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- Convenors:
-
Masatoshi Harada
(Kansai University)
Molly Vallor (Meiji Gakuin University)
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- Stream:
- Religion and Religious Thought
- Location:
- Torre A, Piso 0, Sala 03
- Start time:
- 31 August, 2017 at
Time zone: Europe/Lisbon
- Session slots:
- 1
Short Abstract:
Once dominated by the kenmitsu (exoteric-esoteric) lineages, medieval Japanese Buddhism changed dramatically in the late fourteenth century following the rise of the Zen lineages. This panel will shed new light on this understudied period by addressing it from multiple angles.
Long Abstract:
Until the close of the thirteenth century, medieval Japanese Buddhism was dominated by the kenmitsu (exoteric-esoteric) institutions comprised of the six Nara lineages, along with the Tendai and Shingon lineages. The rise of Zen at that time initiated major changes that would eventually result in the reconfiguration of the whole Japanese Buddhist landscape beginning in the late fourteenth century. As is well known, kenmitsu lineages were responsible for performing a variety of Buddhist ceremonies (hōe), many of which were esoteric rites. Held to ensure peace in the state and the wellbeing of the emperor, kenmitsu ceremonies were indispensable to assuring the medieval social order. In contrast, beginning in the thirteenth century, Zen lineages began performing state services based on the rules of purity (shingi) imported from the Chinese continent. Zen lineages also adopted new forms of monasticism, ritual, and temple architecture, all of which differed greatly from those employed by their kenmitsu counterparts. Despite its importance, this critical time of transition has received very little scholarly attention. Accordingly, this panel will consider the relationship between the kenmitsu and Zen lineages in Japanese society at this time from the angles of ritual, rhetoric, and architecture.
Masatoshi Harada will begin by examining the role of kenmitsu and Zen ceremonies in medieval society. In addition to highlighting their differences, he will address the rivalry that ensued as Zen and kenmitsu monks vied to perform ceremonies in the service of elite patrons and the state. Molly Vallor will then turn to the critique of contemporary Shingon and Zen found in Musō Soseki's influential tract, Muchū Mondōshū (1342). Finally, Yoshiyuki Tomishima will discuss the relationship between imperial authority and esoteric ritual spaces at both kenmitsu and Zen temples.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Paper short abstract:
From the fourteenth century on, new ceremonies exclusively performed by Zen lineages came to occupy an important place in medieval religious life. This paper will shed new light on how Zen lineages actively fashioned a ritual system that served as a counterpart to that of the kenmitsu lineages.
Paper long abstract:
Widely performed all over the archipelago, Buddhist ceremonies (hōe) conducted by the kenmitsu (exoteric-esoteric) lineages played an integral role in medieval Japanese society. However, from the fourteenth century onwards, new ceremonies exclusively performed by Zen lineages came to occupy an important place in medieval religious life. These new Zen ceremonies were firmly based on the continental rules of purity (shingi) that also governed Zen practice. As the rules of purity were codified into ritual handbooks and set forth as rules to govern Zen monastic life, a new ritual system emerged that differed in its entirety from that of the existing kenmitsu order. Serving as venues for these new rituals, monasteries and temples built in the new Zen style sprung up all across Japan.
Although Zen lineages were responsible for performing a variety of Buddhist ceremonies, Zen funerals and memorial services (tsuizen butsuji) were among its most sought after rites. Zen lineages single-handedly performed funerals for the Muromachi shōgun and his family, while also conducting other memorial services alongside the kenmitsu schools. Following periods of famine or war, Zen lineages presided over large-scale segaki (hungry ghost-feeding) rituals in order to placate the spirits of the dead. The Zen lineages also exerted a dramatic influence on the ways in which memorial tablets (ihai) and portraits were worshipped. Apart from funerary rites, Zen lineages were responsible for performing other types of rituals, as well. Zen temples in a variety of locales were charged with offering prayers for the wellbeing and longevity of the emperor (shukushin) in a ceremony directly modeled on continental precedent. New forms of ritual particular to Japanese Zen also emerged, including an annual birthday ceremony for the shōgun. In exploring the aforementioned rituals, this paper will shed new light on how Zen lineages actively fashioned a ritual system that came to serve as a counterpart to that of the kenmitsu lineages.
