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Matsuhisa H Rin's View of the Identity of Busshi (Buddhist Image Carver)

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Matsuhisa H Rin's View of the Identity of Busshi (Buddhist Image Carver) Matsuhisa H!rin ’s View of the Identity of Busshi (Buddhist Image Carver) Alin Gabriel Tirtara 1 Graduate School of Language and Culture, Osaka University Abstract This paper investigates the thinking of modern Buddhist image carvers (Jp. Ö busshi) by focusing on the Dai-busshi Matsuhisa H !rin (1901-1987), who can be considered one of the most important modern representatives of this traditional occupation. In doing so, we pursued two main tasks. The first was to place Matsuhisa in a historical context and to identify the main sources and influences on his ideas regarding art, religion, and Japanese identity that lie at the basis of his thinking. These are the ideas that helped Matsuhisa construct an image of Japanese culture in opposition to Western culture on the one hand, and of Japanese Buddhist sculpture in opposition to Western sculpture, on the other. The second task was to shed light on how Matsuhisa linked the identity of busshi with the need to protect and pass down to the next generation what he regarded as Japanese culture and sculpture, and also on how he portrayed Buddhist image carving as a religious experience that can ultimately lead to the discovery of one’s inner Buddha nature (Jp. ). Thus, it became clear that, reflecting the more general discourse that emphasized Japanese-occidental dualism, Matsuhisa stressed the idea that Japan should act as the protector of the “spiritual civilization” of the East, centered around the idea of “selflessness,” which he regarded as being superior to the “material civilization” of the West, which focuses on the “self.” Further, Japanese Buddhist statues, he argued, were a symbol of this superiority, and therefore he considered himself to be guided by the Buddha to advocate this truth through ensuring the continuity of the Japanese Buddhist image carving tradition. Key!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! words : Matsuhisa H !rin, Buddhist image carvers, traditional occupation, Japanese -occidental dualism 1 PhD Student, Osaka University, Osaka, JAPAN. E-mail: [email protected] *&+""" เอกสารหลังการประชุมวิชาการระดับชาติสมาคมญี่ปุนศึกษาแหงประเทศไทย ครั้งที่ 13 Matsuhisa H !rin’s View of the Identity of Busshi (Buddhist Image Carver) ! 1. Introduction The history of Buddhism in Japan generally places its official introduction to the archipelago in 552, when the King Seongmyeong of Baekje (r . 523-554) is said to have sent a diplomatic mission to Japan that also included Buddhist officials and a Buddhist statue as a gift which is said to be the first Buddhist image in Japan . Given this import route via the Korean peninsula, there is no wonder perhaps that one of the first known busshi (Jp . Ö, Buddhist image carver) in Japan thought to be of Korean descent . This is Tori Busshi (Jp . (Ö), who was active during the end of the 6 th century and the beginning of the 7 th , and who represents the first proeminent busshi figure in the history of Japan, altough many questions still remain unanswered with regards to the actual nature of his occupation .2 Nevertheless, impressing the imperial court with his skills, he was awarded official ranks and land properties, thus beginning the long history of the association of the busshi with the elites of Japan . We cannot speak about busshi without also mentioning J !ch ! (Jp . , died 1057), regarded as the forefather of the Kei School (Jp . OP Kei-ha ), one of the most important schools in Japanese Buddhist art history, who is credited to be the first busshi to set up private ateliers that could undertake large scale works . J!ch ! is also the first busshi to be granted the high eclesiastical status of h"ky " (Jp . -8, Bridge of the Law). In addition, representative for Kamakura Period (1185-1333) are Unkei (Jp . (O , c. 1150-1223) and also Kaikei (Jp . QO ) of the aforementioned Kei School . Busshi like them, by being granted a status similar to that of priviledged monks, gained access to an enhanced social position . Still, despite being nominally at least part of the clergy, busshi were also in close connection to the imperial court and other high ranking 2 Nedachi (2006) offers a detailed account regarding the social status of busshi in early Japanese history, with emphasis on the Kamakura Period. !!! Proceedings of the 13 th Anuual Conference of Japanese Studies Association of Thailand *&*" Alin Gabriel Tirtara ! nobility through goganji (Jp . 3 , temple commissioned by the emperor) projects . Thus, busshi were equally depended on their aristocrat patrons and the religious institutions . Starting with Muromachi Period (1336-1573), given their try to adapt to the new social order, the busshi gradually started to become more and more like any other class of craftsmen (Jp . / shokunin ), and that way of categorizing the busshi still continues to a certain extent to our days . 