Shinto Studies

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Apollo Cunomaglos leads to a multi-disciplinary discussion of Celtic religion: from wolves to cosmology, fertility, ancestry, afterlife, rites de passage and manty more.
The epithet Cunomaglos is known from an altar at the Britanno-Roman sanctuary of Nettleton Shrub in Wiltshire. He has traditionally been interpreted as a hunting deity, as «Apollo Hound Prince», in British scholarship. But since it is certain that the ancient Celtic word cuno was used to denote both wolf and dog in this period, it seems more probable that we are dealing here with Apollo «Lord of the Wolves» similar to the Greek Apollo Lykaios. It is important to jettison the negative image that wolves still have in scholarship in order to understand the meaning of Apollo Cunomaglos. An interdisciplinary analysis of pre-Roman and Romano-Celtic iconography —as well as evidence from other cultures in addition to medieval Welsh and Irish mythology— suggests that wolves must have played a significant role in people’s religious understandings, for example in relation to fertility, nourishment, cosmology, strength, ancestry, prophecy, afterlife beliefs, rites de passage, and many more. Altogether, there emerges a certain image of Apollo Cunomaglos as potentially a powerful, even omnipotent deity, perhaps related to Apollo Maponus, Belenos, Lugus, and Vaelicus.
[ES] Resumen: Apollo Cunomaglos es conocido gracias a un altar procedente del santuario britano-romano de Nettleton Shrub, en Wiltshire  Inglaterra). En la historiografía anglosajona, ha sido tradicionalmente nterpretado como una deidad cazadora, como «Apolo, el Príncipe  azador». Sin embargo, dado que la antigua palabra céltica cuno fue tilizada en esa época tanto para aludir al lobo como al perro, parece más probable que en este caso nos encontremos ante un Apolo «Señor de los Lobos» similar al Apollo Lykaios del mundo griego. Para poder comprender el significado de Apollo Cunomaglos es necesario superar la imagen negativa que se tiene de los lobos en el ámbito académico.
Con ese propósito, este artículo plantea un análisis interdisciplinar de la iconografía prerromana y romano-céltica, de las mitologías medievales galesase irlandesas, y de evidencias de otras culturas relacionadas con el lobo, que muestra la gran importancia de ese animal en las concepciones religiosas de esas poblaciones, como, por ejemplo, en las relacionadas con la fertilidad, la nutrición, la cosmología, la fortaleza, los ancestros, la profecía, las creencias escatológicas, y los ritos de paso, entre otras. De todo ello emerge una potencial imagen de Apollo Cunomaglos como una deidad poderosa, casi omnipotente, que quizás estuvo relacionada con otros dioses como Apollo Maponus, Belenos, Lugus y Vaelicus

When I was an undergraduate student, I was told several times that doing doctoral research and writing a PhD dissertation is essentially a solitary endeavour, and that many PhD candidates end up feeling lonely. That is not at all how I have experienced the past three years, however. In the course of my journey, I have had the opportunity to meet, talk to, and learn from a great number of people. Without them, I could not have written this dissertation.

O maior dos cineastas japoneses, Akira Kurosawa, fez no outono de sua vida um filme baseado nos seus sonhos. A rica simbologia dos oito episódios do filme é um convite para conhecer o folclore e a religiosidade do Extremo Oriente. No entanto, a interpretação de "Sonhos" esbarra num obstáculo considerável: a fossa cultural que separa o Japão do Ocidente. Para transpor essa barreira foi necessário um estudo focado principalmente no budismo, xintó e a biografia do diretor para captar a profundidade dessa obra, somado a comparações com os mitos, lendas e contos de fada da África, do Brasil e da Europa. Tanto a arte como a vida onírica são temas de grande interesse apara analistas Junguianos, e a investigação psicológica desse filme traz uma contribuição valiosa para uma crítica cinematográfica que tem por base o repertório hermenêutico da psicologia analítica.

Jednym z wymiarów przestrzeni figuratywnej jest odniesienie do szczególnej rzeczywistości określanej mianem sacrum. Współcześnie powstaje nawet specjalna dziedzina badań nad sakralnym wymiarem przestrzeni określana jako "hierotopia" 1 . Japońskie wrota torii, które stały się niejako wizytówką tegoż kraju, pojawiającą się często jako symboliczny znak rodzimych tradycji, mogą stanowić dobry przykład dla takich badań prowadzonych poza kręgiem chrześcijańskim.