Paper short abstract:
This paper examines Musō Soseki's critique of Shingon and Zen in his influential sermon in kana, Muchū Mondōshū (1342). It argues that this critique was integral to a critical yet hitherto overlooked function of that text: Musō's bid to establish himself as the premier Buddhist teacher of his time.
Paper long abstract:
Critical to Zen's rise as a state institution was prominent Rinzai monk, Musō Soseki (1275-1351). Active during the tumultuous Northern and Southern Courts period (1336-1392), Musō enjoyed close ties to both Emperor Godaigo (1288-1339) and the founding members of the Muromachi bakufu. As the most highly sought after Zen monk in his day, Musō is said to have counted more than 13,000 disciples during his lifetime. Despite this unparalleled prominence, Musō's modern interpreters have tended to portray him in a fairly negative light, with many criticizing his accommodating attitude toward esoteric Buddhism (mikkyō) and thereby branding him a purveyor of a so-called style of "mixed Zen" (kenshū Zen).
Only recently have scholars begun to question Musō's longstanding reputation by revisiting his life and works, especially his most famous writing, a sermon in kana known as Muchū Mondōshū (1342). Though now mostly unknown, this text was, in fact, one of the most widely read Japanese works on Zen in the entire pre-modern period and one of the few medieval Japanese language texts to have been printed during the lifetime of its author. Until recently, the handful scholars who have examined this text have tended to focus on its conciliatory attitude toward other styles of Buddhism, in keeping with the accepted narrative of Musō as a proponent of "mixed Zen." Building on recent studies suggesting that Musō was, in fact, engaging in an unprecedented promotion of Zen in Muchū Mondōshū, this paper will examine his critique of Shingon and Zen therein. It will demonstrate the extent to which Musō's critique of contemporary Buddhism was linked to another critical function of that printed text: Musō's bid to establish himself as the premier Buddhist teacher of his time.
Paper short abstract:
This paper will explore Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's aims in constructing a massive seven-storied pagoda in the esoteric style at his Zen complex of Shōkokuji in 1399. It will be argued that this pagoda was built in order to legitimize the kingship of the Muromachi regime.
Paper long abstract:
Historians of medieval Buddhism once characterized Heian period esoteric Buddhism (*mikkyō*) as a system of miscellaneous beliefs that began to be eclipsed by an unsullied form of Pure Land Buddhism starting in the mid-Heian period. Emphasizing rebirth in the Pure Land after death, this style of Buddhism went on to develop into the Pure Land Buddhism of Hōnen (1133-1212) that flourished in medieval society. However, as is well known, even after the rise of the Pure Land lineages, esoteric Buddhism continued to enjoy a place of prominence in medieval society. In particular, the two-realm mandala (ryōkai mandara), which forms the basis of esoteric thought, was used to express the legitimacy of imperial authority, which, in turn, was presented as the cornerstone of Buddhism's flourishing in medieval Japan.
It was this ideology that first informed the building of Emperor Shirakawa's (1053-1129) elaborate Hosshōji complex, an imperially ordered temple (goganji). There, the main hall and the nine-storied pagoda that served as the center of the monastic compound formed a two-realm mandala. The nine-storied pagoda, said to have measured 81 meters in height, towered over medieval Kyoto, serving as a very visible symbol of the power and authority of the retired emperor. Just over two centuries later, Muromachi shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408) would make a similar architectural gesture in the building of his Shōkokuji complex. At this Zen temple, Yoshimitsu built a seven-storied pagoda that soared a staggering 109 meters and also symbolized a two-realm mandala. This paper will explore Yoshimitsu's aims in constructing this massive pagoda in the esoteric style at his Zen complex. In doing so, it will argue that this pagoda was built in order to legitimize the kingship of the Muromachi regime.