Facebook Weekdays Mon.-Fri
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Speech by Ōno Genmyō, Head Priest of the Horyu-Ji Temple “Shōtoku Taishi and Horyu-Ji” (October 20, 2018, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo)
Speech by Ōno Genmyō, Head Priest of the Horyu-ji Temple “Shōtoku Taishi and Horyu-ji” (October 20, 2018, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo) MC Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming today. The town of Ikaruga, where the Horyu-ji Temple is located, is very conveniently located: just 10 minutes by JR from Nara, 20 minutes from Tennoji in Osaka, and 80 minutes from Kyoto. This historical area is home to sites that include the Horyu-ji , the Horin-ji, the Hkki-ji, the Chugu- ji, and the Fujinoki Kofun tumulus. The Reverend Mr. Ōno will be speaking with us today in detail about the Horyu-ji, which was founded in 607 by Shotoku Taishi, Prince Shotoku, a member of the imperial family. As it is home to the oldest wooden building in the world, it was the first site in Japan to be registered as a World Heritage property. However, its attractions go beyond the buildings. While Kyoto temples are famous for their gardens, Nara’s attractions are, more than anything, its Buddhist sculptures. The Horyu-ji is home to some of Japan’s most noted Buddhist statues, including the Shaka Sanzon [Shaka Triad of Buddha and Two Bosatsu], the Kudara Kannon, Yakushi Nyorai, and Kuse Kannon. Prince Shotoku was featured on the 10,000 yen bill until 1986, so there may even be people overseas who know of him. Shotoku was the creator of Japan’s first laws and bureaucratic system, a proponent of relations with China, and incorporated Buddhism into politics. Reverend Ōno, if you would be so kind. -
Kofun Period: Research Trends 20111 Higashikage Yū2
Kofun Period: Research Trends 20111 Higashikage Yū2 Introduction Kofun period research in the 2011 Fiscal Year was conducted in wide-ranging fashion. In particular, the publication of overviews and comprehensive treatments was rich, and new perspectives were presented alongside syntheses of Kofun period research to date. There was also active research on individual types of artifacts, and based on various regional perspectives. 1. General treatments Shiraishi Taiichirō’s Kofun to Kofun jidai no bunka (Tombs and the Culture of the Kofun Period) is a compilation of previously published articles, which touches not only on the political but also the cultural aspects of the tombs.3 Tsude Hiroshi’s Kodai kokka wa itsu seiritsu shita ka (When Did the Ancient State Emerge?) is a new development of his previously stated arguments for the Kofun period and the early state, and incorporates the results of research of recent years. 4 In a special issue edited by Hirose Kazuo of Kikan kōgaku (Archaeological Quarterly) on the theme of “Looking Systematically at the Kofun Period,” a wide range of perspectives are presented for examining the Kofun period, including not only views from within Japan but also those based in China and the Korean peninsula, as 1 [Trends in Japanese Archaeological Research, 2011, is a partial translation of “Nihon kōkogaku kenkyū no dōkō” 日本考古学研究の動向, in Nihon kōkogaku nenpō 64 (2011 nendoban) 日本考古学年報 64(2011 年度版) [Archaeologia Japonica 64 (2011 Fiscal Year Issue)] (Nihon Kōkogaku Kyōkai, 2013), pp. 1-65. This essay appears on pp. 40-46, under the Japanese title “Kofun jidai kenkyū no dōkō” 古墳 時代研究の動向. -
Some Observations on the Weddings of Tokugawa Shogun╎s
University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations School of Arts and Sciences October 2012 Some Observations on the Weddings of Tokugawa Shogun’s Daughters – Part 1 Cecilia S. Seigle Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/ealc Part of the Asian Studies Commons, Economics Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Seigle, Cecilia S. Ph.D., "Some Observations on the Weddings of Tokugawa Shogun’s Daughters – Part 1" (2012). Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. 7. https://repository.upenn.edu/ealc/7 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/ealc/7 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Some Observations on the Weddings of Tokugawa Shogun’s Daughters – Part 1 Abstract In this study I shall discuss the marriage politics of Japan's early ruling families (mainly from the 6th to the 12th centuries) and the adaptation of these practices to new circumstances by the leaders of the following centuries. Marriage politics culminated with the founder of the Edo bakufu, the first shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616). To show how practices continued to change, I shall discuss the weddings given by the fifth shogun sunaT yoshi (1646-1709) and the eighth shogun Yoshimune (1684-1751). The marriages of Tsunayoshi's natural and adopted daughters reveal his motivations for the adoptions and for his choice of the daughters’ husbands. The marriages of Yoshimune's adopted daughters show how his atypical philosophy of rulership resulted in a break with the earlier Tokugawa marriage politics. -
Representations of Pleasure and Worship in Sankei Mandara Talia J
