Click the star to add/remove an item to/from your individual schedule.
You need to be logged in to avail of this functionality.
Log in
- Convenors:
-
Aike Rots
(University of Oslo)
Emily Simpson (Wake Forest University)
Send message to Convenors
- Section:
- Religion and Religious Thought
- Location:
- Lokaal 0.1
- Sessions:
- Friday 18 August, -
Time zone: Europe/Brussels
Short Abstract:
Animals and agriculture
Long Abstract:
Animals and agriculture
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Friday 18 August, 2023, -Paper short abstract:
This research aims to examine and compare the images of a rooster in 18th and 19th century Japanese and Thai paintings to identify its implications in the Buddhist context, focusing on Itō Jakuchū’s work Nandina and Rooster, and the Kukkuta Jataka mural painting at Wat Kruewan-waravihara Temple.
Paper long abstract:
Although a rooster or male chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) appears frequently in Asian art and literature, it still holds some ambiguous meanings when discussed in the realm of religion. This research aims to examine and compare the images of the rooster in 18th and 19th century Japanese and Thai paintings to identify its implications in the Buddhist context of both countries. The research focuses on Itō Jakuchū (1716 - 1800)’s work Nandina and Rooster (J. 南天雄鶏図), and the Kukkuta Jataka (Th. กุกกุฏชาดก) mural painting at Wat Kruewan-waravihara Temple (1824 - 1851). I will analyze 1) the representation of the bird (e.g. color symbolism, motif references); 2) the surrounding motifs (e.g. plants, landscape); 3) the mode of painting (e.g. bird-and-flower painting, narrative painting), so as to clarify the Buddhist essence incorporated in the bird. These investigations will explain how the images of the rooster in Indian Buddhism was transmitted and adapted in Japanese and Thai paintings, and more importantly will lead to an understanding of a different approach to the Buddhist teaching for enlightenment in the two countries. The research contributes not only another step in contextualizing the chicken motif in the Buddhist art, but also an evident aspect on the role as well as the relationship between the bird and humans in the early modern Japan and Thailand.
Paper short abstract:
Agricultural rituality during Japanese antiquity was based on the belief that any setback that could negatively affect the harvest are a consequence of the wrath of an offended Kami. Texts and archaeological remains provide a list of "effective" rituals to repair the damage and save the harvest.
Paper long abstract:
Agricultural rituality during Japanese antiquity was based on the belief that plagues, droughts, floods, or any other setback that could negatively affect the harvest are a consequence of the wrath of a Kami, probably feeling offended by something. That is why it was paramount to carry out a series of standardized rituals during the planting and growing season to ensure the approval and protection of the crops by the kami. However, sometimes, something can go wrong and deities may be offended –consciously or unconsciously– by a human action which results in the sending of a punishment with fatal consequences for the harvest. However, the evil can be corrected by carrying out a series of rites to appease or expel the evil spirits that caused such catastrophes. The classical texts, together with the archaeological remains, provide an interesting list of "effective" rituals to repair the damage and try to save the harvest in extremis, some of which will be analyzed in this work.