For all the new Buddhas in the West posts
follow us on Bluesky & Instagram

---

In 1911, to promote efforts of American missionaries abroad, an arm of the missions board sponsored a massive traveling exhibit of the world’s religions. The “Japan Scene” was dominated by a replica of a Buddhist temple, traveling from Boston to Cincinnati and elsewhere.

Flanked by shops and scenes of everyday Japanese life, the exhibit was considered an exercise in immersive visual educational. Partition walls were painted with panoramic views of distant locales such as Mt. Fuji and lotus ponds to further create a sense of virtual travel.

A variety of print ephemera, such as maps, posters, and postcards, were sold as souvenirs and visual learning aids to visitors. The superimposed label printed on front of this real photo post card helps identify it as from the “World in Cincinnati,” similar to other known examples.

In Cincinnati, the replicated foreign lands were populated by more than 5000 stewards from more than 200 local churches portraying native peoples.

While some replicated scenes were decorated with authentic religious imagery, Japan’s icon appears to be recreated with wood or plaster. For more about missionary exhibits, see April Makgoeng’s “Visualizing Missions: The Power of the Image in Promoting Foreign Missions” (2021).

---

---

For Related Buddhas in the West Posts Featuring Real Photo Post Cards:

---

For the Most Recent Buddhas in the West Posts:

---