01 About Us - The World's Top Private ASIAN ART Collection & First Buddhist Holocaust Museum
Korea's Lee Jae Myung has said that the "Korean Government will promote Buddhism as the foundation of Korea's traditional culture", Japan's late Shinzo Abe said that "Buddhism has played the most important role in Japanese civilization and the oldest Constitution of Japan as well as the Tokugawa Edicts mandated Buddhism as the State Religion" and China's Xi Jinping has allocated BILLIONS of dollars for Buddhist temples and even sent the Buddhist film "Xuanzhang" to represent China as an Official Entry at the Oscars to flex Asia's soft power -- especially as most of Asian art, culture, history, heritage and civilization as a whole is linked to Buddhism. The Ronin Soho Museum has thus assembled one of the world's top Collections of Asian Art and Buddhist Treasures that have been displayed at the biggest Asian Art Exhibit sponsored by the Government of Canada and praised by Governments of USA, Canada, India and Japan as well as the Only Asian Art Exhibits to be held at the Olympics and Paralympic Games. Further, Ronin Soho partnered with the world-famous Simon Wiesenthal Center in various events to combat antisemitism and even organized the first Multifaith Commemoration of the Shoah (Jewish Holocaust). Inspired by Wiesenthal and other prominent Jewish friends, Ronin Soho decided to start a similar Museum for Buddhists and in honour of all the Buddhists who were killed in history's worst genocide where every inch of Buddhism was eradicated from 4 originally Buddhist nations of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Many scholars have expressed shock at how there was no trace of Buddhism in the very land where the Buddha lived and taught and so India's top intellectuals from Nobel Laureate Tagore and Gandhi to Ambedkar and Satyajit Ray dreamed that someone would honour the victims of the Buddhist Genocide. The Ronin Soho Buddhist Holocaust Museum will thus be the only such Museum in memory of the original Buddhists of South and Central Asia and will also organize exhibits to honour victims of other Genocides including the Shoah. The Museum will house one of the world's largest and rarest collections of Buddhist art, antiques and artifacts including 2000 year-old treasures linked to the historic Buddha as well as original masterworks by the greatest Buddhist painters, saints, poets and warriors in history. In fact, the Ronin Soho Museum organized the largest Asian Art Exhibit ever held in Canada - called "Enlightenment" sponsored by the Govt of Canada -- inaugurated and highly praised by the Minister of Immigration & Citizenship as well as India's Secretary General of Foreign Affairs - and attended by the Lt. Governor on behalf of the Queen as well as Japanese Diplomats. We also organized the only Samurai & Asian Art Exhibits ever featured at the Olympics & Paralympic Games and Panam & Parapan Am Games which the media dubbed "the biggest attraction" at the biggest sporting event ever held in North America. Our prestigious location in the heart of Canada's most coveted "Bay Street Corridor" was inaugurated by the Major General of the Armed Forces. Our Head Museum is near the most famous Buddha Landmark in Japan that has been painted by many of the history's greatest painters including Hokusai and Sesshu (who inspired Monet and Renoir). We are also exploring options of launching a historic museum in Korea as well. Our plans include fostering artistic and cultural cooperation between Japan and Korea -- as well as China and other parts of Asia that idolize Bodhidharma (Daruma/Dalma/Tamo) and have a shared Buddhist heritage and civilization. The Museum will give Asians a sense of pride in their ancestral culture, heritage, traditions, art and civilizational identity as a whole.
02 Praised by Canada's Prime Ministers, Ambassadors & Generals
03 Collection Highlights
Our Museum houses THE most important collection of Buddhist, Greco-Roman Gandharan and Japanese treasures in the world. Here are the details:
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1] Relics and artifacts of Buddha: We are one of the only museums in the world with actual, authentic relics of the historic Buddha in 2000 year old stupas or reliquaries along with the Buddha's footprint and Buddha's bowl -- all from Afghanistan where Buddhism originated in the Greco-Roman Gandhara civilization. These relics of the Buddha are even registered with the courts of India as authentic representations of the historic Buddha to be treated with utmost care. We also co-own and manage 36 Heritage Temples of National Importance in India and our Avalokiteshwara statue is kept at the Indian Museum which further proves our provenance and authenticity.
