Dr. John Johnston, Senior Fellow at the Center for Buddhist Studies, was recently awarded a
grant from the Ishibashi Foundation and Japan Foundation to conduct research on the visual
arts of the Ōbaku school of Zen Buddhism. The research project will take Dr. Johnston to Uji,
Japan for two months of research at Manpukuji, the main temple and headquarters of the
Ōbaku school for over 350 years.
The Ōbaku school is a living tradition in Japan and maintains a unique Buddhist culture
rooted in practices from late Ming and early Qing dynasty China. The role of the visual arts
in Ōbaku temple culture is the focus of Dr. Johnston’s research in Japan. He is particularly
interested in the intersection of material culture and aesthetics in Ōbaku temples.
Dr. Johnston is a co-organizer of the groundbreaking online exhibition “True Image:
Celebrating the Legacy of Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki) and the Art of Ōbaku” presented
by the Center for Buddhist Studies. The True Image exhibition is the catalyst for Dr.
Johnston’s research in Japan. He will present a lecture with his research findings for CBS in
the near future.