More than thirteen centuries of clergy, laity, and social conditions interacted to mold Japan's Buddhism. Today's resulting characteristics, which distinguish it from its mainland sources, include a proliferation of independent sects, emphasis on religion for lay members, and de-emphasis of clerical codes. The twenty main biographies and seventy-five sketches presented in this book reveal both the individual and social aspects of Buddhist evolution and in Japan, spanning from the sixth through twentieth centuries. They cover the many separate interchanges that brought Buddhist texts and practices from Korea and China as well as the innovations that arose in Japan.

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

This first major study in English on Japanese Buddhism by one of Japan’s most distinguished scholars in the field of Religious Studies is to be widely welcomed.The main focus of the work is on the tradition of the monk (o-bo-san) as the main agent of Buddhism, together with the historical processes by which monks have developed Japanese Buddhism as it appears in the present day.

Introduction by Paula Arai. This is the first collection to offer selections from the foundational texts of the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Zen traditions in a single volume. Through representative selections from their poetry, letters, sermons, and visual arts, the most important Zen Masters provide students with an engaging, cohesive introduction to the first 1200 years of this rich -- and often misunderstood -- tradition. A general introduction and notes provide historical, biographical, and cultural context; a note on translation, and a glossary of terms are also included.

This completely new study of Japanese Shin Buddhism offers a valuable combination of historical development and present-day practice supported by carefully selected readings and commentaries. Additional value is provided by the many illustrations which illuminate the text. Esben Andreasen's excellent and very accessible study, therefore, will be widely welcomed, both for its scope as a coursework reader, and as a general introduction to this much-neglected area of Buddhist practice. It will also go a long way to reforming the general view in the West that Zen is the principal Buddhist expression in Japan—when, as a matter of fact, it is a minority religion. Alfred Bloom's helpful Postcript reminds us that Shin Buddhism is a tradition some 800 years in development, and that "its basic approach to spiritual emancipation or deliverance stresses faith and the recitation of the name Namo Amida Butsu as an expression of gratitude for the deliverance offered by Amida Buddha through his Primal Vows."

A time of dramatic social and political change, and of brilliant artistic innovation and achievement, the Momoyama period (1568 - 1615) was one of the most dynamic eras in Japan’s history. This book displays spectacular Momoyama masterpieces in many media - paintings, sculpture, calligraphy, tea ceremony utensils, lacquerware, ceramics, metalwork, arms and armor, textiles, and Noh masks - and places each work of art into its historical and cultural context.

"Journeys into Emptiness traces the lives of three famous religious seekers and their quests for personal transcendence. Dogen, a thirteenth-century Japanese Zen master, experienced emptiness in wordless meditation - the practice of zazen that spread in time from the Eastern world to the West. Thomas Merton was a twentieth-century Catholic monk whose experience of personal homelessness brought him to explore the tension that lies between solitude and community. Carl Jung, raised by a pious father and a psychologically unbalanced mother, was driven to understand the structure of the psyche, including the male and female elements that exist in every human person." "Robert Jingen Guinn provides wise and compassionate portraits of these emblematic figures. Each of them, in his own way, had to experience emptiness, going beyond consciousness to discover his own personal truth, whether that was rooted in Buddha-nature, God or the unconscious. This "going beyond" became a path to encountering their own unique selves and a deeper sense of life."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved