I work as a bussi (Buddhist sculptor) in Kyoto. My work primarily involves sculpturing and repairing wooden Buddha statues.
Buddha statues were first made in Gandhara and Mathura about 500 years after Buddha’s death. In the middle of the 6th century, Buddha statues were bought from India via China and Korea to Japan.
During the 1300 years since Buddha statues were first made in Japan, its shapes became conventionalized using well-honed and aesthetic Japanese sensibility and, along with the development of the techniques of various Japanese crafts, evolved into their current ‘grateful style’.
As a Buddhist sculptor, my goal is to make Buddha statues that help people living in modern times as well as to pass down the history and aesthetic sensibility of Japanese Buddha statues to future generations.
On this website you’ll find pictures of Buddhist sculptures that I have created.
Japanese Buddha statues have a sublime beauty, of which I am fiercely proud. I hope that, like me, you can feel the grandness of Japanese Buddha statues as well as the expressions of the Buddhist savior.
Buddhist sculptor Koudou Noda
I was born in Fukushima, and studied Buddhist History at university in Kyoto. While I was in university, I saw the Buddha statues in Toji and was deeply impressed by these wooden sculptures. It was at that time that it struck me that I wanted to create such things, so I began drawing and sculpturing in my own time. After graduating from university, I studied for 13 years at Matsuhisa Sohrin Buddhist studio and also served as an instructor at Matsuhisa’s Buddhist sculptor school.
In April 2021, I set up my own studio: Yase-Zobutsusho in Yase, in the north of Kyoto city. Yase is well-known as a historical and cultural place. I make and repair Buddhist statues for both temples and private customers. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or inquiries.
Yase-Zobutsusho
353-4 Yasekonoechō, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, Japan 601-1253
Tel/Fax : 075-200-7891