Mapping Sacred Spaces: Representations of Pleasure and Worship in Sankei mandara Talia J. Andrei Submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Columbia University 2016 © 2016 Talia J.Andrei All rights reserved Abstract Mapping Sacred Spaces: Representations of Pleasure and Worship in Sankei Mandara Talia J. Andrei This dissertation examines the historical and artistic circumstances behind the emergence in late medieval Japan of a short-lived genre of painting referred to as sankei mandara (pilgrimage mandalas). The paintings are large-scale topographical depictions of sacred sites and served as promotional material for temples and shrines in need of financial support to encourage pilgrimage, offering travelers worldly and spiritual benefits while inspiring them to donate liberally. Itinerant monks and nuns used the mandara in recitation performances (etoki) to lead audiences on virtual pilgrimages, decoding the pictorial clues and touting the benefits of the site shown. Addressing themselves to the newly risen commoner class following the collapse of the aristocratic order, sankei mandara depict commoners in the role of patron and pilgrim, the first instance of them being portrayed this way, alongside warriors and aristocrats as they make their way to the sites, enjoying the local delights, and worship on the sacred grounds. Together with the novel subject material, a new artistic language was created— schematic, colorful and bold. We begin by locating sankei mandara’s artistic roots and influences and then proceed to investigate the individual mandara devoted to three sacred sites: Mt. Fuji, Kiyomizudera and Ise Shrine (a sacred mountain, temple and shrine, respectively). -
HIRATA KOKUGAKU and the TSUGARU DISCIPLES by Gideon
SPIRITS AND IDENTITY IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY NORTHEASTERN JAPAN: HIRATA KOKUGAKU AND THE TSUGARU DISCIPLES by Gideon Fujiwara A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in The Faculty of Graduate Studies (Asian Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2013 © Gideon Fujiwara, 2013 ABSTRACT While previous research on kokugaku , or nativism, has explained how intellectuals imagined the singular community of Japan, this study sheds light on how posthumous disciples of Hirata Atsutane based in Tsugaru juxtaposed two “countries”—their native Tsugaru and Imperial Japan—as they transitioned from early modern to modern society in the nineteenth century. This new perspective recognizes the multiplicity of community in “Japan,” which encompasses the domain, multiple levels of statehood, and “nation,” as uncovered in recent scholarship. My analysis accentuates the shared concerns of Atsutane and the Tsugaru nativists toward spirits and the spiritual realm, ethnographic studies of commoners, identification with the north, and religious thought and worship. I chronicle the formation of this scholarly community through their correspondence with the head academy in Edo (later Tokyo), and identify their autonomous character. Hirao Rosen conducted ethnography of Tsugaru and the “world” through visiting the northern island of Ezo in 1855, and observing Americans, Europeans, and Qing Chinese stationed there. I show how Rosen engaged in self-orientation and utilized Hirata nativist theory to locate Tsugaru within the spiritual landscape of Imperial Japan. Through poetry and prose, leader Tsuruya Ariyo identified Mount Iwaki as a sacred pillar of Tsugaru, and insisted one could experience “enjoyment” from this life and beyond death in the realm of spirits. -
On the Religious and Cultural Aspects of Divination in Japanese Society
Audrius Beinorius On the Religious and Cultural Aspects of Divination in Japanese Society LATVIJAS UNIVERSITĀTES RAKSTI. 2016, 813. sēj. ORIENTĀLISTIKA 84.–109. lpp. https://doi.org/10.22364/luraksti.os.813.09 On the Religious and Cultural Aspects of Divination in Japanese Society Zīlēšanas reliģiskie un kultūras aspekti Japānas sabiedrībā Audrius Beinorius Vilnius University, Lithuania Center of Oriental Studies Universiteto g. 5, Vilnius 01122, Lithuania Email: [email protected] This article presents an overview of the multifaceted history of divination and astrology in Japan. The questions addressed in this paper are the following: What was the place of divina- tion in the traditional Japanese society and within ancient bodies of knowledge? What part of traditional science and cosmology does it form? What are the main methods of divination used in Japan? How was divination related to the Shinto and Buddhist worldview and reli- gious practices? What elements of Indian astrology and divination have been introduced by the Buddhist monks to Japan? And which forms of divination are of Chinese origins? Finally, which of the mantic practices are likely to persist even nowadays and why? These and similar questions are discussed, emphasizing some resumptive cross-cultural and hermeneutic meth- odological considerations. The hermeneutical examinations of those practices are significant for the comparative history of ideas and also for understanding of contemporary religious practices and beliefs. Such approach can also assist in revealing the local modes of cultural transmission of knowledge in Asia, methods of social control, and the nature of the cultural norms, that shaped the traditional epistemic field. -
Origin of Shinto : Ancient Japanese Rituals
Kokugakuin Univercity Museum Origin of Shinto : Ancient Japanese Rituals 14 September (Sat.) - 10 December (Sun.) , 2017 № Title Provenance Date Collection ■ Introduction 1 Mirror with Design of Seven arcs Okinoshima site, Munakata city, Fukuoka pref. Kofun period, 4th century Owned by Kokugakuin University Museum ■ ChapterⅠ: What is "Sinto " ? 1:Views of "Shinto " in the "Nihon Shyoki " : "Shinto " as the state religion Nihon shoki (Chronicles of Japan) vol.21 Edited in 720, Nara period 2 Edited by Prince Toneri and others Owned by Kokugakuin University Library "The record before the enthronement of Emperor Yomei " Published in Edo period Nihon shoki (Chronicles of Japan) vol.25 Edited in 720, Nara period 3 Edited by Prince Toneri and others Owned by Kokugakuin University Library "The record before the enthronement of Emperor Kotoku " Published in Edo period Nihon shoki (Chronicles of Japan) vol.20 Edited in 720, Nara period 4 Edited by Prince Toneri and others Owned by Kokugakuin University Library "The record before the enthronement of Emperor Bidatsu" Published in Edo period Edited in 779, Nara period 5 To Daiwajo Toseiden (Eastern Expedition of the Great Tang Monk) Edited by Omi Mifune Owned by Kokugakuin University Library Published in Edo period Nihon shoki (Chronicles of Japan), vol.25 Edited in 720, Nara period 6 Edited by Prince Toneri Owned by Kokugakuin University Library "October, the 3rd year of Taika (647)" Published in Edo period 2:The word of "Shinto " : The Shinto view of the spirit Nihon shoki (Chronicles of Japan) vol.19 -
Fusō Gobusshin Ron
FUSŌ GOBUSSHIN RON - ENGLISH TRANSLATION – - Fascicle 1 - Translation Treatise on Japan's Protecting Buddha's and Gods - Preface. Anciently, the Great Priest Furi Qisong1 (1007-1072) hid himself near the West Lake for thirty years. Broadly he perused the instructions from Lu2, widely he searched the Indian scriptures, and he wrote down [his findings] in Fujiaobian 輔教編 ("Compilation in aid of the Teaching") and Fei Han 非韓3 ("Refuting Han [Yu]"), thirty chapters in all. He came to the aid of the teachings of Śākya[muni, which] were already on the verge of collapsing. I was forced to withdraw4 to the village Nanmoku,5 [where] I 1 Song Mingjiao dashi is the Chinese priest Furi Qisong 佛日契嵩, a.k.a. Mingjiao-dashi. (N.B. The Japanese pronunciation of the name 契嵩 is "Kaisū.") Amongst other things, he was an exponent of the sanjiao heyi 三教合一 ("Unity of the Three Teachings"). Bussho kaisetsu daijiten lists six titles under his name. 2 The words "the instructions of Lu" are evidently opposed to the words "Indian scriptures," i.e. Buddhist texts. The same applies to the seven loci one can find through the "SAT Daizōkyō Text Database"; here, too, the words are opposed to zhufen 竺墳, (six times) and shidian 釋典 (one time). The term evidently refers to the Confucian corpus (perhaps to Lunyu?). The compound is not listed in Morohashi, 3 Both in Fujiaobian (3 fasc.) and in Fei Han, Qisong takes a non-exclusivist position towards Confucianism and Taoism. N.B. For the change of the characters in the titles, see Honkoku, note 1. -
A Criticism of Edwin O. Reischauer's Pronouncements on Ancient Korea
International Journal of Korean History (Vol.16 No.1, Feb. 2011) 25 A Criticism of Edwin O. Reischauer’s Pronouncements on Ancient Korea-Japan Relations Choi, Jae-seok (Ch’oe Chaesŏk)* Foreword As is well-known, Edwin O. Reischauer was University Professor at Harvard and was United States Ambassador to Japan from 1961 to 1966. This paper aims to examine the ancient Korea-Japan relations as mentioned in his book entitled The Japanese (Charkes E., 1977, Tokyo: Tuttle), which is said to have been a best seller in the United States. Being an American best seller, the book is supposed to have been read widely all over the world as well as in Europe. Now, if that history book has distorted parts in it, chances are that most readers must have accepted that distortions as true without questioning. As a matter of fact, this book by Reischauer is no exception to the general rule among Japanese ancient historians' practices of historical distortions,1 at times even overshadowing them. Although it is more than thirty years since the book was first published, I couldn't sit idle by and just watch. That is why I have taken up my pen to write my paper. Including this paper, I have written four critical articles on Western scholarship on ancient Korean-Japanese relations.2 * Professor emeritus, Department of Sociology, Korea University 26 A Criticism of Edwin O. Reischauer’s Pronouncements on Ancient Korea-Japan Relations On Ancient Burial Mounds On ancient Japanese burial mounds, Prof. Reischauer has this to say. A 1 During the next three centuries (3rd, 4th, and 5th) many large burial mounds were built throughout the western two-thirds of the islands, suggesting considerable concentrations of wealth and power in the hands of a military aristocracy. -
The Formation of the Nihonshoki and Multiple Sources
