The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-07-29
The Great Rrnnze God.


The tree-bordered, gray stone walk
which brings you to Daibutz was skill
fully contrived so that, without any
previous glimpses, sudden step brought
us full into the presence of his bronze
majesty, in the very spot where he has
rested immobile for over 600 years. He
doomed up right before us a colossal
figure of Buddha, represented sitting,
oriental fashion, on a tremendous gran
lite platform. His great hands were
lying palm up on his enormous lap and
the sitting posture and the inadequate
ly low pedestal made the figure look so
spOrtiOnately broad that it was at first
difficult to realize its height. But a
glance at the surrounding trees and
buildings, over which it towers, and the
feeling of being microscopically minute
which crept over us, soon brought us to
the sense of its size. 1t bears a strong
family likeness to all other images of
Buddha, but its proportions render it
unusually impressive, for while the
non-superstitiou American mind can
rise superior to the toy idols of the
mantelpiece, a god forty-four feet high
and eighty-seven in circumference, with
an eight-and-a-half-fOOt face, a thirty
four foot knee and thumb three and
half feet in circumference, Is not to be
sneezed at. Huge earrings and close
fitting, bead-like head-dresS give it
rather an Egyptian air. There is a
legend that the god was ordered by
pious Empress of Japan, who COM
l.. 6
from all the faithful and received
enough to melt over into this I'M
mense image. We were struck at once
by the discolored appearance of the
bronze, which is gray, notified and
weatherbeaten from the suns and
storms of six centuries, and then
by the wonderful expression of
the figure, which is the embodi-
ment of majestic repose. 1t is some
how more natural to look to the texture
than to the meaning of any oriental
work of art, and their intelligent eX-
preston of an idea was always u sur
prise. In our lordly way we expected
skill rather than ideas from them. but
acquaintance with them very soon
changed that miscOnceptiop. Like all
images of Buddha, Daibutz pays study.
1t is artistically valuable as the almost
perfect expression of grand idea-the
idea of divine repOse. There is moth
ing dull in its immobility, yet nothing
sphinX-like behind its serenity; no rid
die to unravel or to veX you. 1t is
simply the perfection of philosophy
passiOnless calm. 1t is the perfect de-
velopment and perfect qualification of
all the faculties; the consequent abb
sence of desire or unrest Those who
study and love it fancy that the spell of
It's quiet serenity descends upon them
and fills them. like hasheesh or the To-
tus, with a sense Of perfect peace. Cur
merry crowd were each and all Just a
little touched by the grand old god, and
before we left we had mutually con
fessed feelings Of respect and admira-
ton for him and unanimously resolved
that he should adorn our parlors were
he only a few degrees smaller. We
were then shown to a small dark door,
which led (for the image is utterly hol-
low into its very bosom, which is fitted
up in a rude way As u temple. 4 break
neck climb up a vertebral stairway took
us to the small window which made
darkness visible, whence we could look
on the comparatively Lilliputian grove,
which affords shelter to picnic parties
and makes a short-waisted background
to the sixty odd feet of Daibutz and pc
destal.
While in the interior it seemed in
credible that this monstrOus image could
be the work ofthe puny Japanese. 1t was
cast, we were told, in sections, and the
parts SO joined as to appear one cast
ing. The bronze of which it is made is
excellent in quality, containing consid-
cradle gold. Gold was once very cheap
in Japan, and as late as 1000 they eX-
changed gold for silver, weight for
weight, with the Dutch.-IHe CaiJor-
MAN.