In comparing the art of two cultures, it is possible to see how aspects of their art that are alike and unlike, reflect similarities and differences in religion and world view. The Yoruba people of the Guinea Coast of West Africa and the Japanese people have little in common. Among their shared traits, however, are their high degree of urbanization, the great importance placed on aesthetic experience, and their remarkable traditions of sculpture. In both cultures, sculpture was primarily religious in nature. But, the religious sculptures of the Yoruba, which were invested with their own share of the spirit of the gods, served very different functions from the numerous sculptures of the incarnations of the Buddha that were looked on as sacred only by association with the one they represented. The Japanese sculptures were objects that helped focus meditation and prayer in the course of the individual's attempt to attain higher enlightenment. The Yoruba sculptures were modes of communication with gods who could respond to the people's requests.
The Yoruba excelled in a number of arts, especially beadwork, pottery, and the carving of useful objects such as helmets, doors, house posts, and other items. Their statuary was produced in wood, stone, iron, and bronze. Though the arts, in general, "served to aggrandize the status of [Yoruba] kings," and wealthy individuals, "most sculpture was associated with religion" (Bascom 85). The Japanese also practiced many arts; including painting, cloth manufacture, the graphic arts, and architecture. As with the Yoruba, the various arts of Japan were markers of status. But, the Japanese also, like the Yoruba, reserved the art of sculpture almost exclusively for religious purposes. A comparison of the two sculptural traditions demonstrates how differences in their religions and their views of the world affected the nature of their statuary.
The Yoruba, who number approximately 10 mil...