A Cultural History of Japanese Buddhism (Wiley-Blackwell Guides to Buddhism)

A Cultural History of Japanese Buddhism offers a comprehensive, nuanced, and chronological account of the evolution of Buddhist religion in Japan from the sixth century to the present day. Traces each period of Japanese history to reveal the complex and often controversial histories of Japanese Buddhists and their unfolding narratives Examines relevant social, political, and transcultural contexts, and places an emphasis on Japanese Buddhist discourses and material culture Addresses the increasing competition between Buddhist, Shinto, and Neo-Confucian world-views through to the mid-nineteenth century Informed by the most recent research, including the latest Japanese and Western scholarship Illustrates the richness and complexity of Japanese Buddhism as a lived religion, offering readers a glimpse into the development of this complex and often misunderstood tradition Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Overview of the Book Chapter 1: Early Historical Contexts (Protohistory to 645) Chapter 2: Ancient Buddhism (645–950) Chapter 3: Early Medieval Buddhism (950–1300): The Dawn of Medieval Society and Related Changes in Japanese Buddhist Culture Chapter 4: Late Medieval Buddhism (1300–1467): New Buddhisms, Buddhist Learning, Dissemination and the Fall into Chaos Chapter 5: Buddhism and the Transition to the Modern Era (1467–1800) Chapter 6: Modern Buddhism (1800–1945) Chapter 7: Buddhism Since 1945 On Translation Conventions References Chapter 1 Early Historical Contexts (Protohistory to 645) Buddhism’s Transmission to Yamato: The Nihon shoki Narrative Buddhism in the China Sea interaction sphere Buddhist transmission routes: imperial narratives and private receptions Conflicting dates for the transmission of Buddhism to the Japanese archipelago Buddhism as an object and Buddhism as its objects The ideology of official transmission narratives Foreign gods vs. indigenous gods Queen Suiko and Senior Prince Shōtoku Asuka Buddhism (552–645) Immigrants and the development of Asuka-period Buddhism Aristocratic family Buddhist patronage Asuka-period Buddhist material culture and ritual practices Asuka-period Buddhist images: The Shaka Triad Notes References Further Reading Chapter 2 Ancient Buddhism (645–950) Hakuhō‐Period Buddhism (645–710) Toward a state Buddhism Establishment of state temples State-sponsored Buddhist rituals State control of the Buddhist monastic community The problem of “state Buddhism” in the Hakuhō period Nara-Period Buddhism (710–794) Buddhism in the permanent capital of a new nation A national temple system The regulation of monks and nuns Nara monasticism and the state Expressions of an ancient Japanese Buddhist worldview Early Heian Period Buddhism (794–950) New capital, new lineages The problem of Heian new Buddhism Early Heian Buddhist lineages: Tendai Early Heian Buddhist lineages: Shingon Women in Ancient Japanese Buddhism References Further Reading Chapter 3 Early Medieval Buddhism (950–1300): The Dawn of Medieval Society and Related Changes in Japanese Buddhist Culture Middle Heian- and Late Heian-Period Buddhism (950–1185) Annual court ceremonies and envisioning a Buddhist ritual calendar The rising prominence of Tendai lineages and related shifts in Heian Buddhism The advent of Pure Land Buddhist discourses and practices Kami, Buddhas, and sacred space Buddhist performance and the flowering of aesthetic traditions Ritual knowledge, transmission, and the increasing prominence of esoteric Buddhist lineages Japanese Buddhists within the East Asian cultural sphere Scripture-copying, fund-raising campaigns, and the explosion of merit in the twelfth century Early and Middle Kamakura-Period Buddhism (1185–1300) Late Heian Buddhist knowledge, proselytization, and “Kamakura Buddhisms” Notes References Further Reading Chapter 4 Late Medieval Buddhism (1300–1467): New Buddhisms, Buddhist Learning, Dissemination and the Fall into Chaos Late Kamakura-Period and Early Muromachi-Period Buddhism The further development of “Kamakura Buddhisms”: Independence from the Kenmitsu monasteries and the consolidation of tradition The Buddhist culture of learning: Zen, Shintō, networking monks, and seminaries Women and Gender in Medieval Japanese Buddhism Notes References Further Reading Chapter 5 Buddhism and the Transition to the Modern Era (1467–1800) Late Muromachi-Period Buddhism (1467–1600) The continuing development of Kamakura Buddhisms, the arrival of the West, and the new world of Japanese Buddhism Early and Middle Edo-Period Buddhism (1600–1800) The effects of the Tokugawa regime Buddhist learning, dissemination and permutations of Buddhist culture Efforts to recover the precepts Notes References Further Reading Chapter 6 Modern Buddhism (1800–1945) Buddhism in the Transition to the Modern Period Meiji Restoration Meiji-Period Anti-Buddhist Sentiments Buddhist Responses to Anti-Buddhist Sentiments Japanese Buddhists Overseas: Scholars and Missionaries The Study of Buddhism as an Academic Discipline Buddhist New Religions Sōka Kyōiku Gakkai Reiyūkai Kyūdan Dai Nippon Risshō Kōseikai Japanese Buddhism and the Fifteen-Year War (1931–1945) References Further Reading Chapter 7 Buddhism Since 1945 Buddhism in the Allied Occupation Buddhist New Religions in Postwar Japan Buddhist New New Religions The Kyoto School Critical Buddhism Women in Contemporary Japanese Buddhism Traditional Buddhist Lineages in Contemporary Japan Contemporary Buddhist Rituals: Monastic and Lay Buddhism in Contemporary Japanese Culture Prospects References Further Reading Character Glossary Index EULA Offers A Vivid, Nuanced, And Chronological Account Of Buddhistreligion In Japan -- From Its Emergence In The Sixth Centuryright Through To The Present Day-- William E. Deal And Brian Ruppert. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.