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Feature Exhibition
Feature Exhibition
Treasures of Tōdaiji’s Omizutori Ritual
This Feature Exhibition offers an introduction to the history and traditions of the Omizutori shuni’e ritual conducted every two years in the first two weeks of March at the Nigatsudō Hall at Tōdaiji, gathering related works of sculpture, painting, historical documents, decorative arts, and archaeological findings. It has been held at the Nara National Museum every year since 1997 to great acclaim. The Omizutori ritual encompasses practices and rites shaped over the course of its long history. These are imbued with characteristics of the cultural and religious contexts in which they developed, among them the syncretic faith in deities of the Buddhist pantheon and kami worship referred to as Shinbutsu Shūgō. Largely inaccessible to the public, many practices and elements of Omizutori are shrouded in mystery; we hope that visitors will be able to gain a deeper understanding of its rites and traditions through this exhibition.
(Tōdaiji Temple, Nara)
About the Omizutori Ritual
The actual name of the Omizutori ritual, which is held at the Nigatsudō of Tōdaiji each year, is the “Shuni’e.” It is a Jūichimen Kannon Keka repentance ceremony conducted with the hall’s Eleven-Headed Kannon (Skt. Avalokiteśvara) as its principal icon. Prayers for prosperity and the aversion of disaster are offered alongside the confession of past transgressions at the heart of the repentance retreat. The Omizutori is renowned in part for its long history: it was first established in 752 (Tenpyō Shōhō 4) by the priest Jitchū. It has been observed without fail for the 1,270 years since, even through many disasters and periods of precarity, from the burning of Nara’s great temples by troops of the Taira clan in the late twelfth century; during the many calamities of the Warring States period from the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries; and, more recently, through the aerial bombings of the war. Its being held without fail for its entire history is the reason Omizutori is sometimes called the “Unceasing Rite.” It is certainly one of the foremost examples of living cultural heritage in Japan.
Dates
Saturday, February 10th to Sunday, March 17th, 2024
Holidays
The museum is closed on Tuesday, February 13th; Monday, February 19th; and Monday, February 26th.
Hours
The museum is open every day from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Last admission is thirty minutes before closing.
During the period of the Omizutori ritual (March 1st to March 14th), the museum is open until 6:00 p.m. every day, and until 7:00 p.m. on March 12th, the day of the Kago Taimatsu.
Venue
The New West Wing of the Nara National Museum
Admission
| General Admission | College Students |
|---|---|
| ¥700 | ¥350 |
- For those bringing along with them a guest who is a high school student or under and/or under the age of 18, please enjoy a 100 JPY discount on admission. Likewise, those bringing along a university student can enjoy a 50 JPY discount.
- Admission to this exhibition also grants entry to the permanent collection exhibitions of Buddhist masterworks from the museum’s collection; the Nara Buddhist Sculpture Hall; and the Chinese Ancient Ritual Bronzes Gallery.
Organizers
The Nara National Museum, Tōdaiji, NHK Broadcasting Nara Station, and the Bukkyo Bijutsu Kyōkai (The Buddhist Art Foundation)