In-Person Lecture Series

The Beauty of Japanese Sculpture
From the Muromachi to Edo Periods

7PM - 8:30PM, Wednesday, April 1, 2026
Murasaki Hall at The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
(5700 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90036)

Admission FREE
Please register HERE

Following the Kamakura period, Buddhist sculpture production declined and greater emphasis was placed on painting. This does not mean the late medieval and early modern periods were without innovation, however. Itinerant preachers like Enku (1632-1695) wandered the Japanese countryside and left behind thousands of quickly carved icons. Monumental restoration projects, too, were undertaken at important temples that demanded the efforts of the most skilled image-makers at that time.

This is the fifth session of six monthly classroom-style lectures that trace the historical development of sculpture in Japan. These lively conversations explore Japanese sculptures from various time periods and mediums through in-depth explanations about how and why they were made. Participants will also encounter obscure topics related to sculpture-making in Japan.

Michael VanHartingsveldt

A PhD candidate in Art History at the University of Kansas, Michael VanHartingsveldt is currently writing his dissertation about the Buddhist sculptor profession in medieval Japan. He has curated exhibitions, taught university courses, and presented public lectures about Japanese visual culture in California, Kansas, and Japan, and is now working as an Art and Culture Program Officer at the Japan Foundation, Los Angeles.

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