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This paper reads Zeami’s treatises as performative texts that embody Buddhist ritual knowledge. Through Shikadō and Kyūi, it shows how Zen concepts and Esoteric Buddhist visualization techniques serve as enactive vehicles for transmitting Nō practice and aesthetic categories.

Paper long abstract

This paper examines the theatrical treatises of Zeami (1363–1443), founder of Nō theatre, as sites of embodied ritual knowledge rather than as purely aesthetic or technical manuals. Zeami conceptualizes the transmission of art through metrical, rhythmic, and bodily practices that draw extensively on religious frameworks, particularly Zen and Esoteric (mikkyō) Buddhist disciplines. Central notions such as movement, rhythm, breath, and the “unity of body and mind” are articulated through spiritual knowledge grounded in Buddhist ritual practice, which functions as a medium for expressing and structuring the teachings of Nō. The paper argues that performativity in Zeami is not limited to the stage but is already inscribed in the structural logic of his treatises, offering a new epistemological lens for their interpretation. Through patterned repetition, progressive sequencing, and pedagogical layering, these works activate modes of ritual training that parallel Buddhist initiatory and disciplinary regimes. In this sense, Zeami’s writings function as performative media: they encode, transmit, and actualize ritualized knowledge through practices of reading, memorization, and embodied enactment.

Two case studies illustrate this process. The first focuses on the Zen principle of hi niku kotsu “skin, flesh and bones” as articulated in the Shikadō (A course to Attain the Flower, 1420). Here, aesthetic refinement is framed as a gradual process of subtraction that mirrors Zen disciplinary practices, in which bodily training leads to the internalization of spiritual insight. The second case examines the Kyūi (Nine Ranks, 1428?), interpreting its progressive structure considering Esoteric Buddhist visualization practices. The sequential internalization of the actor’s potentialities described.

By reading Zeami’s treatises through the lens of Buddhist ritualization, this paper demonstrates how performative knowledge in medieval Japan was transmitted not only through theatrical performance, but also through texts that functioned as ritual embodiment. Zeami’s theory thus reveals a conception of performance in which religious knowledge functions as a vehicle through which body, mind, and text are brought into a unified performative practice.

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Paper short abstract

This paper examines prayer texts in medieval Japanese repentance rituals, focusing on Tōdaiji shunie. It analyses how these liturgical texts reveal ritual development and function as both individual and collective voices, demonstrating their crucial role in ritual efficacy.

Paper long abstract

"Repentance" is one of the central concepts in Buddhism and has been articulated through diverse forms of practice. In the Mahayana context, particularly in China and Japan, ritualised repentance underwent significant transformations, shifting from practices focused on individual transgressions to collective rituals aimed at generating worldly benefits. This paper examines prayer texts within repentance rituals in medieval Japan, investigating how these texts illuminate ritual transformation and development over time. Although repentance rituals are among the oldest Buddhist practices in Japan and are recorded from an early stage of the introduction of Buddhism, additional prayer elements appear in these rituals during the early medieval period.

Unlike sutras or other Buddhist scriptures, these texts, which appear in prayer sections and reflect the intentions and involvement of sponsors and participants, acquire their full ritual efficacy only when enacted, in most cases, through recitation during liturgical performances. Focusing on the Tōdaiji annual repentance ritual known as shunie 修二会 (“liturgical assemblies of the second month”), this paper examines various types of prayer texts to consider their role in the transfer of merit and in shaping ritual practice. Shunie is characterised by a range of performances related to repentance and merit-making, including the recitation of multiple prayers and exorcistic rites. Together, these features suggest that repentance rituals function as fluid practices, reflecting both the changing needs of the community and the intentions of participants.

Through an analysis of different prayer texts and recitations, this paper contributes to the panel by examining the ritualisation of repentance, with particular attention to the relationship between ritual efficacy, liturgical texts, and performance. Despite receiving limited attention in existing scholarship compared to doctrinal texts, these liturgical documents are significant to understanding ritual practice. The making of vows and the vocalisation of prayer are intrinsically intertwined with ritual efficacy. These performances ensure the ritual’s success, convey the sponsors’ intentions to the dedicated deity, and communicate the ritual’s purpose to all participants, functioning as the voice of both individuals and the collective.

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Paper short abstract

The paper examines nōnyūhin—objects concealed inside Buddhist statues, a practice derived from the ritual dedication of relics—as vehicles of esoteric thought in medieval Japan, focusing on Unkei’s statuary and his engagement with teachings propagated by Chōgen at the end of the twelfth century.

Paper long abstract

The religious practice of inserting objects inside Buddhist statues has been known in Japan since the eighth century, but it became a widespread ritual during the medieval period. The greatest number of surviving examples date from the end of the Heian period (the latter half of the twelfth century) through the Kamakura period (1185–1333).

The act of dedicating objects to the image of a deity responded to logics of efficacy and karmic retribution: the statue was simultaneously “animated” and “empowered” to perform miracles and grant the wishes of donors. Although the original function of this tradition was tied to the dedication and enshrinement of Buddhist relics within statues, a significant role in its development was played by the esoteric doctrines of the Tendai and Shingon lineages. These doctrines spread throughout Japan from the ninth and tenth centuries and consolidated their position as prominent religious currents during the medieval period.

The practice of depositing objects inside statues (in Japanese butsuzō tainai nōnyūhin; hereafter nōnyūhin) was instrumental in the propagation of esoteric thought. Before the eleventh century, nōnyūhin included relics and sutras as well as everyday objects such as dice, combs, and seashells. Beginning in the Kamakura period, the nōnyūhin practice underwent a process of systematization and codification.

This transformation is particularly evident in the statuary tradition of the master sculptor Unkei (1151–1224) and in the works produced by the Kei (Kei-ha) sculptural workshop. Unkei made extensive use of esoteric symbolism, most notably the gorintō, or five-ringed pagoda, and the gachirin, or lunar disk placed upon the lotus flower.

My contribution to this panel aims to explain the symbolism of Unkei’s statues and their nōnyūhin, which are here understood as the result of a centuries-long transmission of religious knowledge, mediated in part through Unkei’s contact with the Japanese monk Chōgen (1121–1206). The nōnyūhin found within Unkei’s images reflect the religious thought of his time, as well as the teachings that circulated within Chōgen’s community of disciples.