1st Edition
The Culture of Secrecy in Japanese Religion
The Japanese Middle Ages were a period when forms of secrecy dominated religious practice. This fascinating collection traces out the secret characteristics and practices in Japanese religion, as well as analyzing the decline of religious esotericism in Japan.
The essays in this impressive work refer to Esoteric Buddhism as the core of Japan’s "culture of secrecy". Esoteric Buddhism developed in almost all Buddhist countries of Asia, but it was of particular importance in Japan where its impact went far beyond the borders of Buddhism, also affecting Shinto as well as non-religious forms of discourse.
The contributors focus on the impact of Esoteric Buddhism on Japanese culture, and also include comparative chapters on India and China. Whilst concentrating on the Japanese medieval period, this book will give readers familiar with present day Japan, many explanations for the still visible remnants of Japan’s medieval culture of secrecy.
1. Introduction: Japan's Medieval Culture of Secrecy Mark Teeuwen Part 1 : Prologue 2. Secrets, Secrecy, and the Study of Religions Albert de Jong 3. The Problem of Secrecy in Indian Tantric Buddhism Ronald M Davidson 4. Myth and Secrecy in Tang-Period Tantric Buddhism Martin Lehnert Part 2: Japan's Medieval Culture of Secrecy 5. Secrecy in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism Fabio Rambelli 6. Reconsidering the Taxonomy of the "Esoteric" Lucia Dolce 7. Knowing vs. Owning a Secret Mark Teeuwen 8. Secrecy, Sex and Apocrypha Nobumi Iyanaga 9. Esotericism in Noh Commentaries and Plays Susan B. Klein 10. The Elephant in the Room Bernard Faure 11. Myths, Rites, and Icons Atsushi Kadoya 12. Two Modes of Secrecy Bernard Scheid Part 3: The Demise of Secrecy 13. When Secrecy Ends William Bodiford 14. Hiding the Shoguns Anne Walthall 15. "Esoteric" and "Public" Kate Wildman Nakai
Biography
Bernhard Scheid is a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia at the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Mark Teeuwen is Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Oslo, Norway.
