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Installation of the nameplate of Mural Preservation, 2023.11.26

1.This nameplate is installed to honor the names of 365 donors from individuals and organizations helped the mural preservation project conducted during the global corona pandemic between 2019 and 2022. The names are printed in Japanese.

2. This project was carried out by the Japanese people of the home country where Master Artist Nosu Kosetsu was born, in response with the request of Mulaghanda Kuti Vihara. The latest Japanese technologies for cultural property preservation, like the “Prevent flaking or Complementary colors”, were applied.

3.The total project cost was covered by the private funds in response to requests for donations of the Society of honoring the Master Artist Nosu Kosetsu in Japan.

4.In order to promote the project, the Society of honoring the Master Artist Nosu Kosetsu was formed in Kagawa Prefecture that’s the artist's hometown in Japan.

5. The stainless steel nameplate has also the profile of Artist Nosu Kosetsu (1885-1973) and the period of his stay to complete mural in Sarnath (1932-1936) which make us remember the artist and his works.

The Sunday Times

PLUS, Sunday, October 29,2023

A marvel of murals and cooperation

The ancient frescoes at the Mulaghandakuti Vihara built by Anagarika Dharmapala in Sarnarh, India have been restored to their former glory by students of the original artist form Japan

Near century-old murals in the main hall of the iconic Mulagandhakuti Vihara built by Angarika Dharmapala in holy Isipathana (Sarnath, Varanasi) have come to life once again. The vihara is where the most revered sacred relics of the Buddha, discovered by British archaeologists near Texila in colonial India in 1913-14 and handed over for the safe custody to the Maha Bodi Society of India, are enshrined.

With the withered paint peeling off the murals due to inevitable decay caused by the passage of years, it was a team of exparts from Japan who have come to the rescue and restored the frescoes to their original magnificence.

Anagarika Dharmapala built the temple at Sarnath at the turn of the 20^th century, for Buddhist of the world to venerate the site at which the Buddha enunciated the Doctrine of the Middle Path for the first time. That message was taken throughout Central Asia to Persia (present day Iran) and the Far East to Japan by merchants, explorers and pilgrims alike.

Dharmapala had envisioned murals depicting chronicles of the life of the Buddha on the wall of the newly-built temple. Having visited Japan several times he had been greatly impressed by their ancient artistic and cultural life. As a founder member of the Japan India Association (JIA) which exists to this day, he asked for the help to find an artist who would do justce to the temple he had built. JIA turned to the Imperial Japanese Government for assistance.

Fresco artist Kosetsu Nosu, son of a Mahayana Buddhist monk who had studied the famous cave paintings at Ajanta was the ideal candidate for the task. Familiar with the fusion of Indian and Japanese art, he was recruited and spent five years in India completing the murals.

Dharmapala himself was able to see only a single sketch of Kosetsu’s drawings –“Conquering the davils and Enlightenment”.  Pleased with what he saw, he gave Kosetsu the green light for the project. Dharmapala passed away four months later in 1933 in Sarnath unable to see the finished product of the murals -44 meters in length and 4.4 meters in height.

With Dharmapala’s passing, Kosetsu funded the project himself by holding exhibitions of his own paintings. JIA and the Japanese Government chipped in later.

The people of Varanasi recorded their appreciation of the artist’s mural completed in 1936 in a letter they sent Kosetsu. He received a “ roar of applause” at the Tokyo station  on his return to Japan, according to Yutaka Miyahara of the present-day “Society of honoring the Master Artist Nosu Kosetsu”.

The restoration work of recent times was began just before the COVID pandemic struck. Venerable Secretary Seewalee Thera, General Secretary of the Maha Bodi Society of India made contact with JIA who together with the Indian embassy in Tokyo tracked down Kosetsu’s descendants in his birthplace of the Kagawa Prefecture. They turned to Professor Takayasu Kijima and Curator Professor Shigeki Mizobuchi.

When word went around that the Maha Bodi Society was seeking help- and funds, as the Indian Government at home had blocked it from accepting foreign currency under its Foreign Currency Regulations Act (FCRA), the Buddhists of Kagawa Prefecture freely donated money for the restoration project.

