Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art, 1600–2005

__Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art__ explores the transformation of Buddhism from the premodern to the contemporary era in Japan and the central role its visual culture has played in this transformation. Although Buddhism is generally regarded as peripheral to modern Japanese society, this book demonstrates otherwise. Its chapters elucidate the thread of change over time in the practice of Buddhism as revealed in temple worship halls and other sites of devotion and in imagery representing the religion’s most popular deities and religious practices. It also introduces the work of modern and contemporary artists who are not generally associated with institutional Buddhism and its canonical visual requirements but whose faith inspires their art. The author makes a persuasive argument that the neglect of these materials by scholars results from erroneous presumptions about the aesthetic superiority of early Japanese Buddhist artifacts and an asserted decline in the institutional power of the religion after the sixteenth century. She demonstrates that recent works constitute a significant contribution to the history of Japanese art and architecture, providing evidence of Buddhism’s compelling presence at all levels of Japanese society and its evolution in response to the needs of new generations of supporters.

In August 1803 two Russian ships, the Nadezhda and the Neva, set off on a round-the-world voyage to carry out scientific exploration and collect artifacts for Alexander I's ethnographic museum in St. Petersburg. Russia's strategic concerns in the north Pacific, however, led the Russian government to include as part of the expedition an embassy to Japan, headed by statesman Nikolai Rezanov, who was given authority over the ships' commanders without their knowledge. Between them the ships carried an ethnically and socially disparate group of men: Russian educated elite, German naturalists, Siberian merchants, Baltic naval officers, even Japanese passengers. Upon reaching Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas archipelago on May 7, 1804, and for the next twelve days, the naval officers revolted against Rezanov's command while complex crosscultural encounters between Russians and islanders occurred. Elena Govor recounts the voyage, reconstructing and exploring in depth the tumultuous events of the Russians' stay in Nuku Hiva; the course of the mutiny, its resolution and aftermath; and the extent and nature of the contact between Nuku Hivans and Russians.

Govor draws directly on the writings of the participants themselves, many of whom left accounts of the voyage. Those by the ships' captains, Krusenstern and Lisiansky, and the naturalist George Langsdorff are well known, but here for the first time, their writings are juxtaposed with recently discovered textual and visual evidence by various members of the expedition in Russian, German, Japanese—and by the Nuku Hivans themselves. Two sailor-beachcombers, a Frenchman and an Englishman who acted as guides and interpreters, later contributed their own accounts, which feature the words and opinions of islanders. Govor also relies on a myth about the Russian visit recounted by Nuku Hivans to this day.

"Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art explores the transformation of Buddhism from the premodern to the contemporary era Japan and the central role its visual culture has played in this transformation. Although Buddhism is generally regarded as peripheral to modern Japanese society, this book demonstrates otherwise. Its chapters elucidate the thread of change over time in the practice of Buddhism as revealed in temple worship halls and others sites of devotion and in imagery representing the religion's most popular deities and religious practices. It also introduces the work to modern and contemporary artists who are not generally associates with institutional Buddhism and its canonical visual requirements but whose faith inspires the art. The author makes a persuasive argument that the neglect of these materials by scholars results from erroneous presumptions about the aesthetic superiority of early Japanese Buddhist artifacts and an asserted decline in the institutional power of the religion after the sixteenth century. She demonstrates that recent works constitute as significant contribution to the history of Japanese art and architecture providing evidence of Buddhism's persistent and compelling presence at all levels of Japanese society and its evolution in response to the needs of new generation of supporters both within and beyond its orthodox institutions."--Jacket Contents Acknowledgments Note on Translations, References, and Usage of Chinese and Japanese Names, Dates, and Terms Map of Japan Introduction Part I: Buddhism in the Arts of Early Modern Japan, 1600–1868 1. Institutional Buddhism under Warrior Rule 2. Buddhist Temples for the Elites Temples For Commoners 4. Depictions of Popular Deities and Spiritual Concerns 5. Professional Icon-Makers 6. Expressions of Faith Part II. Buddhist Imagery and Sacred Sites in Modern Japan, 1868 – 2005 7. Buddhist Institutions after an Era of Persecution, 1868 – 1945 8. From Icon to Art, 1868 – 1945 9. Buddhist Sites of Worship, 1945 – 2005 10. Visualizing Faith, 1945 – 2005 Conclusion Appendix. Guide to Tokyo-Area Temples Mentioned in This Book Notes Character Glossary Bibliography Index About the Author