Among murals kept at the treasure house are the large No. 10 painting, left, which shows the Bhaisajyaguru Pure Land; the smaller No. 11 Samantabhadra picture, center; and the No. 12 11-face Kannon mural. (Provided by Horyuji temple)
IKARUGA, Nara Prefecture A lucky few will get an exclusive viewing of fire-damaged murals that are set to go on limited display at Horyuji temple here.
The murals are called one of Asia s most significant Buddhist art treasures.
A total of 500 people who make donations of 10,000 yen ($90) to a crowdfunding campaign will be invited to see the murals at the temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in November.
A deer in Nara Park in November 2020 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
NARA A man has been arrested here under suspicion of violating the Cultural Assets Preservation Law for killing a deer God’s sacred messenger according to ancient myth an act that once was a capital offense in Japan.
Nara prefectural police on March 2 arrested Hayato Yoshii, 23, a construction assistant in Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture, in connection with the death of a deer last month.
Police said sometime around Feb. 7, Yoshii smashed a sharp, thick object against the head of a doe estimated to be 11 years old, at Nara Park, a major tourist attraction in the city home to many deer.