Restoration work began in earnest shortly thereafter, and the first phase was conducted at the end 2019, when the worldwide pandemic disrupted the work. Laat year, the project resumed and successfully completed by a team led by Prof. Mizobuchi.

Today, as pilgrims from all over the Buddhist world resume visiting holy Sarnath post pandemic, and attend the reciting of Dhammachakka Sutra (unfailingly  performed every evening at the Mulaghandakuti Vihara through world wars, monsoons and pandemics) they will be able to see the marvel of Kosetsu’s hybrid Indo-Japanese murals once again in their full splendour.

This is also a story of Indo-Japanese cooperation spreading over a century, the devotion of legendary Japanese artist

commitment by his family and his students, the spontaneous philanthrophy of the humble people of Kagawa Prefecture, and

the backing of the Governments of India and Japan to support the temple built by a Sri Lankan in India.

Picture 1: Kosetsu’s hybrid Indo-Japanese murals once again in their full splendour. Mara and his army attack Bodhisatta and top right,

Picture 2: Offering kheer by Sujantha to Bodhisatta

Picture 3: Restoration work in progress at the Mulaghandakuti Vihara

Pictute4: Behind the restoration: (Lr), Yutaka Miyahara, Prof. Shigeki Mizobuchi and Nishimoto Tatsuo of JIA, holding up an Image of legendary artist Kosetsu

October 13, 2023

Mr. Shigeki Mizobuchi of the  Society of Honoring Master Artist Nosu Kosetsu, came to Tokyo from Shikoku.

There are two objectives for as follows:

1. Mr. and Mrs. Sinha Ratnatunga visited the Japan-India Association. Mr. Sinha is the editor of The Sunday Times (a weekly newspaper in Sri Lanka) and a trustee of the Dharmapala Foundation and the Mahabodhi Society of India (Sri Lanka),  and might be a relative of  Venerable Dharmapala.

They gathered information on the historical relationship between the Japan-India Association and Dharmapala, and exchanged opinions on the establishment of the Mahabodhi Society of India in Japan. I don't think it would be that difficult for the Mahabodhi Society of India to set up an organization in Japan, but if we think about the subsequent management, we may need a core organization or person. We were able to confirm the Japan-India Association's stance on this matter. The photo shows, from the right, Mr. Nishimoto, the vice chairman and Managing Director of the Japan-India Association, Mr. Mizobuchi, Mr. and Mrs. Ratnatunga, and Miyahara.

2. In the afternoon, we visited the Foundation for Cultural Heritage and Art Research in Ueno Park. We sincerely appreciated for their cooperation and support. Mr. Mizobuchi's story was moving. if the late Master Painter Mr. Ikuo Hirayama hadn't praised for the murals of Nosu Kosetsu in Sarnath, the preservation project was not started. With this in mind, we were able to complete the project. Thanks to the tremendous support we received from the foundations connected to Master Artist Hirayama. The photo shows the foundation's Komiya, Executive Director, Kobayashi, Secretary General, Ms. Kuramochi, Mr. Mizobuchi, and Miyahara.

 20230205 Times of India <---linked

The Times of India, the leading English newspaper of India, has published a story on Kosetsu Nosu preservation project. It was reported by Ms Isha Jain, the main correspondent of the newspaper.

From Japan, with love: Fading murals come to life again

Decades after being created by an artist from Japan, murals on Buddha have been given a new lease of life, repots Isha Jain

IN the early summer of 1917, a legendary artist from Japan headed up to India, the sacred land of lotus flowers, to study Buddhist art and to work at Ajanta cave shrines. Here, he along with noted Japanese painter Kampo Arai and a few other Japanese painters with deep links to India, travelled to Ajanta caves to replicate the famed murals in Japan, his native land. As part of the misson, he travelled to different parts of India and came up with impression produced by the characterized method of Japanese art.

As a Buddhist on an artistic mission, Kosetsu Nosu, in November 1932, visited Mukul Dey, who then headed the Government School of Art in Calcutta. The same year, this legendry artist from Japan was selected to make a mural painting on the life of Lord Buddha at the Mulaganndha Kuti Vihara Temple in Sarnath, founded by Anagarika Dharmapala in 1931.

