The Japanese Myths: A Guide to Gods, Heroes and Spirits (Myths)

Download The Japanese Myths: A Guide to Gods, Heroes and Spirits (Myths) PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Thames & Hudson
ISBN 13 : 0500777357
Total Pages : 291 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (7 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Japanese Myths: A Guide to Gods, Heroes and Spirits (Myths) by : Joshua Frydman

Download or read book The Japanese Myths: A Guide to Gods, Heroes and Spirits (Myths) written by Joshua Frydman and published by Thames & Hudson. This book was released on 2022-07-05 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An illustrated guide to the fantastic world of Japanese myths: retelling the stories and exploring how Japanese mythology has changed over time, as new gods, heroes, and spirits have entered the canon. While people around the world love Japan’s cultural exports—from manga and anime to Zen—not everyone is familiar with Japan’s unique mythology that shapes these interests, which is enriched by Shinto, Buddhism, and regional folklore. The Japanese Myths is a smart and succinct guide to the rich tradition of Japanese mythology, from the earliest recorded legends of Izanagi and Izanami with their divine offspring and the creation of Japan, to medieval tales of vengeful ghosts, through to the modern-day reincarnation of ancient deities as the heroes of mecha anime. Mythology remains a living, evolving part of Japanese society. The ways in which the people of Japan understand their myths are very different today even from a century ago, let alone over a millennium into the past. This volume not only retells these ancient stories but also considers their place within the patterns of Japanese religions, culture, and history, helping readers understand the deep links between past and present in Japan, and the ways these myths live and grow. Author Joshua Frydman takes the very earliest written myths in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki as his starting point, and from there traces Japan’s mythology through to post-war State Shinto, the rise of the manga industry in the 1960s, J-horror, and modern-day myths. Frydman ties in reinventions and retellings of myths that are present across all genres of contemporary Japanese culture, from its auteur cinema to renowned video games such as Okami. This book is for anyone interested in Japan and Japanese exports, as knowing its myths allows readers to understand and appreciate its culture in a new light.

Death, Ecstasy, and Other Worldly Journeys

Download Death, Ecstasy, and Other Worldly Journeys PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : SUNY Press
ISBN 13 : 9780791423455
Total Pages : 444 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (234 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Death, Ecstasy, and Other Worldly Journeys by : John J. Collins

Download or read book Death, Ecstasy, and Other Worldly Journeys written by John J. Collins and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1995-01-01 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a psychological and historical exploration of belief in a spirit world, imperceptible to the senses, as a pervasive and deeply-rooted characteristic of religion.

World Mythology

Download World Mythology PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 9780805027013
Total Pages : 326 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (27 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis World Mythology by : Roy G. Willis

Download or read book World Mythology written by Roy G. Willis and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 1993 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The great myths of the world create meaning out of the fundamental events of human existence: birth, death, conflict, loss, reconciliation, the cycle of the seasons. They speak to us of life itself in voices still intelligible, yet compellingly strange and distant. World Mythology offers readers an authoritative and wide-ranging guide to these enduring mythological traditions, combining the pure narrative of the myths themselves with the background necessary for more complete understanding. Here, noted mythology expert Roy Willis, brings together a team of nineteen leading scholars navigate a clear path through the complexities of myth as they distill the essence of each regional tradition and focus on the most significant figures and the most enthralling stories. All aspects of the world's key mythologies are covered, from tales of warring deities and demons to stories of revenge and metamorphosis; from accounts of lustful gods and star-crossed human lovers to journeys in the underworld. All are told at length and are accompanied by illuminating and readable introductory text. Also included are summaries of important theories about the origins and meaning of myth, and an examination of themes that recur across a range of civilizations. Beautifully illustrated with more than 500 color photographs, works of art, charts, and maps, World Mythology offers readers the most accessible guide yet to the heritage of the world's imagination.

