Publication details
Ilustrácia šintó-buddhistického synkretizmu na príklade malieb božstiev Kasuga a Sumijoši
| Title in English | Shinto-Buddhist syncretism based on the example of Kasuga and Sumiyoshi deities' painting |
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| Year of publication | 2012 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Citation | |
| Description | The paper deals with the honji suijaku theory of Shinto-Buddhist syncretism illustrated upon the example of a painting of two Shinto deities, Kasuga and Sumiyoshi. The painting was summoned by a Kegon monk named Myoe Shonin, who had had two revelatory encounters with the Kasuga deity. It had been Myoe's lifelong endeavour to venture to mainland China and thereafter to India to visit the places where the historical Buddha Shakyamuni had preached his original teachings. However, Myoe had a revelation of the Kasuga deity, in which it had urged him not to undertake the journey. This even was so significant in Myoe's life that he had had the deity depicted and kept the painting as a keepsake of their memorable meeting. The paper addresses the issue of how was it possible for a Buddhist monk to have a Shinto deity painting as a honzon, the main object of worship in a Buddhist temple. By means of tracing the intentions behind Myoe's activities, it considers one particular example of the Shinto-Buddhist syncretism, a characteristic feature of medieval Japanese religion. |