In 1915, Franklin Price Knott took this early color photograph of an unknown woman dressed as the Buddhist bodhisattva Guanyin. We can now identify this woman as Ruth St. Denis, who was known for her dance performances as Guanyin during this time.

Nōfuku-ji, a Buddhist temple in the port city of Kobe, Japan, was reportedly founded by the monk Saichō in 805. A thousand years later, the colossal Hyōgo Daibutsu was built on temple grounds in 1891, but the statue did not survive beyond World War II. 🧵 #WyrdWednesday

Aloha Wanderwell, the first woman to drive around the globe, stops at the Hyōgo Daibutsu in Kobe, Japan, in 1924. Her Ford 1918 Model T is parked in front of the statue. Aloha Wanderwell

At 55 meters (180 ft) long and 16 meters (52 ft) high at the shoulder, the Shwethalyaung Buddha is among the largest reclining buddha statues ever constructed. Made of brick and stucco, it is believed to have been built in the late tenth century under the patronage of a

Stereo-photographic Travel: Sleeping Buddha, near Bago, Myanmar. Photo taken by Herbert Ponting, c. 1905, for H. C. White Co.

#newpost! Maddalena Poli introduces the Dunhuang Culture Database, an online repository of books, scans, images, and videos that can complement the well-known International Dunhuang Project. Link in bio #敦煌文化 #敦煌文獻 #DHtools

The Taiyū-in Shrine, in idyllic Nikko, is the final resting place of shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu, one of the "Great Unifiers" of Japan. The compound is punctuated by several ornate gate houses, including the one here known as Yashamon for the Buddhist guardian figures protecting it.

Unknown Japanese studio, "Yashamon," albumen print, c. 1880s/90s [modified w/music 😎]

In 2025, seven of the top ten tallest freestanding statues in the world are Buddhist figures (as well as 31 of the top 50). The colossal size of Buddhist statuary is nothing new; foreign travelers in Asia have often noted this fact, as we see in this postcard message from

Given countless images showing the architectural grandeur of Angkor Wat, it’s easy to forget it was once an important religious site - not just a tourist destination. Here we see a photo by Pierre Dieulefils from 1905 showing “Buddhist monks on pilgrimage” to the sacred site.

"These objects were created with precious materials using highly sophisticated techniques...Among them are exotic items such as the Red Sandalwood Sugoroku Board...; the exquisite Blue Glass Cup...and the famous Aloeswood Incense..."Ranjatai." 👀 shosoin-ten.jp/en/

Unknown photographer (Kilburn publisher), "Buddhist students on pilgrimage, Japan," stereo photograph, c. 1901.

Johnston & Hoffman, "Lamas Prepared for a Religious Ceremony," c. 1890s.

今年の正倉院展が奈良国立博物館であす25日(土)開幕します。報道内覧会を取材しました。77回目の今回は名香「蘭奢待」として知られる「黄熟香」や深い紺色が美しい「瑠璃坏」など選りすぐりの宝物が会場を彩っていました。

蘭奢待や瑠璃坏など宝物67件を公開　第77回正倉院展、25日開幕 [奈良県]：朝日新聞 asahi.com/articles/ASTBS…

「門外不出」を大衆に公開して１５０年…天下の名香に心奪われた元祖・学芸員の情熱きっかけ：地域ニュース : 読売新聞 yomiuri.co.jp/local/kansai/n…

#出陳宝物紹介 平螺鈿背円鏡（へいらでんはいのえんきょう） 『国家珍宝帳』に記載された、聖武天皇ゆかりの鏡20面のうちの1面。鏡の背面は南海に産するヤコウガイの貝片を用いた螺鈿で華やかな文様が表され、地の部分にはトルコ石やラピスラズリの小片が埋め込まれている。 #正倉院展

A discussion on a new publication that focus on the Chinese wu 巫. criticaldivination.org/2025/09/03/isc…

By the 1880s, Chinese American temples were sufficiently familiar to the public imagination to serve as an effective visual basis for political satire. Yet, however, the imagery was often not rooted in ethnographic realism; it remained a caricature of Western fantasy. 🧵

Decades before Godzilla, the 1934 "monster" film, The Great Buddha Arrival, featured a costumed actor as a giant Buddha roaming through a miniature city. The figure was based on the recently completed Shūrakuen Daibutsu, a colossal statue erected in 1927 near Nagoya. 🧵 #Japan