“When the temple was being built Dharmapala asked the Japan India Association to send an artist to paint the life of Buddha. Since Nosu had an experience of making copies of Ajanta cave paintings in his youth he was given this massive project”, says P. Seewalee Thero, the chief monk and general secretary, Maha Bodi Society of India.

The 47-year-old Nosu loved India so dearly that he accepted the offer. With an assistant, he worked diligently for four years to complete a 44-metre-long and 4-metre-high mural painting depicting different stages in the life of Buddha. After about 50 years, the murals stared fading and paintings began to peel off.

The chief priest of the MKV appealed to people from Japan to help them preserve the priceless piece of modern art heritage. The preservation work was envisioned way back in 1977. It however, went through a rough patch due to paucity of funds.

In next two decades when the murals further degenerated, the appeal from Sarnath reached Shigeki Mizobuchi, former curator in Japan, and it was only then that things started moving. Soon after the ‘Society for Honouring Master Artist Kosetsu Nosu’ was launched, and the first phase of skillful preservation work began in November 2019 under the leadership of Mizobuchi and technical supervisor Pfof. Takayasu Kijima from Tokyo University of the Art.

“These magnificent mural paintings by Nosu represent a historically and spiritually significant tangible cultural heritage shared by Japan and India. Simultaneously, the murals and the message they represent belong to followers of Lord Buddha,” says Shigeki Mizobuchi, hesd of the secretary of the society.

“Since Kosetsu Nosu chose to use highly specialized mineral paints specific to the period, for their ability withstand the climate of India, we replicated the same paint from scratch and used to touch up the parts of the murals where the paint had become extremely faded,” he says.

And for the parts where the paint had partially or completely peeled off, the restoration team had the task of repainting the missing parts, using old photographs of murals for reference. The preservation concluded in December 2022- the year that marked the celebration of 75 years of India’s Independence and 70 years of the establishment of the diplomatic relationship between India and Japan.

“Nosu’s goal in the mural painting work was twofold. One, by doing so, he would offer his humble devotion to Lord Buddha. Two, the murals saw revival of Buddhist art in India and was his effort to bring the two countries of India and Japan closer”, says Prof Sidharth Singh, a researcher of Buddhist Studies at Banaras Hindu University and former director, Vivekananda Cultural Centre, Embassy of India, Tokyo, Japan.

To record the contribution of Nosu, Prof Singh has written a monograph on the mural which was released during the concluding ceremony held in December 2022, in the presence of the ICCR president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe. “This time around Japanese experts have performed temporary preservation and complementary colouring work as preservation work,” says Thero.

Yoshimitsu Nosu, the grandson of Kosetsu Nosu says,”It was a source of great joy that after more than 80 years since their completion, the murals remain a symbol of the deep spiritual ties between Japan and India”.

20221215 A delegation arrives from Japan & 16 and the completion ceremony

On December 15th, Mr. Mizobuchi and Ven. Seewalee Thero looked satisfied as they prepared to welcome the Japanese delegation arriving in the afternoon.

When The delegation arrived at the temple, Mr. Onomura, President of Saishiki Sekkei Co., Ltd., which undertook the preservation works, gave an explanation to the delegation. Commemorative photo of the welcome.

And the next day, the 16th, we have the completion ceremony. It was the moment when Mr. Mizobuchi felt the most relief after receiving a congratulatory message from Ven. Seewalee Thero. Their smiles are probably the result of the relationship of trust they have built over the past ten years. For Mr. Mizobuchi, it has been 37 years since he knew about  Kosetsu, and since then he has gradually heard the request of the Maha Bodi Society for conservation work, and now his great wish has been fulfilled. Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President of the ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relation), also attended from the Government of India and gave congratulatory remarks. Professor Siddharth Singh (Baranas Hindu University), Former Director of the VCC of the Indian Embassy, celebrated the completion of the mural conservation work and published a book for this day (Remembering ``The Legend'').  The speech of Professor Emeritus Takayasu Kijima of Tokyo University of the Arts was specially touched to the audience.

