Studio: international art (90.1925)

■"■'•fT^ '

TOKYO

FRESCO IN THE UZUMASA TEMPLE
KYOTO. BY YAMASHIKA'SEIKWA

TOKYO.—Much difficulty has always
been experienced in preserving art
treasures at temples in such a manner that
while being secured from the danger of

TREASURES ON DISPLAY AT THE
UZUMASA TEMPLE, KYOTO
FRESCO BY YAMASHIKA'SEIKWA

fire they could yet be shown to students
and the devout public in their appropriate
setting. The Uzumasa Temple in a
suburb of Kyoto—one of the oldest
Buddhist temples in Nippon—has happily
surmounted this difficulty in a manner
worthy to be emulated. A reinforced con-
crete building following as closely as
possible the Japanese traditional style has
been erected to house the statues, and
these sacred Buddhist figures are now to
be seen, and reverenced by the devout,
against a suitable background achieved by
a fresco, running all round the building,
which was painted by Yamashika*Seikwa
of Kyoto, a pupil of Kawabe'Kwakyo and
Kamisaka'Sekkwa, both of Kyoto. Under
their guiding influence he has developed a
decorative style of painting and has pro-
duced many successful designs for bro-
cades, wall coverings and banners. The
subject of this fresco, celestial musical
instruments floating on clouds, is in
harmonious keeping with the decorations
on the panels and pillars of the building.
This is an example which might with
advantage be followed by temples through-
out the Empire which find themselves the
custodians of valuable art treasures of the
nation. Harada-Jiro.

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