Le shinto connait des changements depuis les trente dernières années au Japon. Depuis la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale et l’application de la nouvelle Constitution, le shinto est limité à l’espace privé et religieux. L’attentat d’Aum Shinrikyō changera la perception que la société japonaise a de la religion, ce qui forcera la prêtrise shinto à s’adapter. Plus présents dans l’espace public, les dirigeants shinto veulent présenter leurs croyances en tant qu’éléments traditionnels et culturels japonais. La conception de la religion au Japon est différente de celle de l’Occident. Le mot religion, shūkyō (宗教), a une histoire qui affecte la façon dont les Japonais conçoivent les religions ainsi que le shinto. Dans ce contexte, il est important d’observer la connexion entre le shinto et l’identité. L’objectif principale de cette recherche est d’analyser les liens entre le shinto et l’identité à deux niveaux, local et national, et ce, spécialement chez les jeunes. Cet essai mettra l’accent sur un type d’activité shinto : les matsuri. D’un point de vue anthropologique, l’intérêt de ces événements est dans leur popularité, leur dynamique intergénérationnelle et leur place qu’ils peuvent avoir dans l’espace public.
La collecte de données s’est déroulée dans le cadre d’une ethnographie de trois mois dans la région de Sapporo et plusieurs festivals ont été observés durant cette période. Les observations portaient sur l’espace social, les comportements, les relations de genre et intergénérationnelles, les vêtements, les activités et les rituels. Ces éléments nous aident à comprendre la place des matsuri dans la culture japonaise contemporaine, et ultimement, nous informent sur la conception du shinto. Ces festivals traditionnels nous donnent aussi de l’information à propos de l’identité japonaise. Autant des éléments de l’identité locale que nationale peuvent être observés et analysés à travers ces événements. Ce mémoire fait ressortir les éléments pertinents et les met en relation avec le contexte religieux contemporain.

The role of Shinto has changed through the last thirty years in Japan. Since the end of World War II and the adoption of the new Constitution, Shinto has been limited to private and religious space. The Aum crisis changed the perception of religion in Japanese society, and Shinto priesthood had to adapt. More present in public space, Shinto leaders want to present Shinto beliefs as central to Japanese traditions and culture. The conception of religion in Japan is different than the one in Western countries. The word religion, shūkyō (宗教), has an interesting history affecting the way Japanese perceive all religions and Shinto in particular. In this context, it is important to analyse the connection between Shinto practices and identity. The main objective of this research is to analyze the links between Shinto and identity at two levels, local and national, with a focus on youth. To do so, this paper will focus on one type of Shinto activities: matsuri. From an anthropological point of view, the interest about these developments comes from their popularity, their intergenerational dynamics, and the place they occupy in the public domain.
The data were gathered during ethnographic research that spanned for three months in the Sapporo area. Multiple festivals were observed during this period. The focus of the observation was on social space, behavior, gender and intergenerational relations, clothing, activities, and rituals. Those elements help us understand the place of matsuri in contemporary Japanese culture, and ultimately, give information about the conception of Shinto. Shrine festivals also provide information about Japanese identity. Both local and national identity elements can be observed and analysed though these events. This paper points out those elements and puts them in relation to the actual religious context.

This multi-authored publication has now appeared!
For the publisher's announcement see: https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/exploring-shinto/ Publisher's Recommendation:  Shinto permeates the religious landscape of Japan and is a major key to the understanding of Japanese culture and society. But what is it? If ideological shortcuts are avoided there is no simple answer. Yet this book will guide students and general readers through many aspects of Shinto both today and in its history. It contains much information about sacred Shinto shrines and the divinities (the kami) which are the focus of devotion there. These numerous divinities have been viewed in different ways in the course of time, and contributions by specialists shed much light on the role played by Buddhism in this regard. Moreover, several fascinating religious movements or "sects" that share in the wider pattern of Shinto are also introduced and discussed. Oversimplified views may be challenged here, but the result is a volume in which "Shinto" is explored in a wide and illuminating perspective by an international team of scholars. It provides a refreshing and much needed resource for all who are interested in the subject.

Shintō is the first and the basic religion of Japan. In most works on Shintō it is said that its central object is kami but almost nothing is said about etymology and meaning of this concept. In this paper I made an attempt to clarify this question. In Ainu religion there is concept kamuy that looks much alike kami. Ainu concept kamuy can be explained through the concept of ramat. Japanese concept kami also shapes a pair with concept of tamashii. I have come to the following conclusions: Japanese tamashii originated from Ainu ramat and Japanese kami originated from Ainu kamuy; ramat/tamashii means “vital energy exists”, it is something like energy/ether that fills the universe; kamuy means “item filled by [ramat]”; kamuy/kami are beings/items that have a lot of ramat and can share it; aim of any Shintō rite is to get more ramat/tamashii.

