The Koryŏ dynasty (918-1392), the first to unify the entire Korean Peninsula, was a Buddhist state. Through repeated conflicts and considerable cultural exchanges with the nations surrounding it, Koryŏ developed a Buddhist culture without peer. The Fragrant Sublime: Koryŏ Buddhist Paintings is a special exhibition that offers an opportunity to experience masterpieces of Koryŏ Buddhist art from the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries.
　The thirty-eight paintings and craft objects in this exhibition present a world of tranquil beauty that flowered in the land that has long been Japan’s neighbor. Included are stately images of Amitābha, the Water-Moon Avalokiteśvara depicted with unsurpassed elegance, imposing paintings of Kşitigabha, superbly decorated sutras transcribed in gold and silver, and handsome Buddhist implements. We hope that visitors will enjoy this world, whose distinctive beauty differs from that seen in Japanese Buddhist painting.