Table of Contents
- LECTURE> Kyoto
Asian Studies Group meeting April 22
- JOBS> H-Net
Job Guide Weekly Report For H-Buddhism: 1 April - 8 April
LECTURE>
Kyoto Asian Studies Group meeting April 22
by Niels Van Steenpaal
Dear colleagues,
The speaker for the April meeting of the Kyoto Asian Studies Group is Michael Jamentz, who will present “Re-envisioning the Vanished Elephant: Fugen Faith in Medieval Japan” (see abstract below).
The speaker for the April meeting of the Kyoto Asian Studies Group is Michael Jamentz, who will present “Re-envisioning the Vanished Elephant: Fugen Faith in Medieval Japan” (see abstract below).
The talk will be held on Monday, April 22nd,
18:00-20:00 in Room 212 of the Fusokan on the Doshisha University Campus (see
link below for access information).
Abstract
Re-envisioning
the Vanished Elephant: Fugen Faith in Medieval Japan
The image of a sensuous and
often feminized Fugen Bosatsu (the bodhisattva Samantabhadra) seated on a pure
white elephant once had special resonance in Japan. From the 12th-century
Insei period through the Kamakura period, court painters and poets—both men and
women—as well as Buddhist preachers, particularly those of the Tendai Agui
school, relied on this iconography to convey a now largely lost message. A
review of the doctrinal basis for the faith in Fugen, its iconography and the
ritual context in which this bodhisattva was worshiped will help us retrieve this
lost significance that involved a radical vision of the Mahayanist
reconciliation of the sacred and the profane.
One variation of this iconographic type combining Fugen atop ‘her’ elephant
surrounded by elegantly dressed ladies-in-waiting (who were in fact
transformations of ten man-eating female demons, known as the Jūrasetsunyo in
Japanese) has rightly drawn the attention of art historians who have often
focused on the fact the demons are sometimes depicted in Japanese clothing. Familiarity
with this image type is a key to a fuller understanding of an important episode
in Tale of the Heike and several otherwise puzzling poems.
A striking pattern of the use of these image types at memorial services for
members of the imperial house, and most frequently for Nyoin, is repeatedly
confirmed in the prayers of Agui preachers. The significance of Fugen worship
is found in part in the link among their words, the images they describe, and
their imperial sponsors.
Michael Jamentz has frittered away several
decades pondering the links between kanbun genres of Buddhist prayer,
the iconography associated with them, and the learned monks who produced them.
Sponsored by the Kyoto Consortium for
Japanese Studies. For access information see:
Please refrain from bringing food or
drinks into the meeting room.
Contact: Niels van Steenpaal, nielsvansteenpaal@hotmail.com
About the Kyoto Asian Studies Group:
The KASG is a long-standing Kyoto-based
research network that hosts monthly research presentations by experts from
various Asian Studies fields. Emphasizing long Q&A sessions, we aim to
provide an informal atmosphere in which scholars can freely exchange ideas
concerning both finished and in-progress research. Admission is free, and we
always welcome new members and presenters.
JOBS> H-Net
Job Guide Weekly Report For H-Buddhism: 1 April - 8 April
by Jason Protass
The following jobs were posted to the H-Net Job Guide from 1
April 2019 to 8 April 2019. These job postings are included here
based on the categories selected by the list editors for H-Buddhism. See
the H-Net Job Guide website at http://www.h-net.org/jobs/ for
more information. To contact the Job Guide, write to jobguide@mail.h-net.msu.edu, or
call +1-517-432-5134 between 9 am and 5 pm US Eastern time.ASIAN HISTORY / STUDIES
National University of Singapore - Assistant Professor, Southeast
Asian History
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=58469
EAST ASIAN HISTORY / STUDIES
Linden-Museum Stuttgart - Curator for the East-Asia Department
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=58424
University of San Francisco - Adjunct instructor, "Religion and
Philosophy in the Contemporary Asia Pacific"
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=58421
JAPANESE HISTORY / STUDIES
University of Chicago - Postdoctoral Instructor in Pre-1900 Japanese
Studies
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=58448
Western Washington University - Visiting Assistant Professor of
Japanese
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=58449
NONE
Simon Fraser University - Distinguished Visiting Scholar in History
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=58459