PROVISIONAL TRANSLATION (December 2018) Only significant errors of English in the translation have been corrected––the content will be checked against the original Japanese for accuracy at a later date. The Formation of the Nihonshoki and Multiple Sources ENDŌ Keita ecause it begins with the creation of heaven and earth, the Nihonshoki has both characteristics of a historical chronicle and a creation tale––one that tells about the origin of Japan B centering on the emperor. This is why there has been much debate about how reliable the content in it is. Comparing it with the other works of history compiled by imperial order, the Rikkokushi (The Six National Histories of Japan), the Nihonshoki is distinct in terms of the establishment of the age of kami, the counting using a sexagenary cycle based on taisai (an imaginary star directly opposite Jupiter), and the inclusion of many ballads and songs, which highlight how different it is from later history books beginning with the Shoku Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan Continued). The inclusion of many bunchū is also another distinct feature. Bunchū used to be regarded as “loose notes,” and there was a view that such notes did not exist at the time of completion of the Nihonshoki.1 However, Sakamoto Tarō concludes that based on the fact that the styles of the main text and of bunchū are identical, the bunchū were not added in a later period but existed from the time of completion. Today the mainstream understanding is that the bunchū versions are the main notes which existed from the time of the text’s completion in the 4th year of Yōrō (720).2 Yet it can be said that the contents of bunchū are “loose” and have a wide range of Japanese readings for phrases (kunchū), citations with the titles of references, and presentations of different versions, which cannot be classified as one. -
Clan Influence in Asuka Japan: Asukadera and the Soga Clan
CLAN INFLUENCE IN ASUKA JAPAN: ASUKADERA AND THE SOGA CLAN by Ian Michael Watts Submitted to the Faculty of The Archaeological Studies Program Department of Sociology and Archaeology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science University of Wisconsin - La Crosse 2012 Copyright © 2012 by Ian Watts All rights reserved ii CLAN INFLUENCE IN ASUKA JAPAN: ASUKADERA AND THE SOGA CLAN Ian Watts, B.S. University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, 2012 The Asuka Period of Japan is characterized by the introduction of Buddhism from Korea and a consolidation of power by the central government. The interplay between the Imperial Clan and the Soga Clan was integral in shaping everyday life in Asuka as the introduction of Buddhism brought the creation of permanent architecture in the shape of temples. These temples, primarily constructed by the Imperial Line and the Soga Clan, required the employment of local populations as a labor force for the construction of the various buildings within each temple complex. An examination of the assemblage of round eave-end roof tiles at the first Buddhist temple in Japan, Asukadera, examines the implications of this labor procurement. Furthermore, spatial analysis between Asukadera, Tōyuradera, and Okuyamakumedera provides data for future research. iii Acknowledgements Much of this study could not have been completed without the help of the following individuals and institution. Large portions of Japanese text were translated by native Japanese and Taiwanese speakers in conjunction with my direction. I was extremely fortunate to have been given a portion of the Asukadera Excavation Report directly by the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties. -
Why Has Japan 'Succeeded'?
Why has Japan 'succeeded'? Western Technology and the Japanese Ethos Michio Morishima 3 Contents Preface Acknowledgement Map Introduction 8 1 - The Taika Reform and After 17 2 - The Meiji Revolution 33 3 - The Japanese Empire (I) 51 4 - The Japanese Empire (II) 70 5 - The San Francisco Regime 90 Conclusion 112 Postscript to the Paperback Edition 117 Index 118 4 Preface This book contains the text of the Marshall Lectures which were given at the University of Cambridge in March 1981. Prior to this, in February 1981, I delivered an even more abridged version of these lectures as the Suntory- Toyota Public Lecture at the London School of Economics. The question first of all was whether or not Japan had been successful, but no country is likely to be successful in all respects. Moreover success in one respect is closely connected to failure in another, and success and failure are often achieved in conjunction with each other. The theme of the present work is to attempt to clarify those respects in which Japan has been successful, and those in which she has met with failure, and to ask why this has been the case. In no chapter of the book, however, have I presumed to lay down in any categorical manner my own solutions to these problems. This is in part due to my belief that, although I have purposely not written anything in the nature of a summary or conclusion, what I am trying to say is likely to be quite clear to the reader. It is also due to my believing that there cannot be a single correct solution to this sort of problem; there can at the most only be various different views.