This paper presents a Japanese approach to the concept of waste through an analysis of the Japanese word mottainai (“what a waste!” and “don’t be wasteful”). The paper begins by outlining Buddhist origins of the word and religious veneration of objects in Shinto. From there, the paper then presents the popularization of the term as a culturally unique phrase that has been promulgated by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment as part of its own environmental pedagogy. The cultural applications have attracted the notice of Kenyan environmental and political activist Wangari Maathai, adding the word to the three R’s as ‘respect’. The use of mottainai as a form of ontological humility in the face of our own increasingly polluted world is the focus of the conclusion. I argue here that Tanaka Shozo’s conservationist environmental philosophy itself amicable to Leopold’s Land Ethic and Carson’s critique of anthropocentricism.

... ИНФОРМАЦИЯ О ПУБЛИКАЦИИ. Название публикации, [BOOK REVIEW] MATSURI, FESTIVALS OF A JAPANESE TOWN. Авторы, Michael Ashkenazi. Журнал, Man. Издательство, Proquest Social Sciences Journals. Год выпуска, 1994, ISSN, 0025-1496. Том, 29, Цит. в РИНЦ ...

In Japan, marriage ceremonies prior to 1900 wedding of the crown prince used to be secular events, featuring some differences from the current matrimonial practice. This essay explores the Meiji era social engineering invention by looking at the history and practices of an altered ritual.

Revisiting my earlier work: https://www.academia.edu/10923319/%D0%9A%D1%82%D0%BE_%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%9B%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82_%D0%AF%D0%B3%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B8_%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%A0%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2_%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8_.

Winner of the SSSR 2013-Distinguished Book of the Year Award.
"Throughout its long history, Japan had no concept of what we call “religion.” There was no corresponding Japanese word, nor anything close to its meaning. But when American warships appeared off the coast of Japan in 1853 and forced the Japanese government to sign treaties demanding, among other things, freedom of religion, the country had to contend with this Western idea. In this book, Jason Ananda Josephson reveals how Japanese officials invented religion in Japan and traces the sweeping intellectual, legal, and cultural changes that followed.

More than a tale of oppression or hegemony, Josephson’s account demonstrates that the process of articulating religion offered the Japanese state a valuable opportunity. In addition to carving out space for belief in Christianity and certain forms of Buddhism, Japanese officials excluded Shinto from the category. Instead, they enshrined it as a national ideology while relegating the popular practices of indigenous shamans and female mediums to the category of “superstitions”—and thus beyond the sphere of tolerance. Josephson argues that the invention of religion in Japan was a politically charged, boundary-drawing exercise that not only extensively reclassified the inherited materials of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shinto to lasting effect, but also reshaped, in subtle but significant ways, our own formulation of the concept of religion today. This ambitious and wide-ranging book contributes an important perspective to broader debates on the nature of religion, the secular, science, and superstition."

Submitted as part of the Advanced Theory in the Study of Religions course at SOAS, this paper traces the multiple uses of the word 'kami', and why it would be preferable to use it as is, rather than attempting to translate it as 'deities', 'gods' and the like. Used as an example paper for this course in subsequent years.

Politics is entrenched in the process of creating, sustaining and erasing memories. It is in the interest of any state that attempts to coagulate a sense of ‘self’ to invest in cultural memories of the past. Likewise, a counter-movement of resistance may also benefit from establishing identity through memories, perhaps traumatic. Shared memories forge a sense of consanguinity, they can be tools of states or of minority groups, and in this sense, they are sites of power, multi-directional in nature. Waltz with Bashir by Ari Folman and Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki are the two films interrogated in this paper. As animated films, they are of interest in an exploration of the ‘politics of memory’ in that their seemingly antithetical content belies the shared processes of memory making with which they engage. Both of these films, I argue, create and play with individual and cultural memories. Both use symbolism and other filmic techniques to evoke particular responses from particular demographics, and they make implicit and explicit commentaries on contentious political issues. This paper will focus on the ways in which memories of trauma are visually and aurally represented in these films, and place them in their particular political, historical and social narratives in order to ascertain the ways in which these ‘memories’ interact with the off-screen world. By attempting to explore both pieces simultaneously, this paper aims to explore the similar and dissimilar ways both films represent ‘memory’, and the political ramifications this entails. A range of scholars will be used hailing from primarily psychoanalytic and political traditions, such as Freud, Reider, Mansfield and Elsaessar.