20221215 The preservation work on the south and west sides of the main hall has been completed.

　From November to December 2019, the preservation work on the east side of the main hall of Mulagandha Kuti Vihara Temple was completed, but the work on the south and west sides, which had been suspended for two years due to the corona crisis, has now finished. The contents of the construction are cleaning, peeling prevention, and complementary coloring. The original painting of the mural was left as it was, and after applying peeling prevention, the cracks and damaged areas due to water leaks were limitedly colored with complementary colors. As an example, that can be understood by an amateur like me, I will compare the conservation measures from the upper right to the center of the east side with photographs.

The upper left corner of the east side was severely damaged due to a leak in the rain, and the client, the Maha Bodi Society of India, requested that it be restored to its original state as much as possible. Instead of redrawing, we just used a supplementary stippling (like placing colors with a light touch). I don't know if this expression is correct, but please compare before and after complementary colors. The wall painting was preserved as if it were the original painting, and the client was satisfied with the workmanship.

20221215 Fresco but not fresco?

In Japanese it is written as "mural" by Kosetsu Nosu himself, but in English it is written as "fresco". In Western Europe, most wall paintings are painted using the fresco technique, but the mural painting of Buddha's Life at Mulagandha Kuti Vihara in Sarnath, India, is little different from a so-called Western European fresco painting (painting before the plaster is dry). It is drawn with the technique of Japanese painting, not the method of fresco drawing. This was the result of artist Kosetsu Nosu's ingenuity in painting murals using mainly mineral paints in order to withstand the changes in color in the climate of India.

Mr. Mizobuchi, the curator, thought that this was the most technical feature of the restoration of the mural painting. The guidance of Japanese experts and the experience of specialists in the restoration of Japanese paintings would fulfille the wishes of the client, Ven. Seewalee Thero, General Manager of the Maha Bodi Society of India, to preserve and repair the original paintings as they are. Mr. Mizobuchi and Rev. Seewalee had long discussions to build a relationship of trust. That's why we had to dispatch engineers from Japan to take maintenance measures.

And after years of deliberation, it finally came true. Kosetsu Nosu's great wish, which took five years to complete, was also fulfilled with nearly 10 years of research and effort in the field of maintenance and preservation. In the future, maintenance repairs will be necessary, and it is thought that repairs will be required after a certain period of time, but this technical point of view is extremely important.

Since it is a mural painting, it is thought to be a fresco painting, but in fact it is a mural painted with Japanese painting techniques, not fresco techniques. In order to protect the precious cultural heritage of both Japan and India, cooperation between Japan and India is necessary not only financially but also technically.

20221124     2nd and 3rd phase maintenance work

From November 27th to December 18th, a Japanese painting mural conservation team will visit Sarnath, Varanasi, India to conduct preservation of Shakyamuni Buddha's mural at Mulagandha Kuti Vihara. The team consists of 7 members. After the completion of the first phase of construction in 2019, it was suspended for two years, 2020 and 2021, due to the corona crisis, but the second and third phases of construction will resume for the first time in three years.

On December 16th, the completion ceremony will be held by the client Maha Bodi Society of India.  On this day, related parties from Japan are scheduled to visit Sarnath.

We are carrying out the preservation project of mural painting of Buddha’s Life Story at the Mulagandha Kuti Vihara in Sarnath. As you know, this mural is a Japanese painting painted by a Japanese artist about 85 years ago. The artist was Mr. Nosu Kosetsu, and he completed this mural out of gratitude to India that’s the mother of Japanese culture and art. This mural is a masterpiece of Japanese painting in India completed with the support of Indian friends such as the great poet Rabindranath Tagore, the artist Mr. Mukul Dey who was the principal of Government School of Art in Kolkata, and also many Varanasi citizens. The famous master artist Mr. Ikuo Hirayama, who was the former President of the Tokyo University of Art, praised it highly. Therefore, we understand that the preservation of this mural is very important not only for the preservation of art, but also for deepening the cultural relations between Japan and India. 

Thanks to Mr. Mayank Joshi, DCM, Ms. Kanika Aggarwal, VCC Director, Ms. Anviti Chaturvedi and Mr. Taichi Watanabe of the Embassy of India.