Download or read book Founding Territorial Cults in Early Japan written by G. Domenig and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2023-12-11 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book that deals with the territorial cults of early Japan by focusing on how such cults were founded in ownerless regions. Numerous ancient Japanese myths and legends are discussed to show that the typical founding ritual was a two-phase ritual that turned the territory into a horizontal microcosm, complete with its own ‘terrestrial heaven’ inhabited by local deities. Reversing Mircea Eliade’s popular thesis, the author concludes that the concept of the human-made horizontal microcosm is not a reflection but the source of the religious concept of the macrocosm with gods dwelling high up in the sky. The open access publication of this book has been published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Download or read book History Memory and Territorial Cults in the Highlands of Laos written by Pierre Petit and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book captures the dynamics of history, memory, and territorial cults in Houay Yong, a Tai Vat village situated in the multiethnic highland frontier between Laos and Vietnam. By taking seriously the experiences of the villagers, it partakes in a broader movement to reintegrate highlanders and their agency into history at large. Based on comprehensive fieldwork research and the examination of colonial archives, this book makes accessible, for an English-speaking audience, untapped French archives on Laos and early publications on territorial cults written by French ethnologists. In so doing, it provides a balanced perspective, drawing from the fields of memory studies and classical historical research. Following a chronological approach stretching from the nineteenth century to the present, it extends narrative analysis through a comparative ethnography of territorial cults, a key component of the performative and material presentification of the past. Highly interdisciplinary in nature, History, Memory and Territorial Cults in the Highlands of Laos will be useful to students and scholars of anthropology, history, and religious studies, as well as Asian culture and society.
Download or read book Weaving and Binding written by Michael Como and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2009-09-02 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Among the most exciting developments in the study of Japanese religion over the past two decades has been the discovery of tens of thousands of ritual vessels, implements, and scapegoat dolls (hitogata) from the Nara (710-784) and early Heian (794-1185) periods. Because inscriptions on many of the items are clearly derived from Chinese rites of spirit pacification, it is now evident that previous scholarship has mischaracterized the role of Buddhism in early Japanese religion. Weaving and Binding makes a compelling argument that both the Japanese royal system and the Japanese Buddhist tradition owe much to continental rituals centered on the manipulation of yin and yang, animal sacrifice, and spirit quelling. Building on these recent archaeological discoveries, Michael Como charts an epochal transformation in the religious culture of the Japanese islands, tracing the transmission and development of fundamental paradigms of religious practice to immigrant lineages and deities from the Korean peninsula. In addition to archaeological materials, Como makes extensive use of a wide range of textual sources from across Asia, including court chronicles, poetry collections, gazetteers, temple records, and divinatory texts. As he investigates the influence of myths, legends, and rites of the ancient Chinese festival calendar on religious practice across the Japanese islands, Como shows how the ability of immigrant lineages to propitiate hostile deities led to the creation of elaborate networks of temple-shrine complexes that shaped later sectarian Shinto as well as popular understandings of the relationship between the buddhas and the gods of Japan. For much of the book, this process is examined through rites and legends from the Chinese calendar that were related to weaving, sericulture, and medicine—technologies that to a large degree were controlled by lineages with roots in the Korean peninsula and that claimed female deities and weaving maidens as founding ancestors. Como’s examination of a series of ancient Japanese legends of female immortals, weaving maidens, and shamanesses reveals that female deities played a key role in the moving of technologies and ritual practices from peripheral regions in Kyushu and elsewhere into central Japan and the heart of the imperial cult. As a result, some of the most important building blocks of the purportedly native Shinto tradition were to a remarkable degree shaped by the ancestral cults of immigrant lineages and popular Korean and Chinese religious practices. This is a provocative and innovative work that upsets the standard interpretation of early historical religion in Japan, revealing a complex picture of continental cultic practice both at court and in the countryside.