Agama Shinto merupakan agama yang ada di Jepang yang meyakini adanya kami  yaitu spirit yang melingkupi seluruh aspek kehidupan yang dapat juga disebut dewa-dewi. Dalam agama Shinto terdapat banyak ritual dan festival yang dilakukan sepanjang tahun dengan ciri khas yang berbeda di setiap daerahnya serta simbol-simbol yang dipakai. Beberapa provinsi di Jepang memiliki ritual dan festival masing-masing yang terkadang mirip satu sama lain. Festival-festival dalam Shinto dirayakan sepanjang tahun menurut kalender yang setiap tahunnya akan diadakan pada tanggal yang sama. Penulis ingin mengetahui bagaimanakah ritual dan festival yang dirayakan dalam Shinto ini berpengaruh dan mempunyai peran bagi kehidupan masyarakat Jepang yang menganut agama Shinto.

"Japon dinleri”, Japonya’da ortaya çıkmış olan Şintoizm ile diğer ülkelerde doğup Japonya’da yayılmış olan Budizm, Konfüçyanizm, Hıristiyanlık ve İslâm gibi dinleri ifade etmektedir. Japonya’da “din” kavramından, daha çok, ülkeye dışarıdan gelen inançlar anlaşıldığından dolayı Japonlardan bazen “dinim yok” ifadesi duyulabilir. Bunun en temel sebebi ise Şintoizm’in, ülkenin milli kültürü olarak değerlendirilmesidir. Bir Japon’un, bayram kutlaması ve ibadet ettikten sonra Şinto mabedinden çıkıp da dininin olmadığını söylemesi bu yüzden normaldir. Hatta bundan dolayı bazı araştırmacılar, Japonları dinsiz olarak nitelendirebilmektedir. Ancak dinler tarihçileri, bir inancın din sayılabilmesi için bünyesinde var olması gereken kendine özgü inanç, ibadet, mabed, din adamları gibi unsurlar olduğundan Şintoizm’i bir din olarak kabul etmektedir.

“Being Ma” lives at the nexus of ma and the lived body. (1) Of Shinto Zen origin, 'ma' concept of spacetime permeates traditional forms of Japanese Fine Arts. (2) The essence of 'ma' reappears in the contemporary Butoh dance philosophy, and has migrated as spatial-temporal perspective in a number of movement art practices outer-borders of Japan. “Being Ma” attempts at describing a porous, fluid, indescribable concept as experienced in its relationship along and between the artistic intents of a moving body in spacetime.
'Ma' is a contributing rather than a limiting principle. The study follows a flow leading to ma-body-as-event. The study of 'ma' contributes to the phenomenal, cultural, and embodied knowledge production of Dance & Performance scholarship, and beyond, extending to fields of research mandating embodied inquiries. Having chosen to study a Japanese phenomenological concept through the practical framework (in some cases) of North American movement art practitioners, I come across issues of embodied translation and issues of movement approaches – or, stylistic codes and forms of ‘trans-action’. Aided by the artistic expressions of the lived body paradigm, this paper addresses the experience of movement: Shinto Zen rites, Nihon Buyo (Traditional Japanese Dance), Butoh practice, Somatic practice, dancing dream state, and Durational Performance Art. These forms call for movement awareness, which makes them ideal pilots for observation, description, analysis, and interpretation.

The first complete English translation of the 62 imperial edicts in Shoku Nihongi.

Available as a paperback at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1983595454

Available as a Kindle ebook at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+imperial+edicts+in&rh=n%3A154606011&ref=nb_sb_noss

This article explores religious practices and institutional tensions related to the contemporary phenomenon of power spots (pawāsupotto) in Japan. The concept, which holds that certain places emanate special energies from the earth, emerged in the global New Age movement before its transmission to Japan in the 1980s. It has since been shaped by discourse on spirituality and nature, mass media, commercial interests, and more recently, associations with Shinto. This latter development has exposed fissures in the broader Shinto community that concern practice, economics, national symbolism, and issues of authority. Based on field results from a variety of sites between 2015 and 2017, this article provides an overview of the phenomenon before examining the conflicting interests it has exposed among regional shrines, Jinja Honchō 神社本庁 (Association of Shinto Shrines), and the Ise Shrines. Ultimately, power spots strike at two fundamental questions facing the Shinto community: how should the religion be defined and whose interests should it serve? The current phenomenon and resulting debate portend a charged landscape for Shinto in the years ahead.

Come dice Ian Baruma nella prefazione a 'Behind the mask', la cultura Giapponese e, aggiungerei, i giapponesi stessi, appaiono incomprensibili agli occhi di noi occidentali. Questa visione superficiale per cui, scrivendo al contrario anche i loro sentimenti devono essere inversi ai nostri, produce una serie di clichè comodi tanto agli occidentali quanto ai giapponesi stessi. Più che unici o con cervelli diversi, come sostengono alcuni 'scienziati', i nipponici sembrano aver conservato, grazie al loro isolamento dal resto del mondo, caratteri che nelle altre culture sono scomparsi nel corso della storia.

