May 1961, the museum was expanded with the construction of the , at the time the biggest of its kind in Japan and used mainly for nationally designated tangible cultural properties of the fine arts and crafts type. In 1984, on the 1150th anniversary of Kōbō-Daishi entering the state of eternal meditation (nyūjō (入定)), a new large standalone and fireproof building was constructed to the east of the old structure, effectively doubling the display space. It also provided the museum with modern features such as proper lighting, full temperature and humidity control; things that are still lacking in the old structure today. On 5 May 1988 five buildings of the museum were designated as registered tangible cultural property. The storage space was further extended in 2003. The admission office and the three museum buildings are connected by sheltered walkways.
Collection
The museum stores more than 50,000 artifacts of which more than 28,000 have been designated as valuable. This includes 186 objects or sets of objects designated as 21 National Treasures (about 4800 articles), 147 Important Cultural Properties (about 20,000 articles), 16 Important Cultural Properties of Wakayama Prefecture (about 2850 articles) and 2 Important Works of Art.
National Treasures
Paintings
Eight National Treasure paintings owned by six of Koyasan's temples are stored at the Reihōkan. A hanging scroll showing the has been designated as National Treasure. Painted by in 1145 Heian period with color on silk, the scroll is owned by Kongōbu-ji.
, owned by Kongōbu-ji is a large scale, hanging scroll painted with color on silk. Dated to 1086, Heian period, it is a type of Nirvana painting (nehan-zu) depicting the death and entrance to nirvana of the historical Buddha (Shaka). Typical for this kid of paintings, Shaka is shown lying on his deathbed surrounded by mourners. This painting is the oldest extant and finest of its type.