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2] The world's oldest Greco-Roman Buddhist statuary: We have many rare items that are the earliest prototypes of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas from the Greco-Roman region of Gandhara (present day Pakistan and Afghanistan). Highlights include the oldest gold and silver Avalokiteshwara and a Starving Buddha as well as key scenes from the Buddha's Life. In addition, there are coins, jewelry and artifacts from various Buddhist monarchs of India right up to tje Pala Dynasty which was the last Buddhist dynasty of South Asia.This is all the more important in Korea as they depict the religion from where Marananta is said to have brought Buddhism to Korea in the 4th century -- and from where Buddhism moved on to Japan thereafter. Hence, this Gandhara Collection is extremely important to both Japan and Korea.
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3] Largest Collection of artworks dedicated to Bodhidharma - Asia's greatest warrior saint is known as Daruma in Japan, Dalma in Korea and Tamo in China and is widely credited as the founder of Zen Buddhism as well as Asian Martial Arts. This rare Assemblage includes artworks on Bodhidharma by the greatest Buddhist painters in history Hokusai and Sesshu -- as well as the greatest Buddhist warrior in history Miyamoto Musashi -- and saints like Ikkyu Sojun and Takuan Soho among others. We also have the largest paintings of the Nio Guardians by Sotetsu Tawaraya -- one of the most important painters in Japan's history -- as Nio Guardians can be seen at temples of Japan, Korea, China and all of East Asia and have its origins at the Shaolin Temple.
4] Artworks of the top Buddhist saints: The Museum will display rare handwritten scrolls by Japan's greatest Buddhist saints including Shinran and Nichiren - as well as ancient scrolls by China's greatest Buddhist saint Xuanzhang and Sri Lanka's Anagarika Dhammapala among others.
5] Largest collection of objects linked to the Tokugawa Clan: Many historians credit Tokugawa Ieyasu as one of history's greatest rulers and the most important patron of Buddhism in the last 500 years. When Christian invaders threatened to destroy Buddhism in Japan, Tokugawa ordered the State Protection of all Buddhist temples and mandated that every Japanese family must sign up with a Buddhist temple. This strong leadership is responsible for the preservation of Kyoto as the world's top Buddhist city and Japanese Buddhism as being instrumental in rebuilding stupas across India as well as promoting Buddhism all over the world. In honour of Tokgawa -- whose HBO show Shogun has taken Hollywood by storm, our Museum will have the largest collection of Tokugawa treasures including full Yoroi Armour sets with the Aoi mon, Ganbais, full sets of Katanas, Furniture, Prayer Items, Eboshis and more.
6] Honouring Buddhist Warriors: Many great warriors dedicated their lives to actually battling for Buddha and it is very important to honour them and use them as role models to promote strong patriotism and pride in future generations. Therefore the Museum will house rare objects, weapons, armours, battle flags and costumes linked to the greatest Samurai Clans including Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Takeda Shingen, Honda Tadakatsu, Kato Kiyomasa, Li Naomasa and the like. There will also be rare masterworks by Miyamoto Musashi who is celebrated worldwide as the greatest warrior of all time and a devout Buddhist. The jewel in the crown is the actual Seal of Takeda Shingen -- who is one of the architects of Japanese civilization and whose name means "Devotee of Buddha". Other important works include a painting of the great Buddhist warrior Benkei -- who defeated 300 Samurai in combat -- by the great painter Hokusai who inspired Monet and Renoir.​
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7] Asian Costumes, Coins and Cultural Items: The museum will also house the rarest Haoris, Kimonos, Hakamas, Kamishimos, Eboshis, Obis, Getas and all types of clothes bearing authentic kamon Crests. Many of these original antique pieces will be featured in the upcoming movie on Dalma.