Seeing from Abroad 28 May 1984  

Trevor Leggett was head of the Japanese Department of the BBC.

This is one of his broadcasts to Japan

Zubari for 28 May 1984

Hello listeners!

To see one’s own national treasures, it is best to go abroad. What an extraordinary idea! Yet it can be true.

This came clearly in my mind during the Expo 70 Exhibition in Japan, when there was a display of Winston Churchill’s pictures in the British Pavilion. There I could see the whole collection, including some which had been given by him to friends, who had lent them for this Exhibition. Now in Britain I could never see such a collection. If I wanted to see them – say, for a book or a TV programme – I should have to write round to all the owners, and ask their permission to come to their houses and examine and photograph the pictures. It would have taken weeks if not months. Churchill was a very fine amateur artist, and the chance to see all his pictures together, without any effort, could only have happened at the Expo 70 Exhibition in Japan. All the work had been done by the Japanese and the British authorities.

Again, when in Japan last month, I took the chance to see an exhibition of Buddha images brought together from all parts of Pakistan by the collaboration of the two Governments. I have lived in India and Pakistan for three years, but to see all these Buddha images would have involved several days of travelling, and in fact I saw only one or two. But at the Seibu Department store at Ikebukuro, they had all been brought together, with a splendid catalogue explaining all the points where we could compare the development of the images. In these Buddha images of the north-west part of the sub-continent, we can see a marked Greek influence. I have read about this and noted it in one or two images which I had seen, but when one looks at so many Buddha-figures side by side, for the first time one sees it clearly.

The centrepiece of this exhibition was the famous statue of the Fasting Buddha. It is a marvellous piece of work, about half life-size, and shows the muscles and even the veins standing out on the emaciated body. By a wonderful artistry, the haggard face still shows great sweetness of expression. I have seen countless photographs of this great masterpiece, and always regretted that I had never seen it when I lived there. But I got the chance in Japan – outside its home country.

Of course, such exhibitions ought to be held in the home country of the treasures themselves. But the difficulty is, that the public in the country often is not so interested in its national treasures. It is the foreigners who are interested, and it is very good for international relations to send the masterpieces abroad, where they will be really admired.

When the Great Yedo Exhibition was held in London in ‘81/82 some Japanese who visited it told me that they were thrilled to see so many of the national treasures brought together, where they could be seen all at the same time. At home in Japan it would require a lot of travelling, and sometimes also getting hold of special permits, to see all these things.

When I go abroad now, I always look to see whether there is any Exhibition of British treasures in the city which I am visiting. If there is, I go to it. I know that probably I shall not have the chance to see such things at home. It is a new meaning to the phrase ‘Dark under the candlestick’ (Tödai ….)

© Trevor Leggett