「仏像は誰のものか？」修復者として考える仏像継承上の問題点とその解決=Who Owns Buddhist Statues? A Conservator’s Consideration of Problems and Solutions in the Inheritance of Buddhist Statues
Japanese Buddhist statues are “the symbol of Buddhist culture.” Conservators can hardly discuss the Buddhist statues without considering that they are not only spiritual beings as objects of faith but also “physical objects created by humans=tangible things=material.” From this perspective, when considering the history of Buddhist statues in Japan and how the statues have been dealt with, in particular, the reasons why conservation of the Buddhist statues has become complicated after the Meiji period, and the significance of values, conservation and inheritance of them, Japanese Buddhist statues are not limited to the possessions of Buddhism. Furthermore, a question arises of “who owns the Buddhist statues.” Based on the above points, this paper discusses the current problems in the conservation and inheritance of Japanese Buddhist statues and the solutions. It is composed of four main chapters: （1） Japanese people’s love of making things and the Buddhist statues as physical objects, （2） kami （deities） and hotoke （Buddha）: from the establishment of Buddhist statues unique to Japan to the present through the separation of Shinto and Buddhism, （3） concepts of conservation and hidden values of Buddhist statues and （4） global changes, and the problems in the conservation of Buddhist statues in the region and their case studies. The paper will conclude by presenting the necessity for conservation and inheritance and the concrete measures. To help to understand the contents, the beginning of each chapter has a lecture note as “reference material （（1） to （4） respectively）” which considers the conservation of Buddhist statues by linking to the current general social topics and issues. It is appreciated if you read the true intentions as the basis of the author’s thoughts on the conservation of Buddhist statues.
