If a 6-foot, 700-pound Buddha comes knocking at your door, it’s a good idea to invite him in—especially if he’s 327 years old and in good shape. The Ball State University Museum of Art did just that.

Benefactor David T. Owsley has loaned the museum a 17th-century Japanese Buddha Amida, a massive bronze sculpture of an important Eastern deity who personifies eternal life, compassion, and boundless light. Once weatherworn, the seated religious icon has been restored by the museum and joins its diverse collection of more than 10,000 works of art.

The 75-year-old museum offers students and the community a firsthand glimpse of ancient, medieval, and modern cultures around the globe.

“We’re in an ever smaller world today, and we need to become familiar with other cultures,” says Peter Blume, director of the museum. “Japan is very important to the world’s economy as well as Indiana and Ball State and the relationships we have there.”

The majestic Buddha Amida will serve as background for more modern woodblock prints and ornate metalwork from his homeland in the exhibition Japanese Art from the Floating World, opening December 14, 2007.

Works in the show will contrast the Buddha’s deep serenity with vibrant images of popular and commercial Japanese culture of the Edo period—beautiful women, courtesans, Kabuki theatre, and military scenes—from the mid-19th century through the early 20th century. Intricate prints, a samurai suit of armor, a pair of iron stirrups, decorative sword guards (tsuba) and personal medicine/snuff containers (inro), and other items are part of the museum’s collection, many acquired in the past three years.