The History of Busshi (Japanese Buddhist sculptor) With Mark Schumacher

Hosted by filmmaker Yujiro Seki, Carving the Divine TV is a series of Q&A sessions with Buddhist scholars and practitioners. These Q&A sessions explore the basic concepts of Buddhism, the history of Buddhism and of course Buddhist sculptures/sculptors (bustuzo/busshi) so that when viewers finally watch the documentary Carving the Divine - Buddhist sculptors of Japan, they will get the maximum value of the documentary.

Hosted by filmmaker Yujiro Seki, Carving the Divine TV is a series of Q&A sessions with Buddhist scholars and practitioners. These Q&A sessions explore the basic concepts of Buddhism, the history of Buddhism and of course Buddhist sculptures/sculptors (bustuzo/busshi) so that when viewers finally watch the documentary Carving the Divine - Buddhist sculptors of Japan, they will get the maximum value of the documentary.

Finally, we will have a special show about Busshi (Japanese Buddhist sculptors).  This time we are going to talk about the history of Busshi!   The art of Busshi, known as Butsuzo, has been one of the highest refined art forms in Japan for 1400 years, but it has been under the radar until now.  Finally, we are ready to bring this art and tradition to the forefront through our documentary Carving the Divine.  However, Carving the Divine does not recount the history of Busshi; rather, it is about the modern-day Busshi.  So, we thought it would be a great idea to do a special show to specifically introduce the history and why the Busshi tradition matters.  * To fully enjoy the visual presentation of the slides, please go to our YouTube video: https://youtu.be/tWld13bY1hc
 
As always, we will take you on a true wild rollercoaster ride.  Get ready! In this show, you will travel through the span of 1400 years.  How crazy is that?  How cool is that?   This is a truly special show because we invited our hero, Art Historian Mark Schumacher, to show and tell the history of Busshi through his visual presentation.  We will not only talk about the history of Busshi but we will also be showing you visually the art of Busshi.   We’ll be talking about Tori Busshi, Jocho, Unkei, Kaikei, Enku and so much more!  So you can see the beautiful art of Busshi in your own eyes along with the history lesson! 
 
And that’s not all! Mr. Schumacher is gracious enough to let us download the virtual presentation of this episode so that you can study it in your own time and at your own pace!  Please go to https://www.carvingthedivine.com/study-guide and download!  Wow, I’m speechless!  This is the coolest gift ever!  Enjoy! 

So what are you waiting for?!  Check out our newest Carving the Divine TV episode “The History of Busshi (Japanese Buddhist sculptors)”  Let’s go on our incredible journey of 1400 years! 

Mark Schumacher is an independent researcher who moved to Kamakura (Japan) in 1993 and still lives there today. His website, The A-to-Z Photo Dictionary of Japanese Religious Statuary, has been online since 1995. It is widely referenced by universities, museums, art historians, Buddhist practitioners, and lay people from around the world. The site's focus is medieval Japanese religious art, primarily Buddhist, but it also catalogs art from Shintō, Shugendō, Taoist, and other traditions. As of August 2018, it contained 400+ deities and thousands of annotated photos of statuary from Kamakura, Nara, Kyoto, and elsewhere in Japan. The site is searchable. LINK TO A-TO-Z PHOTO DICTIONARY = http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/buddhism.shtml