Termin:
18.05.2004

The Culture of Secrecy in Japanese Religion

This symposium aims at a broad discussion of the historical and intellectual influence of Esoteric Buddhism (mikkyô), which spread in Japan mainly in form of the Shingon School from about the 8th century. However, the influence of Mikkyo was by no means limited to Shingon, going far beyond the confessional borders of Buddhism, and pertained also to Shinto and to non-religious forms of discourse. In particular during Japan's so-called Medieval Period (12th-16th cent.) esoteric or secret transmissions were a very common form to transmit knowledge, and were also adopted by artists and craftsmen. In the following Tokugawa or Early Modern period (1600-1868), a discourse, that criticized religious esotericism gained momentum, but at the same time, the medieval culture of secrecy remained active and productive.

Today, however, only textual evidence and a few historical remnants in actual religious practice testify to the former importance of esotericism. As a matter of fact, the very form of esoteric transmissions is often not clear at all, and the reasons why and to what extend they were actually "esoteric" or secret are still more uncertain. Yet there is a growing awareness that an integrated culture" of secrecy existed, which can be best understood if analyzed in a context transgressing confessional specialization. Therefore, the contributions to this conference refer to a broad range of Japanese religious history, as well as that of China and Asia in general.

Programm

Kontakt:

Institut für Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte Asien der ÖAW

Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia

Austrian Academy of Sciences

Dr. Bernhard Scheid

Strohgasse 45/2/4

1030 Wien

Tel: (+43 1) 515 81 / 6428

Fax: (+43 1) 515 81 / 6427

E-Mail:ias@oeaw.ac.at

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