Secret Buddhas, the Veiled Presence

Abstract

It would be impossible to count all the secret buddhas in Japan, but more than fifty of them have been designated Important Cultural Properties (Jūyō bunkazai) or National Treasures (Kokuhō) by the national Ministry of Culture (Bunkachō).1 Because the statues must undergo an inspection by art historians who are government officials, no absolute secret buddhas have received this designation, although some that are revealed very infrequently have. For example, the Kannon at Rokuharamitsuji temple in Kyoto is a National Treasure that can be viewed only once every twelve years, and the Kannon at Kiyomizudera temple, also a National Treasure, only once every thirty-three years. The temples that house these statues receive government funding, which ultimately comes from taxpayers. Many of the temples that receive regular visitors, such as those on the Western Pilgrimage, house a secret buddha that is a National Treasure or Important Cultural Property, and several of the images discussed in previous chapters are secret buddhas. That the Japanese do not make a fuss about their tax money being used for the upkeep of a large number of images they can rarely view speaks to the importance these living images hold in their lives.