Download or read book The Gates of Power written by Mikael S. Adolphson and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2000-07-01 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The political influence of temples in premodern Japan, most clearly manifested in divine demonstrations—where rowdy monks and shrine servants brought holy symbols to the capital to exert pressure on courtiers—has traditionally been condemned and is poorly understood. In an impressive examination of this intriguing aspect of medieval Japan, the author employs a wide range of previously neglected sources to argue that religious protest was a symptom of political factionalism in the capital rather than its cause. It is his contention that religious violence can be traced primarily to attempts by secular leaders to rearrange religious and political hierarchies to their own advantage, thereby leaving disfavored religious institutions to fend for their accustomed rights and status. In this context, divine demonstrations became the preferred negotiating tool for monastic complexes. For almost three centuries, such strategies allowed a handful of elite temples to maintain enough of an equilibrium to sustain and defend the old style of rulership even against the efforts of the Ashikaga Shogunate in the mid-fourteenth century. By acknowledging temples and monks as legitimate co-rulers, The Gates of Power provides a new synthesis of Japanese rulership from the late Heian (794–1185) to the early Muromachi (1336–1573) eras, offering a unique and comprehensive analysis that brings together the spheres of art, religion, ideas, and politics in medieval Japan.
Download or read book A History of Japan to 1334 written by Sir George Bailey Sansom and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 1958 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explains the structure of the feudal society, describes the rise of economic life and tells of the impact of Commodore Perry's arrival in 1853. Bibliographical notes
Download or read book A History of Japan During the century of early foreign intercourse 1542 1651 written by James Murdoch and published by . This book was released on 1903 with total page 860 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A History of Japan written by James Murdoch and published by . This book was released on 1926 with total page 782 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A History of Japanese Colour prints written by James Murdoch and published by . This book was released on 1925 with total page 782 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The World Archaeological Congress 1 7 September 1986 Southampton and London Archaeological objectivity in interpretation 3 v written by and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 1220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Archaeological objectivity in Interpretation written by and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Towards a Global Music History written by Mark Hijleh and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-12-18 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do we explain the globalized musical world in which we find ourselves in the early 21st century and how did we arrive here? This extraordinary book outlines an understanding of the human musical story as an intercultural—and ultimately a transcultural—one, with travel and trade as the primary conditions and catalysts for the ongoing development of musical styles. Starting with the cultural and civilizational precedents that gave rise to the first global trading and travel network in both directions across the Afro-Eurasian Old World Web in the form of the Silk Road, the book proceeds to the rise of al-Andalus and its influence on Europe through the Iberian peninsula before considering the fusion of European, African and indigenous musics that emerged in the Americas between c1500-1920 as part of Atlantic culture and the New World Web, as well as the concurrent acceleration of globalism in music through European empires and exoticism. The book concludes by examining the musical implications of our current Age of Instantaneous Exchange that technology permits, and by revisiting the question of interculturality and transculurality in music.
Download or read book A World History of Art written by Hugh Honour and published by Laurence King Publishing. This book was released on 2005 with total page 996 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over two decades this art historical tour de force has consistently proved the classic introduction to humanity's artistic heritage. From our paleolithic past to our digitised present, every continent and culture is covered in an articulate and well-balanced discussion. In this Seventh Edition, the text has been revised to embrace developments in archaeology and art historical research, while the renowned contemporary art historian Michael Archer has greatly expanded the discussion of the past twenty years, providing a new perspective on the latest developments. The insight, elegance and fluency that the authors bring to their text are complemented by 1458 superb illustrations, half of which are now in colour. These images, together with the numerous maps and architectural plans, have been chosen to represent the most significant chronological, regional and individual styles of artistic expression.
Download or read book India and Japan a Study in Interaction During 5th Cent 14th Cent A D written by Upendra Thakur and published by Abhinav Publications. This book was released on 1992 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cultural interaction between India and Japan in the fields of religion, language and literature, and art; a study.