Phantom Planet Muse:Crisis of the earth in the 2050 year

Download Phantom Planet Muse:Crisis of the earth in the 2050 year PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : TOM PUBLISHING
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 24 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Phantom Planet Muse:Crisis of the earth in the 2050 year by : tomohisa fujii

Download or read book Phantom Planet Muse:Crisis of the earth in the 2050 year written by tomohisa fujii and published by TOM PUBLISHING. This book was released on with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As for the earth, in the 2040s, with the technology of the silicon carbide which was included in the coming to practical use step, to make energy saving moved ahead in entering, the beginning in the 2010s and the atomic control technique made leaping progress. In the 2040s, the human race desired in the atomic beneficence and was reaching the atomic times which are at the height of prosperity. On the way which returns to NASA after spending the New Year holiday in Japan on January 3rd in 2050, Takeru and Rumi of the undergraduate arrived at San Francisco Airport in America. They were space Pilot's egg. When thinking whether or not it felt the shake of the disastrous earthquake for several seconds while resting at the airport lobby, the huge explosive sound as earsplitting in the moment occurred. The airplanes to be flying in the air began to collide in the air. Moreover, at the ground, it occurred in the place where the crash among the trains and the crash among the cars result and surely, it took on an aspect as it sees hell. Moreover, 5 minutes later, the time speed of the earth had begun to decline gradually. The body that the influence of the extraordinary magnetic field began to shrink Naotsune in the sun gradually and to have come and for the distribution of the dark matter which exists at the interplanetary in the solar system which was keeping a balance to have begun a malfunction in the past As for the earthquake with mighty magnitude 9.0 which occurred in San Francisco on January 3rd in 2050, the nuclear reactor in all-America each place made a meltdown occur in the influence of the earthquake. After that, the shocking truth that the energy of the huge atomic-explosion did a leak to the superconductive cable which was set up around the all-America mainland through the power-transmission wire at the exploded nuclear power plant and that it caused the huge extraordinary magnetic field came to light. Most of the machines by which a computer system and an IC chip all over the world were embedded were cruelly, too, destroyed and all the information of the person, goods, the money had disappeared with the occurrence of the huge magnetic field this time. Moreover, in the whole world, the atomic dust of radioactivity material diffused, and the human race sheltered in the shelter which got ready in the underground depth and became the status that it cannot help being content with the cellar life. In the next day of the worldwide destruction which is due to the extraordinary magnetic field, the leader in the whole world gathered to the United Nations and reviewed the ideal way of the world in the future. As a result, it resulted in the conclusion that there is a alternative only in only 6 month grace's there being and immigrating to the other planet even if it estimates the shelter life of the human race long. It is an immigration to the twin earth. After that, the formation to seem a huge spacecraft by the distant sky in each main city in the whole world *of* showed the appearance. It is the group of the spaceman who did the appearance of the human race and the Tweedledum and Tweedledee that appeared at the ground from the inside of the formation of the spacecraft which was staying in the of metropolis sky. They called the earth in the twin planet which they live in Muses. It said that it came to sense the critical status of the earth this time via 200 pieces of Mannen and to extend a hand. Takeru and Rumi were chosen as the selection member and about 1 month as Team Member which scouts the other party, stayed at the earth in the twin planet. In the story of the Muses person, they seem equipped with the ability for the elasticity of the speed in the time to be able to be controlled, being free by the individual level. Therefore, it is possible for night to rejuvenate the age if it takes medicine for the rejuvenation, Powers, by 1 tablet if it can be chosen, being free and wanting to return in the young period. Likewise, if swallowing Powers for aging if wanting to return to the elderly, it is possible to be transformed into the elderly. Saying that it prepares for the interior of the body in the associating time machine feature in the past, the future at present In Muses which the genetic engineering cleared up by developing exceedingly and multiplying 10 pieces of Mannen all of the mysteries of the life-phenomenon, it is the society which can control a life perfectly. The love is a free love and the concept, the marriage, doesn't exist. Its copy can be created by making cultivate it while being in home using the life hatch equipment, too. A born double is already transplanted in the experience and the memory like him. Because the speed in the time can be controlled, there are not concepts such as the productivity and the value, the efficiency, too, in Muses and the one which becomes the root of the various evils such as the money, too, doesn't exist. However, in Muses, the population increased explosively and reached 100 times the earth, too. It is in the water resources and the source of protein in the rich earth that they aimed secretly. The terrestrial kind immigrated to Muses and was immersed to the life of the paradise in Muses but it had begun to notice a sense of incongruity. There, it was dense or the god of the omniscient and almighty evil in the galactic system at the four dimensions space boiled and was making the holocaust plan of the earth people-out progress.

Witchblade Takeru Manga

Download Witchblade Takeru Manga PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781582408569
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (85 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Witchblade Takeru Manga by : Yasuko Kobayashi

Download or read book Witchblade Takeru Manga written by Yasuko Kobayashi and published by . This book was released on 2008-05-13 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Follow the story of Takeru, a normal Japanese schoolgirl raised in a Buddhist monestary by nuns, who discovers a mysterious "Demon's Claw" and is plunged into a frightening world of demons and combat along with her friend Kuo.

A Waka Anthology

Download A Waka Anthology PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Stanford University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780804731577
Total Pages : 1030 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (315 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis A Waka Anthology by : Edwin A. Cranston

Download or read book A Waka Anthology written by Edwin A. Cranston and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 1998-03-01 with total page 1030 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Gem-Glistening Cup is the second volume of Edwin Cranston's monumental Waka Anthology which carries the story of waka, the classical tradition of Japanese poetry, from its beginnings in ancient song to the sixteenth century. The present volume, which contains almost 1,600 songs and poems, covers the period from the earliest times to 784, and includes many of the finest works in the literatures as well as providing evocative glimpses of the spirit and folkways of early Japanese civilization. The texts drawn upon for the poems are the ancient chronicles Kojiki, Nihonshoki, and Shoku Nihongi; the fudoki, a set of eighth-century local gazetteers; Man'yoshu, the massive eighth-century compendium of early poetry (about one fourth of that work is included); and the Bussokuseki poems carved on a stone tablet at a temple in Nara. All poems are presented in facing romanization and translation.

The Poetics of Motoori Norinaga

Download The Poetics of Motoori Norinaga PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 0824864948
Total Pages : 313 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (248 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Poetics of Motoori Norinaga by : Michael F. Marra

Download or read book The Poetics of Motoori Norinaga written by Michael F. Marra and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2007-04-30 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of Japan’s most renowned intellectuals, Motoori Norinaga (1730–1801) is perhaps best known for his notion of mono no aware, a detailed description of the workings of emotions as the precondition for the poetic act. As a poet and a theoretician of poetry, Norinaga had a keen eye for etymologies and other archaeological practices aimed at recovering the depth and richness of the Japanese language. This volume contains his major works on the Yamato region—the heartland of Japanese culture—including one of his most famous poetic diaries, The Sedge Hat Diary (Sugagasa no Nikki), translated into English here for the first time. Written in 1772 while Norinaga journeyed through Yamato and the Yoshino area, The Sedge Hat Diary was composed in the style of Heian prose and is interspersed with fifty-five poems. It offers important insights into Norinaga the poet, the scholar of ancient texts, the devout believer in Shinto deities, and the archaeologist searching for traces of ancient capitals, palaces, shrines, and imperial tombs of the pre-Nara period. In this piece Norinaga presents Yoshino as a "common poetic space" that readers must inhabit to develop the "common sense" that makes them live ethically in the poet’s ideal society. Norinaga’s ideal society is deeply imbued with the knowledge of poetry and the understanding of emotions as evidenced in the translation of Norinaga’s twenty-six songs on aware (pathos) also included here. The rest of the volume offers translations of several essays by the poet that shed further light on the places he visited in Yoshino and on the main topic of his scholarly interests: the sound of the uta (songs) from his beloved Yamato. An introductory essay on Norinaga’s poetics serves as a guide through the dense arguments he developed both practically in his poems and theoretically in his essays.

What Should be Computed to Understand and Model Brain Function?

Download What Should be Computed to Understand and Model Brain Function? PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : World Scientific
ISBN 13 : 9789812810304
Total Pages : 332 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (13 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis What Should be Computed to Understand and Model Brain Function? by : Tadashi Kitamura

Download or read book What Should be Computed to Understand and Model Brain Function? written by Tadashi Kitamura and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2001 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is a guide to two types of transcendence of academic borders which seem necessary for understanding and modelling brain function. The first type is technical transcendence needed to make intelligent machines such as a humanoid robot, an animal-like behavior architecture, an interpreter of fiction, and an evolving learning machine. This technical erosion is conducted into areas such as biology, ethology, neuroscience and psychology, as well as robotics and soft computing. The second type of transcendence of cross-disciplinary boundaries cuts across scientific areas such as biology and cognitive science/philosophy, into comprehensive, less technical and more abstract aspects of brain function. These aspects enable us to know in what direction and how far an intelligent machine will go. Contents: Consideration of Emotion Model and Primitive Language of Robots (T Ogata & S Sugano); An Architecture for Animal-Like Behavior Selection (T Kitamura); A Computational Literary Theory: The Ultimate Products of the Brain/Mind Machine (A Tokosumi); Cooperation Between Neural Networks Within the Brain (M Dufoss(r) et al.); Brain-Like Functions in Evolving Connectionist Systems for On-Line, Knowledge-Based Learning (N Kasabov); Interrelationships, Communication, Semiotics, and Artificial Consciousness (H-N L Teodorescu); Time Emerges from Incomplete Clock, Based on Internal Measurement (Y-P Gunji et al.); The Logical Jump in Shell Changing in Hermit Crab and Tool Experiment in Ants (N Kitabayashi et al.); The Neurobiology of Semantics: How Can Machines be Designed to Have Meanings (W J Freeman); The Emergence of Contentful Experience (M H Bickhard); Intentionality and Foundations of Logic: A New Approach to Neurocomputation (G Basti). Readership: Graduate students, researchers and academics in robotics automated systems, biomedical engineering and bioengineering.

Sword and Mirror

Download Sword and Mirror PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Kate Grove
ISBN 13 : 6150062279
Total Pages : 411 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (5 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Sword and Mirror by : Kate Grove

Download or read book Sword and Mirror written by Kate Grove and published by Kate Grove. This book was released on 2020-09-18 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A modern-day witch. A 16th-century warlord. And the journey through time that intertwines their fates. A victim of mistaken identity, Ciara finds herself dragged back in time and thrown into the clutches of a maniacal samurai. Risking her life, Ciara manages to escape with a little girl the samurai kidnapped to provoke his rival. While doing so earns her the gratitude of Katsuo, the enemy warlord, an alliance with him comes at a price. Ciara must pretend to be in a relationship with him. Feigning betrothal to a seasoned warlord seems the best way to ensure her safety as she looks for a way home. But the handsome stranger has a dark secret that could land them both in danger. As genuine affection begins to develop between the pair, Katsuo is riddled with doubts. Will his feelings for Ciara interfere with his promise to help her get home? Or will his family’s hidden truth out her life in peril? Keywords: time travel, fantasy romance, Japan, sengoku jidai, warring states, witch, samurai, family secrets, yokai, supernatural powers, medieval, fake marriage, pretend relationship, fake fiancée, supernatural beings, items of power, magic, hurt & comfort, HEA, lord, warlord, nobles, Asia, fade-to-black, free book

Blades and Feathers

Download Blades and Feathers PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Kate Grove
ISBN 13 : 6150090949
Total Pages : 456 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (5 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Blades and Feathers by : Kate Grove

Download or read book Blades and Feathers written by Kate Grove and published by Kate Grove. This book was released on 2020-10-01 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A stolen treasure. A desire to be recognized. And a dangerous time to live in. Whoever returns the stolen Jewel to the tengu clan, will be recognized as the next leader. This is the perfect chance for Yoriko to gain her family's affection, and she throws herself into the mission immediately, disguising herself as a man. She didn't plan on working as an aide to a greenhorn lord in the process but she's certain the Jewel is somewhere in his castle and Yoriko is determined to find it. As she watches Takeru deal with the aftermath of the war that left his new territory in shambles, she admires his tenacity and dedication to his people. Unexpectedly drawn to him, Yoriko soon realizes that there may be a place that accepts her as she is, without pretense and bribes - and it isn't the tengu compound. While secrets threaten to keep them apart, she forgets one thing. The Jewel has attracted others, far more dangerous and ruthless than Yoriko. In order to protect him, Yoriko must betray the trust of the only good man in her life. Will they find their way back to each other? Can their love survive her betrayal? Blades and Feathers is the third book in the Yokai Treasures series, a fantasy romance set in sengoku jidai (16th century Japan). Keywords: fantasy romance, faro, Japan, sengoku jidai, warring states, samurai, secrets, yokai, demon, dragon, ghost, spectre, yōkai, war, supernatural powers, medieval, tengu, supernatural beings, items of power, magic, outcast, hurt& comfort, crossdressing, HEA, lord, warlord, nobles, Asia, fade-to-black

Myths & Legends of Japan

Download Myths & Legends of Japan PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : e-artnow
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 307 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (64 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Myths & Legends of Japan by : F. Hadland Davis

Download or read book Myths & Legends of Japan written by F. Hadland Davis and published by e-artnow. This book was released on 2020-07-16 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Myths & Legends of Japan is a detailed anthology regarding Japanese folk tales, mythology and legends and it presents a wonderful in-depth look into Japanese culture and their culture's beliefs and history. It is a collection of diverse Japanese folk tales, including a variety of topics from creation myths, stories of gods and goddesses, tales of animal spirits, to legends of the sea and of Mount Fuji, as well as analysis of how these stories relate to Japanese culture.

The Heart of the Warrior

Download The Heart of the Warrior PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134240333
Total Pages : 252 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (342 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Heart of the Warrior by : Catharina Blomberg

Download or read book The Heart of the Warrior written by Catharina Blomberg and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-11-05 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the development of the samurai, both in the way they regarded themselves and their role in society.

The Development of Prosodic Structure in Early Words

Download The Development of Prosodic Structure in Early Words PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9789027252937
Total Pages : 246 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (529 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Development of Prosodic Structure in Early Words by : Mitsuhiko Ota

Download or read book The Development of Prosodic Structure in Early Words written by Mitsuhiko Ota and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2003-01-01 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph addresses three basic questions regarding the development of word-internal prosodic structure: How much of the phonological structure of early words is regulated by the same constituents and principles that govern the organization of prosodic structure of mature grammar? Why do early words diverge from the adult targets in shape and size? And what is the best way to model developmental changes that occur in prosodic structure? Answers to these questions are explored through the longitudinal analysis of spontaneous production data from child Japanese. The analysis provides new types of evidence and new arguments that the prosodic phonology of young children is largely continuous with that of adults, and that the surface child-adult divergence in word forms and the overall pattern of developmental changes are best explained in terms of ranked violable constraints on the representation of prosodic structure, whose ordering is modified in the course of acquisition.

JingGuo Novel:Mountains and Woods

Download JingGuo Novel:Mountains and Woods PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Jing Guo
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 2091 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis JingGuo Novel:Mountains and Woods by : Jing Guo

Download or read book JingGuo Novel:Mountains and Woods written by Jing Guo and published by Jing Guo. This book was released on with total page 2091 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Global Goes Local

Download Global Goes Local PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : UBC Press
ISBN 13 : 0774859792
Total Pages : 321 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (748 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Global Goes Local by : Timothy J. Craig

Download or read book Global Goes Local written by Timothy J. Craig and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2010-10-01 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Global Goes Local, international scholars from a variety of disciplinary perspectives examine different forms of popular culture in Asia. Covering topics from pop music in Korea to TV commercials in Malaysia, this collection shows how imported cultural forms can be invested with fresh meaning and transformed by local artists to result in new forms of assertion and resistance that also meet the needs of their particular audiences.

Shotoku

Download Shotoku PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : OUP USA
ISBN 13 : 0195188616
Total Pages : 253 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (951 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Shotoku by : Michael Como

Download or read book Shotoku written by Michael Como and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2008-04-18 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prince Shotoku (573?-622?), the purported founder of Japanese Buddhism, is widely referred to as Japan's first national hero. The cult that grew up around his memory is recognized as one of the most important phenomena in early Japanese religion. This book examines the creation and evolution of the Shotoku cult over the roughly 200 years following his deatha period that saw a series of revolutionary developments in the history of Japanese religion. Michael Como highlights the activities of a cluster of kinship groups who claimed descent from ancestors from the Korean kingdom of Silla. He skillfully places these groups in their socio-cultural context and convincingly demonstrates their pivotal role in bringing continental influences to almost every aspect of government and community ideology in Japan. He argues that these immigrant kinship groups were not only responsible for the construction of the Shotoku cult, but were also associated with the introduction of the continental systems of writing, ritual, and governance.By comparing the ancestral legends of these groups to the Shotoku legend corpus and Imperial chronicles, Como shows that these kinship groups not only played a major role in the formation of the Japanese Buddhist tradition, they also to a large degree shaped the paradigms in terms of which the Japanese Imperial cult and the nation of Japan were conceptualized and created. Offering a radically new picture of the Asuko and Nara period (551794), this innovative work will stimulate new approaches to the study of early Japanese religion focusing on the complex interactions among ideas of ethnicity, lineage, textuality, and ritual.

Weaving and Binding

Download Weaving and Binding PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 0824829573
Total Pages : 330 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (248 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Weaving and Binding by : Michael Como

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.