| From Outcasts to Emperors: Shingon Ritsu and the Mañjuśrī Cult in Medieval Japan Contributor(s): Quinter (Author) |
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ISBN: 9004293396 ISBN-13: 9789004293397 Publisher: Brill OUR PRICE: $179.55 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: June 2015 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Religion | Buddhism - General (see Also Philosophy - Buddhist) |
| Dewey: 294.39 |
| Series: Brill's Japanese Studies Library |
| Physical Information: 1" H x 6.3" W x 9.4" (1.50 lbs) 354 pages |
| Themes: - Religious Orientation - Buddhist |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In From Outcasts to Emperors, David Quinter illuminates the Shingon Ritsu movement founded by the charismatic monk Eison (1201-90) at Saidaiji in Nara, Japan. The book's focus on Eison and his disciples' involvement in the cult of Ma juśrī Bodhisattva reveals their innovative synthesis of Shingon esotericism, Buddhist discipline (Ritsu; Sk. vinaya), icon and temple construction, and social welfare activities as the cult embraced a spectrum of supporters, from outcasts to warrior and imperial rulers. In so doing, the book redresses typical portrayals of "Kamakura Buddhism" that cast Eison and other Nara Buddhist leaders merely as conservative reformers, rather than creative innovators, amid the dynamic religious and social changes of medieval Japan. |