Download or read book Japanese Mythology and the Primeval World written by Peter Metevelis and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2009-05 with total page 618 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Japanese have faithfully preserved their ancient myths as a connected and well ordered system. And as a system, Japanese myths say much about the human condition in the cosmos and about the human place in the cosmic order. Not until now has a book-length, English-language study been released on Japanese mythology. Drawing on his meticulous research, Asianist Peter Metevelis presents this selection of analytic essays that form a mosaic of themes on the primordial world of Japanese myth, adding a rewarding voice to cultural history and the history of ideas around the world. Metevelis shows that, contrary to popular belief, Japanese myths have much in common with other myths around the globe, and are mythically, logically, and symbolically equivalent. This suggests that Japanese culture has always resonated with the rest of the world and provides a valuable touchstone for comparative mythologists. The mythic themes Metevelis explores include: Linkage of birth with death Loss of immortality Containment of souls Effect of time on mortals Creation of the cosmos And many more This incomparable volume also includes detailed notes, bibliographies, and appendices to help further your knowledge of Japanese myth. Under Metevelis's expert guidance, you can expand your understanding of the Japanese myth system, its structure, and its principal actors, and immerse yourself in the ancient Japanese mysteries of the cosmos.
Download or read book The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature written by Haruo Shirane and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-12-31 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature provides, for the first time, a history of Japanese literature with comprehensive coverage of the premodern and modern eras in a single volume. The book is arranged topically in a series of short, accessible chapters for easy access and reference, giving insight into both canonical texts and many lesser known, popular genres, from centuries-old folk literature to the detective fiction of modern times. The various period introductions provide an overview of recurrent issues that span many decades, if not centuries. The book also places Japanese literature in a wider East Asian tradition of Sinitic writing and provides comprehensive coverage of women's literature as well as new popular literary forms, including manga (comic books). An extensive bibliography of works in English enables readers to continue to explore this rich tradition through translations and secondary reading.
Download or read book Esoteric Buddhism and Texts written by Jinhua Chen and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-02-08 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores trans-cultural and cross-border transformation of Esoteric Buddhism in East Asia, focusing on the significance of Esoteric Buddhism in relation to some forms of material culture, including rituals, arts, and the construction of sacred space and narratives. In East Asia, Esoteric Buddhism’s influences can be seen across all levels of society: not only in that it achieved a recognizable sectarian identity, but also because elements of esoteric teachings were absorbed by other religious schools, influencing their philosophical tenets and everyday practices. The influence was not confined to the religious sphere: scholars have been paying more and more attention to the significance of Tang Esoteric Buddhism in relation to material culture and the dissemination of Esoteric Buddhist technologies in South, Central, and East Asia. No matter how one looks at a maṇḍala—an integral feature of esoteric practice—or the uncannily expressive statues of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas or Yidam that come in all shapes and sizes, or the murals that depict the variegated, mysterious themes of the esoteric tradition, one can always recognise the profound connection between art and Esoteric Buddhism. Esoteric Influences also abound in East Asian literature across different genres, displaying its unique characters both in poetry and prose. Likewise, in architecture, one can readily make out the enigmatic, colorful and distinctive elements characteristic of the esoteric tradition. Monks initiated into the esoteric lineages not only brought Buddhist classics and practices to China, but also advanced knowledge in astronomy, calendarial calculations and mathematical theories. The chapters in this volume investigate the profound and far-reaching impacts wrought by Esoteric Buddhism on rituals, arts, and the construction of sacred space and narratives in East Asia. This book will be beneficial to advanced students and researchers interested in Religious Studies, History and Buddhist studies. It was originally published as a special issue of Studies in Chinese Religions.
Download or read book Shinto in History written by John Breen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-18 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the only book to date offering a critical overview of Shinto from early times to the modern era, and evaluating Shinto's place in Japanese religious culture. In recent years, a few books on medieval Shinto have appeared, but none has attempted to depict the broader picture, to examine critically Shinto's origins and its subsequent development through the medieval, pre-modern and modern periods. The essays in this book address such key topics as Shinto and Daoism in early Japan, Shinto and the natural environment, Shinto and state ritual in early Japan, Shinto and Buddhism in medieval Japan, and Shinto and the state in the modern period. All of the essays highlight the dynamic nature of Shinto and shrine history by focusing on the three-way relationship, often fraught, between local shrine cults, Shinto agendas and Buddhism.
