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Made in India, revered in Japan
Buddhist temples abound in Japan but few know that several Indian deities are worshipped in the country.
Buddhist temples abound in Japan but few know that several Indian deities are worshipped in the country. In a rare photo exhibition, a long lost link of two nations through gods and goddesses came alive bringing back history, art and culture in one go. Japan has preserved many Hindu traditions and the very existence of hundreds of Saraswati shrines goes to show the interest by the Japanese.
A 60-year-old filmmaker, culture historian, photographer and traveller Benoy K Behl who did research and took photographs with the support of Japan Foundation Fellowship says, “In Japan, Saraswati is depicted and venerated not only with Veena (Biwa in Japanese), but also remembered for her association with water. She is also worshipped in pools of water. Saraswati is called Benzaiten at the Yoshiwara Jinja temple, Tokyo, Ganesha is Shoten, Yama is Emma.”
Deities like Vayu and Varuna are almost forgotten in India, but are still worshipped in Japan. Also one can find numerous representations of Lakshmi, Indra, Brahma, Ganesha, Garuda and other deities in Japan. There are at least a dozen and a half Indian deities worshipped there. “The exhibition aims to ignite the spirit of enquiry into the past and more importantly, make people think about the close relations between Japan and India,” says A Nagender Reddy, director, Salar Jung Museum.
Sanskrit too finds a place in Japanese culture. For instance- the Japanese alphabet ‘Kana’ is based on the phonetics of Sanskrit. Some Japanese tombs have Sanskrit alphabets. What is more, the sixth century Siddham script disappeared from India, but is preserved in Japan. One of the major brands of milk products in Japan is Sujatha.
The photographs convey not just the cultural ties between two nations, but of the intrinsic cultural values of a long lost history. The exhibition plays a part in understanding deeper connections of civilisations. A must see for students of history as well as anyone interested in cultural history. The exhibition is on till March 7 and will later head to Japan.