3 However, the Meiji Restauration and the subsequent Westernization of Japan had the modern busshi facing the dilemma of Buddhist statues starting to be considered objects of art, in addition to objects of worship . Moreover, gaining access to sources of Western art made the modern busshi deal with and try to (re)define their own Japaneseness . In doing so, they had to go back to their own historical roots while taking into account the new status of the Buddhist statues that were now not only objects of worship, but were also instrumentalized in order to define the Japanese nation and its state . Having this context in mind, this paper is an attemp to investigate the thinking of modern Buddhist image carvers (Jp . Ö busshi ) by focusing on the Dai - busshi Matsuhisa H !rin (Master Busshi , Jp . Ö ® T U , 1901 −1987), who can be considered one of the more prominent modern representatives of this otherwise traditional occupation . 2. Matsuhisa H !rin’s early life Matsuhisa H !rin (real name : Shigetsugu, Jp . L) was born in 1901 in Kyoto as the fifth son of Kushida Hisanaga (Jp . VB®W). Due to the family ’s financial problems, he is soon after adopted into the Matsuhisa family . His adoptive father, Matsuhisa J !gor ! (Jp . ® X? ) was both a busshi and the owner of a shop selling Buddhist articles, which spurs the young H !rin ’s 3 See for example, Yoshida Mitsukuni (1976) or End! Motoo (1992). *&!""" เอกสารหลังการประชุมวิชาการระดับชาติสมาคมญี่ปุนศึกษาแหงประเทศไทย ครั้งที่ 13 Matsuhisa H !rin’s View of the Identity of Busshi (Buddhist Image Carver) ! interest into Buddhist statues . At the age of 10, observing H !rin ’s talent at carving wood, his adoptive father sends him to become a disciple of Kashiwaguchi Ry $un (Jp . Y1( ), a busshi who claimed connection with the famous aforementioned Kei School .4 During his adolescency, following a string of unhappy events, H !rin finds solace in Tenri-ky ! (Jp . R?* ), one of the Japanese new religions founded during the 19 th century by Nakayama Miki (Jp . s0ÃE, 1798–1887) , and becomes a devout follower . Despite having newly formed a familiy, at 25 years old, H !rin ’s religious zeal for Tenri-ky ! leads him to sell the busshi atelier he had inherited from his adoptive father in order to use the money for religious activities, thus renouncing on an important source of income . Later, in 1928, at 27 years old, getting involed with a Tenri-ky ! radical faction, H!rin is arrested on charges of lèse -majesté for denying the divinity of the Sh !wa emperor and spends 27 days in prison . While imprisoned, H !rin comes to the realization that he had been involved against his will in a mainly political conflict and that the contemporary elite of Tenri-ky ! had strayed away from the original path professed by the founder Nakayama Miki.5 For this reason, he decides to part ways with Tenri-ky ! and return to his original identity as a busshi : “ I will drive away the illusion of Tenri-ky ! and, from here on, I will dedicate everything to carving Buddha statues; I am a busshi , or rather, I want to become a worthy busshi ”. 6 From this moment on, he will continue his activity mainly as a busshi for the remainder of his life . ! 4 See Nagao, 1990:51-52 (in Japanese). 5 The original in Japanese reads: ;@U Z< U<i$E<78a0a\ i$ A]tàUr ;' . (Matsuhisa, 1982:164) When not otherwise specified, the translation from Japanese into English are by the present author. 6 In Japanese: R?*a5. “²”\_5t?$l`*:- /49\ `'`aU; Ä$\s;' 7k >A /Ö+l5+lQP<ÖU<'9+ . Quoted by Nagao Sabur ! in Nihonjin no tamashii wo horu (1990), p. 74. !!! Proceedings of the 13 th Anuual Conference of Japanese Studies Association of Thailand *&#" ! Alin Gabriel Tirtara ! 3. Busshi as an identity One of the most important characteristics of Matsuhisa is the eclectic nature of his religious beliefs . For example, despite eventually parting ways with Tenri-ky !, he nevertheless continued to retain some influence of its world view, such as the fact that, in a chapter named “Borrowed body ”, (Karimono no karada , aþ9tª),7 he viewed the human body as being borrowed from god/Buddha and referred to it using terms that remind of the Tenri-ky ! doctrine .8 During his later years, he also expressed his admiration for the founder of the Japanese new religion sect called Seich " no Ie (Jp . 5 t), Taniguchi Masaharu (Jp . 2G, 1893–1985), 9 who advocated for the so called banky "-kiitsu (Jp . Ç*n ) doctrine, an universalistic religious concept that maintains that all religions teach the same basic truth . Likewise, Matsuhisa himself thought that, originally, the concept of Buddha or God refers to the same unique entity .10 Nevertheless, despite the eclectic nature of his religious ideas, we must also point out religious elements that he could not agree with . For example, in addition to criticism directed at the Tenri-ky ! elite, whom he ! 7 The original Tenri-ky ! word is written using only hiragana (Jp .
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