NARA NATIONAL MUSEUM

Japanese Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, in Nara, Japan, art museum devoted primarily to Buddhist art. Exhibits include dry-lacquer works, wooden statues, and lacquered wood from the earlier and later Heian periods. There are Kamakura sculptures, including Jizo-Bosatsu, and a relief of 1327 from Kochi of Kobo Daishi (Kukai), one of the best-known Buddhist saints in Japan. Pieces on display include a fine gilded-bronze halo of the Asuka period from the statue of the Nigatsudo.