PDA

View Full Version : Buddhism and Pre-Modern Warrior



CKohalyk
5th September 2001, 00:05
To all,

We hear much about the relationship of the bushi and religion during the Edo jidai. There is also much written on peasants and Buddhism in Medieval Japan re: the rise of popular Buddhism. What I am curious about is the religious practices of the warrior in the pre-modern era (from the Asuka to the Muromachi). Just a side note: I am not particularly interested in the sohei. Can anyone recommend sources?

Best,

Chad

P Goldsbury
5th September 2001, 00:19
Originally posted by CKohalyk
To all,

We hear much about the relationship of the bushi and religion during the Edo jidai. There is also much written on peasants and Buddhism in Medieval Japan re: the rise of popular Buddhism. What I am curious about is the religious practices of the warrior in the pre-modern era (from the Asuka to the Muromachi). Just a side note: I am not particularly interested in the sohei. Can anyone recommend sources?

Best,

Chad

As a start, you might look at "The Rise of the Warriors", by Takeuchi Rizo, pp. 644 - 709 of The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol 2, CUP 1999. Then there is an interesting new book by Mikael S. Adolphson, The Gates of Power: Monks, Courtiers and Warriors in Premodern Japan, University of Hawaii, 2000 (both with extensive bibliographies). I assume you have read the fundamental stuff like Hired Swords, by Karl Friday and Heavenly Warriors by Wayne Farris.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Goldsbury
_____________
P A Goldsbury,
Graduate School of Social Sciences,
Hiroshima University

CKohalyk
5th September 2001, 00:38
Mr. Goldsbury,

I went back through Farris and Friday, but didn't come up with much, only a couple of mentions of Shintoism, and I am specifically looking for something related to Buddhism...

I have the Takeuchi and also the David Lu "Japan: a documentary history," but not the Adolphson. I just ordered the interlib loan right now. Thanks for the tip!

Anybody else?

Best

Ck

P Goldsbury
5th September 2001, 04:38
Originally posted by CKohalyk
Mr. Goldsbury,

I went back through Farris and Friday, but didn't come up with much, only a couple of mentions of Shintoism, and I am specifically looking for something related to Buddhism...

I have the Takeuchi and also the David Lu "Japan: a documentary history," but not the Adolphson. I just ordered the interlib loan right now. Thanks for the tip!

Anybody else?

Best

Ck

I think you will find the Adolphson of value only for the Heian period, since he specifically focuses on the activities of the monks from three main foundations. Perhaps also the chapters in Vol 1 of the Cambridge History on Early Buddha Worship and Early Kami Worship might be of use. I am finding these chapters useful for the bibliographical information they provide (especially in Japanese).

One problem is that, as far as I can see, there appear to be no specific religious practices pertaining to warriors in the pre-Nara and Nara periods, i.e., which would be different from the practices of other groups.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Goldsbury
_____________
P A Goldsbury,
Graduate School of Social Sciences,
Hiroshima University

Kit LeBlanc
8th September 2001, 01:42
Chad,

I was turned onto a copy of Dr. David Hall's doctoral dissertation through:

http://www.bellhowell.infolearning.com.

Go to the UMI Dissertation Services section. Follow the Dissertation Express links to "ordering dissertation as an individual" and type in FULL name and/or title and it will get you to it.

The book is called "Marishiten: Buddhism and the Warrior Goddess" by David Avalon Hall from UC Berkeley. If I remember it was like $ 30 -some, but has a lot of detail on bushi religious practices vis-a-vis esoteric Buddhism.

One chapter of this book was included in the first Koryu Bujutsu volume available at Koryu Books.com. The rest is much more in depth in terms of Buddhist studies and is heavily footnoted with sources in Sansrkit, Chinese and Japanese (phew!!!).