This research investigates the potential of the Japanese belief system Shinto as to responding to ecological issues. It situates itself within the research field of spirituality and ecology. Shinto is an indigenous belief which promotes the worship of its divinities, the so-called Kami, which are thought to be residing within natural elements. The Kami are at the same time perceived as distinct divinities which are worshiped at Shinto sanctuaries, the Jinja (of which exist more than 80'000 throughout the country), as well as a consciousness which permeates Nature. Alternatively, Nature itself is considered as Kami. In reality it is not an easy task to define what Shinto means, and its descriptions are oftentimes vague or divergent. Nevertheless, it can be claimed that during the modernisation of Japan a core meaning of Shinto has gone lost, namely the proximity to its divinities which had been inherent to the Japanese people, as well as resulting ethical and spiritual implications. As of today, most Japanese do not question the core spiritual meanings of their own belief system and there is a general disdain against topics which touch upon religion or belief. This notwithstanding, during a field research, it has been repeatedly claimed that Shinto needs to reaffirm its core meanings which, through its conveyed spirituality harbors strong ecological implications, at the same time as being aware of contemporary ecological challenges. Besides, it also needs to admit past and present controversies such as its nationalistic implications or its incapacity of preventing past environmental degradations.

In 2003, Hayao Miyazaki’s animated feature Spirited Away (originally released in Japan in 2001 as “Sen and Chihiro’s Spiriting Away”) won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. To this day, it is the only non-English film to be given the accolade, and in subsequent years it has only grown in acclaim. Despite its popularity in the West, Spirited Away is a distinctly Japanese film, heavily featuring traditional architecture and customs as well as foregrounding Shinto imagery and ideals in its plot. In an interview for The Art of Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away,” Miyazaki confirmed his intentions to headline these traditional concepts. He stated, “Surrounded by high technology and its flimsy devices, children are more and more losing their roots. We must inform them of the richness of our traditions.” His comments reflect that, despite popular representations of classical Japanese culture such as Spirited Away, Japan has become more and more secularised since the mid-twentieth century, and younger generations are increasingly growing up without knowledge of traditional Japanese customs, especially those of Shinto. This decline is in part due to the growing inaccessibility of physical Shinto spaces in modern Japan, a phenomenon that is reflected in the representation of Shinto as surrounded by modernity in Spirited Away.

Disclaimer: I am neither affiliated with nor has cultural exposure to Tenrikyo beyond some casual run-ins with their missionaries while in Japan.  Everything I know about Tenrikyo is from what I read.  I'm not an expert on Tenrikyo.  Please do not ask me about it.

Tenrikyo, one of the oldest and most well-known of so-called “new religious movements” (NRMs) in Japan, emerged from a rural village of Nara, Japan, founded by a woman of an agricultural household, Nakayama Miki. With a peasant woman as the foundress and the chief medium of the God the Parent, and its doctrinal emphasis on social justice, it is tempting to make an assumption that Tenrikyo is not unlike some liberal Protestant churches in North America where feminist theology wields a significant influence and women are working in all levels of church leadership. As with Christianity, it is likely that a more patriarchal elements crept into Tenrikyo as it established itself as an officially recognized Sect Shinto denomination and surviving the trying periods of the early 20th century.

O maior dos cineastas japoneses, Akira Kurosawa, fez no outono de sua vida um filme autobiográfico baseado em oito sonhos seus. A rica simbologia desses oito episódios é como uma janela para o folclore e as expressões religiosas do Extremo Oriente. No entanto, a interpretação de Sonhos esbarra num considerável obstáculo: a fossa cultural que separa o Japão da nossa cultura Ocidental, judaico-cristã. Um estudo focado principalmente no budismo, xintó e na biografia do diretor ajuda a transpor tal barreira, somado a comparações com os mitos, lendas e contos de fada da África, Brasil e Europa. Tanto as expressões artísticas como a vida onírica são temas que suscitam interesse por parte de analistas junguianos, e a compreensão psicodinâmica dessa produção cinematográfica agregará ao repertório hermenêutico da psicologia analítica.

Introduction: What is being? Is it indefinable and incorporeal or tangibly real? It is probable that the ontological notion is fundamentally complex and unsolvable. Thus many philosophers have questioned and argued about the nature of being and attempted to seek answers to define its concept. And many conceptual artists in the contemporary era have investigated the subject of human existence and reflected on their works. It seems a universal concern. However it should not be regarded as a generalised idea. Equally, it should not be considered as an empty concept.

