Benoy Behl first went to Japan 25 years ago. The things he saw there were different from what he had expected — they were Indian in nature. The filmmaker, art historian and photographer found value structures to be similar in both societies. In that visit, he also came to know about their worship of Goddess Saraswati. Subsequent visits piqued his interest in Japan’s connection with India. The Delhi-based filmmaker’s explorations and research have resulted in a work titled ‘Hindu deities and Indian culture in Japan’, which was showcased recently at an exhibition in the city. Excerpts from a chat:
When did Japan’s Indian connection, and the idea of documenting it, strike you?
During my first visit, I was struck by the deep similarities between us. Subsequently, in 2001, I came to know more about Indian influences in Japan, when I was shooting for my 26-film series ‘The Paintings of India’. I became conscious of the fact that Japanese scholars traced their greatest classic paintings (in the Horyuji Temple) to the tradition of painting that emerged from Ajanta. Japanese priests also spoke to me about how the art, based on Indian philosophy and ideas, flourished in Japan.
Once, when I was invited to speak at the temple in Gunma (the Shorinzan Darumaji Temple), the chief priest showed me a dozen images of Saraswati that he had brought from India. He also showed me an equal number of Japanese images of Saraswati, who happened to be his favourite deity. I then decided that this was a subject I must look into further.
Which aspects of Japanese culture do you think are intrinsically based on ours?
In Japan, material aims are not pursued by ignoring ethical values. This was a part of the great vision of ethics that flowed out of India in ancient times. Most importantly, much of what we may have forgotten is preserved in Japan. Saraswati is worshipped as the deity of creativity and learning in Japan, and is pictured with the veena, just as in India. Saraswati is also worshipped as a water body.
Can you elaborate, with respect to the practices there and the spoken language?
Beejaksharas (the 6th Century Sanskrit alphabet) are still deeply venerated in Japan, while we have forgotten the 6th Century Sanskrit script of Siddham. The havan or homa is called Goma in Japan. More than 1,200 temples in Japan perform the homa, every day, along with Sanskrit chanting. The Japanese alphabet Kana was based upon the phonetics of Sanskrit. If you go into a Japanese primary school, you will hear the children chanting, just like in India, “a aa e ei ou oou”.
While they may have managed to hold on to it, a lot of things have changed closer home, especially in cities…
We changed and forgot our culture due to our colonial encounter. We began to look at ourselves the way the British saw us.
Based on your travels, can you tell us about some of the most important traits of the Japanese?
The Japanese truly live by the dictum Atithi Devo Bhava. They are so helpful.
Talk us through your work on the deities in Japan. The Benzaiten Shrine, for instance, is probably the tallest Saraswati shrine in the world…
In fact, there are hundreds of Saraswati shrines in Japan. There are innumerable representations of Lakshmi, Indra, Brahma, Ganesha, Garuda and others. Deities we have practically forgotten in India, such as Vayu and Varuna, are still worshiped there.
What surprised me most is the importance given to Sanskrit manuscripts. Even when the first Constitution of Japan was created, they used a Sanskrit script for its consecration. The manuscript was the Usnisa Vijaya Dharani and must have been obtained from Vietnam in the 7th Century. Japan is also a country where Buddhism flourishes in all its facets.
What are you working on next?
I am making a film on The Ramayana , which is performed more often than any other epic, in the theatre traditions of the world, for the longest period of history. It is enacted by Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims, and is an important cultural tradition in Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal and India. I hope the film will convey that The Ramayana knows no religious or geographical boundaries.
