Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 7.djvu/104

RV 82 markablc about the Nara epoch than the vigorous growth of the Buddhist creed. Throughout the reign of all the Sovereigns that held their Court there, no expenditure was thought excessive in the service of religion. All the artistic resources of the time were devoted to the embellishment and furnishing of the temples. The priests attached so much importance to art as a means of appealing to the emotional side of human nature, that several of the greatest among them were themselves skilled painters and sculptors, contributing even more to the material and artistic development of their time than to its moral elevation. It may, indeed, be truly said, that the spread of Buddhism was synchronous with the rise of art and science in Japan. Carpenters, from the practice acquired in building temples, learned how to construct large edifices; sculptors and metallurgists became skilful by casting or graving idols of bronze, wood, and gold; painting, decorative weaving, the ornamentation of utensils, and the illumination of missals owed their expert achievement to the patronage and instruction of Buddhist monks; almost the first real impetus given to the potter's art is associated with the name of a priest,—in short, nearly every branch of industrial and artistic development stood more or less indebted to the influence of the creed. It is impossible to endorse the verdict of Japanese critics when they hold Buddhism responsible for decadence and retrogression which in reality marked, not the evil effects of the creed itself or of its propagandism, but a temporary diminution of its beneficent influence. Many abuses grew out of the arrogance, avarice, and ambition of the priests towards the close of the Nara epoch,