What does being itself indicate? We know it is a form of existence. There is no doubt that we know and understand that we are surrounded by existing things. However how, ultimately, have we come to exist in this world? According to Martin Heidegger, the activity of existing is defined as “being-in-the-world” (Dreyfus 1991: 40). He said that there is a relation between the human being and the world. [1] Human being entails being with others in a shared way of life in the world. Regarding the notion of “being-in” the world in this context, Heidegger stressed that the world is not to be conceived as the feature of spatiality, where objects are located (Dreyfus 1991: 40). It should rather be considered as an “involvement” with human beings, the world and with the other beings and things (Dreyfus 1991: 41). It refers not only to physical inclusion but also an existential sense of inclusion. In terms of relations, human beings connect to their own existence as well as the existence of others through the medium of the world (Dreyfus 1991).

Starting with this idea, this essay will explore a personal intellectual journey, focusing on Antony Gormley’s notion of the body and based on the ideas of Fritjof Capra, Tadao Ando and Martin Heidegger, which possibly illustrate the notion of relational being and non-anthropocentric being. The central idea of this essay is that Gormley’s casting figures express themselves through exploring the connection between physical and metaphysical self and the body in inter-relationship with the space and time in which we are equally involved with one another. Bodily presence is made aware of the connection between mind and body. In this regard, the perception of existence in the world comes about through interdependence of all things such as a fact, situation or action rather than as acknowledged by itself. Thus the sensibility of existence can be clarified in relational being.

I will begin by considering Gormley’s own idea of sculpture. It is manifested in the relationship between our minds and physical space and time. This idea will be explored here with reference to Capra’s notion of the inseparable connection between living beings and the world. Through the exploration, this essay will observe Gormley’s notion of the human body, which is the significant focus in his work of his concern with human existence. Considering the ontological idea, this paper will illustrate Gormley’s body-cast, which is the dominant process in the creation of his sculptural works. In connection with this artistic process, in this part, I will examine the notion of body-casting as a meditative art. It is based on Buddhist meditation as a function of the artist’s spiritual self-awareness. Through a thorough consideration of the meditative art, this paper will also attempt to examine Gormley’s concerns of the relation between body and space based on Ando’s relational notion between shintai and space. According to this idea, the body can be acknowledged as the world as well as the self. This essay will then explore the body as being space and being in space through a review of Gormley’s public installation, Broken Column at Stavanger, Norway in 2003. Here, the body denotes the implications of internal and external space and place in relation to the psychological and emotional aspects of the human mind.

Through the deliberations of the relationship between the body and space, this paper will examine the notion of bodily being in time with particular reference to Gormley’s sculptural installation works, Bed 1981 and Still IV 1994. In consideration of Heidegger’s notion of unified relationship between being and time, Gormley’s human body shapes in various postures imply bodily presence at a particular moment in time rather than merely presenting artificial sculptural figures. Through the exploration of his works, I will conclude that Gormley’s notion of body represents relational being in space and time.

[1] Heidegger used the word Dasein to describe the human being with the meaning of human existence or presence. It is derived from da-sein, which literally means being-there and there-being. It can refer to a way of being that is characteristic of people or a person-a human being (Dreyfus 1991).

This study investigates Yoshida Shinto founded by Yoshida Kanetomo (1435-1511), which reached its peak in the 17th and 18th centuries. Yoshida Shinto is credited as the first religious school that chose "Shinto" (way of the gods) as its denomination and regarded itself intrinsically different from Buddhism. Therefore Yoshida Shinto called itself also the "One-and-Only Way of the Gods." The study analyses the actual religious innovations of Yoshida Kanetomo and their historical and intellectual background. Thereby it addresses the general question to which extent Yoshida Shinto implied a new consciousness of Shinto as an autonomous religion. It is well known among experts of Japanese religion that Yoshida Shinto was heavily influenced by Buddhism and Taoism alike. The author argues, however, that there is a tendency to underestimate the degree, by which these influences were integrated into a comprehensive religious system that also involved indigenous ("Shinto") elements, such as ritual and mythology. The study is the first monograph of Yoshida Shinto in a Western language and includes also translations of three important Yoshida texts. It contributes to the present discussion about the notion of "Shinto," which has become the object of a critical re-evaluation in Japan as well as in the West.

Dans sa forme contemporaine, le shintō fait l’objet de peu de recherches dans le champ des études japonaises, a fortiori lorsqu’il s’agit de le considérer du point de vue des pratiquants plutôt qu’en tant qu’institution religieuse. Cependant, l’observation du shintō comme objet de pratiques et de croyances permet de révéler et d’expliquer quelques paradoxes pour le chercheur occidental qui s’intéresserait au fait religieux au Japon ; plus encore, en cela il peut être une porte d’entrée sur l’étude de la société nippone, du fait de sa dimension sociale et des valeurs qui lui sont attribuées par les Japonais.
La compréhension de l’écart entre affiliation déclarée, croyance et pratique religieuse, constaté aujourd’hui autour du shintō, rend nécessaire la remise en question de cadres d’analyse en termes de religion et d’appartenance religieuse, construits et imposés avec l’influence judéo-chrétienne sur le Japon. Dès lors, on s’attachera notamment à comprendre en quoi le rapport des Japonais contemporains à la pratique des rituels shintō, étroitement imbriqués dans la culture traditionnelle et la vie sociale japonaises, questionne l’approche occidentale de la foi comme préexistante à la participation aux rituels religieux.

The Bride-Snake of the Ancient Shamanic Kings

The archaic myth of the bride-snake of the founders of royal dynasties, shamanic in its origins, historically reappeared in Eurasia several times. Although it is not so widespread, this myth is present from the Pacific to the Atlantic Coasts, as we can see from the examples of the Khmer dynasty in Cambodia to that of the Lusignan family in France.
According to the most complete and ancient variant of this myth, both members of the royal couple are snakes, like Cadmus and Harmonia, or at least as far as the lower half of the body is concerned. This is the case of the royal couple of the mythical Nāga in India, and the legendary brother and sister Emperors Fuxi and Nügua in China. Even in Ptolemaic Egypt, we have the divine ophidic couple of Isis and Serapis, which was traditionally assimilated, according to the official iconography, in the ruling pharaonic couple, a couple which often consists of brother and sister. All these examples are significant in their close mythical and iconographical similarity, even though we have a wide geographical and historical distance. They show that in many old cultures the transmutation of a human couple into a pair of snakes was traditionally considered the highest of all. This is an emblematic prerogative of those royal and imperial dynasties who wanted to represent, in a ritual and symbolic way, the immortality and androgyny of the primordial shaman kings. The ophidic transmutation of man, as well as that of woman, always indicated that it was considering their psychic dimension, inherent in their subtle body. According to several myths, this situation was fully developed in a spontaneous and natural way in the first, Edenic age. The individuals of the later ages could “be awoken” only through techniques of initiation which were very close to each other, for instance the different oriental examples of inner Alchemy, from Chinese Taoism (Neidan) to Indian Yoga (Haṭhayoga, Rāsavidyā), surviving testimonials of the most archaic shamanic practices existing in Eurasia. In western iconography this theme only survived in some rare miniatures of alchemical treatises.

The last Empress of Nara Japan, Kōken/Shōtoku Tennō 孝謙/称徳天皇, was a formidably powerful ruler. Daughter of the great Buddhist Emperor Shōmu 聖武天皇 and his Fujiwara wife Kōmyō 光明皇后, she was an adroit politician who overcame numerous challenges to her rule by male aristocrats. As a devout Buddhist nun, she wrestled with the implications of her faith for the political legitimacy of the imperial house. Her numerous edicts bear witness to the sophistication of the intellectuals at her court who tried to reconcile the Buddhist doctrine of divine protection of the state with the native tradition of godlike sovereignty and with elements of classical Chinese ideas concerning the proper function of the ruler.

Paperback -- https://www.amazon.com/Edicts-Last-Empress-749-770-Translation/dp/1500896020/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+edicts+of+the+last+empress&qid=1560007652&s=books&sr=1-1

Ebook - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XDQKZXB

The Japanese tradition of Shinto and the British tradition of Paganism are seemingly very different. They worship different gods in different fashion and have different concepts of the afterlife. More importantly, Shinto is recognised as mainstream and as ʻa religion of Japanesenessʻ for which there is no easy equivalent in the U.K. Yet this paper argues that the two traditions may have more in common than is at first apparent. As primal religions they would have shared similar characteristics in ancient times, though with distinctive differences in form. In both countries an axial religion introduced from the continent came to dominate the native tradition, though the extent of that domination was more marked in Britain than in Japan. In more recent times a re-visioning of the respective traditions has led in both cases to a revival of fortunes, though with a major difference in that Shinto was sponsored by the state whereas revived Paganism stood in opposition to the authorities. Nonetheless, the paper concludes by suggesting that in their contemporary guise the two religions are both ʻinvented traditionsʼ which look to a golden past in order to deal with the unsettling effects of globalisation and modernisation.

