In this annotated translation and study of an early fourteenth-century Japanese devotional picture scroll set, Royall Tyler illuminates the complex relationships between medieval Japanese religion and politics, text, and art. The Kasuga Gongen genki ("The Miracles of the Kasuga Deity") mingles text and painting on silk to tell the tale of miraculous events at the Kasuga shrine in Nara, a site favored by the dominant Fujiwara clan for centuries. The work's values are aristocratic, but the text sheds light on the syncretic nature of the era's religious practices, allowing Tyler to collapse the distinction between high and low forms of medieval Japanese religion. Tyler provides a detailed examination of the scrolls, the shrine, and their history and political role. He also elucidates the scrolls' relationship to literary genre and religious practice, including the interaction between Shintoism and Buddhism. His copious annotations describe the work's historical context, as well as its religious and cultural influences. This study is essential for scholars of religion, art historians, and cultural historians alike.
Price: $32.00
Pages: 314
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Publication Date:
05 April 2016
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9780231069595
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
RELIGION / Shintoism, HISTORY / Asia / Japan, RELIGION / Buddhism / History
A well-researched study that one hopes will spur further inquiry into the complex interplay of art, religion, and politics in the Heian and Kamakura periods. It is highly recommended to a broad readership.
Royall Tyler taught Japanese language and literature for many years at the Australian National University. He has also taught at Harvard University, Stanford University, and the University of Wisconsin. His translation of The Tale of Genji was acclaimed by publications such as the New York Times Book Review.
Acknowledgments
Conventions and Official Tides
Introduction
Part I
1. The Work
2. The Text
3. The Shrine
4. The Temple
5. The Cult
6. Forms and Dreams
7. Poems and Plays
8. The Sakaki Leaf Diary
Part II: The Miracles of the Kasuga Deity
Contents and Preface
Scroll 1
Scroll 2
Scroll 3
Scroll 4
Scroll 5
Scroll 6
Scroll 7
Scroll 8
Scroll 9
Scroll 10
Scroll 11
Scroll 12
Scroll 13
Scroll 14
Scroll 15
Scroll 16
Scroll 17
Scroll 18
Scroll 19
Scroll 20
Bibliography
Index
Maps
1. The Kasuga-Kofukuji Area
2. The Kasuga Shrine
3. Kofukuji