On May 26, 752, Japan’s political, military, and monastic forces gathered to witness the eye-opening ceremony of the Great Buddha at Tōdaiji Temple in the capital city of Nara. On this occasion, the Great Buddha’s pupils were painted in, thereby enlivening the statue and transforming it into a religious icon. This activation ceremony comprised local and overseas religious specialists, as well as music and dance troupes specializing in performing arts from Japan and mainland Asia. Through the ceremony and the…