This course surveys Japan's rich history of ghosts, monsters, and supernatural creatures (yōkai). We will encounter literary, theatrical, and visual depictions of them in contexts ranging from the horrific to the humorous. We will analyze these depictions for what they can tell us about premodern thinking on gender, the body, the afterlife, morality, and other important topics. We will also consider how traditional conceptions of the monstrous have shaped contemporary Japanese culture. This course uses selected examples of premodern, early modern, and modern yōkai stories to frame an in-depth examination of the way yōkai have been imagined and depicted over time. The course thus covers the 15th through the 20th centuries, and offers students the opportunity to interpret contemporary manifestations of yōkai culture in a broader historical context.

Enshrined at Daigoji 醍醐寺 temple—one of the most important centers of Shingon esoteric Buddhism—is the female tutelary deity Seiryō (or Seiryū) Gongen 清瀧権現. Medieval texts depict her as a draconic goddess, usually the third daughter of the dragon king Shakara (Sk. Sāgara) 娑伽羅龍王. Traditions say that she physically traveled to Japan with Kūkai 空海 (774-835), and that her cult became particularly prominent at Daigoji after the temple was established by the Shingon monk Shōbō 聖宝 (835-909).
From the eleventh century to the middle ages, Seiryō Gongen appeared mostly within the context of rainmaking rituals. Such practices at Daigoji eventually fell out of favor during the late Kamakura period, but her cult did not lose its popularity. In fact, her name is frequently referenced in one major Muromachi source for the history of the Shingon school, the diary of the Sanbōin 三宝院 monk Manzei 満済 (also Mansai, 1378-1435).  As the abbot of Daigoji, Manzei conducted various rituals at the Seiryō shrines of Daigoji temple, such as recitations of sūtras, offerings, doctrinal discussions (dangi 談義), and even included Nō performances. He also was a central figure at the court of the Ashikaga shoguns, especially Yoshimitsu 義満 (1358-1408), and he played a crucial role in supporting their regime (Mori 2004).
This article will analyze Manzei’s Seiryō’s rituals and and replace them in the historical context of this goddess’s cult. After a presentation of Manzei’s activities, a return to the origins of the Seiryō worship will show the cult’s stability and evolution during Japan’s less-understood late Middle Ages. I will show how Manzei’s rituals, although they followed traditional patterns, also consecrated a gradual shift in the goddess’s role inside the Daigoji temple. This analysis will then allow for a discussion of the category of guardian deities in premodern Japan, as well as shed new light on the cult’s developments during the Edo period and beyond.

Şintoizm, Japonların tarih sahnesine çıkmasından bu yana var olduğuna inanılan, toplumun kültür ve felsefesiyle iç içe geçmiş Japon milli dinine verilen addır. Şintoizm’e ait bilgilere genellikle Kociki  ve Nihongi adı verilen dinî metinlerde ve halk inanışlarında rastlanır. Bu dindeki tarih ve inançla ilgili anlatımlar daha çok mitolojiktir. Günümüzde Japon dini denildiğinde Şintoizm ve Budizm’in sentezinden müteşekkil bir inanç sistemi önümüze çıkar. Bu senkretik din anlayışında Japonların, geçiş törenlerinin daha çok doğum, yetişkinlik, evlenme gibi kısımlarını Şinto mabetlerinde, ölüm ve sonrası ritüelleri ise Budist mabetlerde yerine getirdikleri görülür.
        Japon halk inanışı yüzyıllarca kulaktan kulağa aktarılmış ve insanların arasındaki bu hikâyelerin bir kısmı VIII. yüzyılda derlenen dinî metinlere girmiştir. Ancak Japon mitolojisinde yer etmiş hayvanlarla ilgili inanışların hepsini dinî metinlerde bulmak mümkün değildir. Bu inanışların kimisi atasözü ve deyim olarak varlığını devam ettirirken, kimisi de masal ve hikâye kitabı gibi eserlerle günümüze kadar taşınmıştır. Bu yüzden hayvanlarla ilgili inanışlar için dinî metinler yanında, Japon mitolojisi ile ilgili yazılmış eserlere ve atasözlerine göz atmak gerekir.
        Şintoizm’de hayvanların yeri ve önemini kavrayabilmek için bu dinde bulunan “kami” kavramını doğru anlamak önem arz eder. Zira bu dine dair tüm öğreti ve ibadetler doğrudan ya da dolaylı olarak bu temel kavramla ilişkilidir. Dolayısıyla kami kavramı bilinmeden, bu kavramla doğrudan bağlantılı olan Şintoizm’de hayvanlar konusunu anlamak zor olacaktır. Hayvanlar Japonya’da önem verilen bazı mekânlarda ve zamanlarda daha da ön plana çıkar. Bu nedenle çalışmamızda Şintoizm’de hayvanlara bakış açısı, kutsal varlık (kami), kutsal zaman (matsuri) ve kutsal mekân (cinca/miya) algısı çerçevesinde ele alınacaktır.