The Religious Traditions of Japan 500–1600

by Richard Bowring

• ISBN13: 9780521720274
• ISBN10: 0521720273
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-04-21
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Richard Bowring traces the development of Japanese religious thought and practice from the introduction of writing to the point at which medieval attitudes gave way to a distinctive pre-modern culture, a change that brought an end to the dominance of religious institutions. A wide range of approaches using the resources of art, history, social and intellectual history, as well as doctrine is brought to bear on the subject in order to give as full a picture as possible of the richness of the Japanese tradition and an overview of how Buddhism and Shintõ interacted in Japanese culture.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Arrival of Buddhism and Its Effects (c.538-800)

The introduction of Buddhism

Creating a dynasty

Buddhism and the early state

Monuments at Nara

From Saicha to the Destruction of Tadaiji (800-1180)

The beginnings of a 'Japanese' Buddhism: Tendai

The beginnings of a 'Japanese' Buddhism: Shingon

Buddhism and the state in Heian Japan

Shrine and state in Heian Japan

The rise of devotionalism

A time for strife

From the Destruction of Tadaiji to the Fall of Godaigo (1180-1330)

For and against exclusive practice of the nenbutsu

Religious culture of the early 'middle ages'

Chan Buddhism

Zen Buddhism

Reform from within and without

The emergence of Shinta

Taking stock

From the Fall of Godaigo to the Death of Nobunaga (1330-1582)

Two rival courts; Muromachi Zen

The end of the medieval; 21

Appendix: reading Shingon's two mandala

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