• About
    • Scholars
    • Graduation Memories
    • About the Kambun Workshop
    • KW Translations
    • Translation Archive
    • USC-Meiji University Exchange Archive
    • Ôbe Estate Research Project
    • Ritsuryô Translation Project
    • Reassessing the Shôen System Conference
    • Japanese Law
    • Useful Online Tools and Databases
    • Japan in East Asia
  • Events
    • Graduate Studies
  • Contact
Menu

USC Project for Premodern Japan Studies

Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
does it appear?

Your Custom Text Here

USC Project for Premodern Japan Studies

  • About
  • Members
    • Scholars
    • Graduation Memories
  • Kambun Workshop
    • About the Kambun Workshop
    • KW Translations
  • Resources
    • Translation Archive
    • USC-Meiji University Exchange Archive
    • Ôbe Estate Research Project
    • Ritsuryô Translation Project
    • Reassessing the Shôen System Conference
    • Japanese Law
    • Useful Online Tools and Databases
    • Japan in East Asia
  • Events
  • Apply
    • Graduate Studies
  • Contact
la_0812yoshimura_007.jpeg

USC Meiji University Exchange

The Records of the Meiji University-USC Exchange

Since 2008, scholars and graduate students from Meiji University and throughout Southern California have met annually to share research on Premodern Japanese History at the University of Southern California . This is an archive of abstracts, papers, and materials presented at the exchanges.

Prof. Atsushi Makino: Women and Buddhism in Medieval Japan

December 30, 2018 Emily Warren
IMG_8334.jpeg

This paper was inspired by two of Prof. Ryūichi Abé’s recent papers: “Sutra Dedicated by the Taira Family and the Women’s Practice of Buddhism,” published in the Special Section “Women in East Asia, Buddhism, and Literature” of Asia Yūgaku, No. 207; and “Dragon Lady and Buddha: Towards an Understanding of the Illustration on the Back Cover of the Devadatta Section of Lotus Sutra Dedicated by the Taira Family,” in the Literature Related to Buddhism in East Asia, edited by Kazuaki Komine. Previous research has suggested that the tale of Dragon Lady from the Devadatta Section of Lotus Sutra reflected discrimination towards women in Buddhism. Countering this, Abé argues that the tale shows that women were not inferior in terms of Buddhist practice as interpreted in Sui and Tang China. He further argues that the interpretation of the Dragon Lady’s tale was distorted during the mid- to late Heian Period, and that the distortion has been accepted until the present day. In his discussion, Abé proposes Chōken澄憲 (1126-1203) as a representative figure who was responsible for spreading the discriminating attitude toward women in the Heian Period. Chōken was a master of shōdō, preaching Buddhist principles with melodies, in medieval Japan. Since I am researching Chōken and shōdō, I intend to explore women and how they were described in shōdō.

「日本中世における女性と仏教―唱導の言説とその評価をめぐって―」

本報告は、2017年に刊行された阿部龍一(あべ・りゅういち)氏(ハーバード大学東アジア言語文化部教授)の2本の論文を出発点にする。1本は、「「平家納経」と女性の仏教実践」(張龍妹・小峯和明編『東アジアの女性と仏教と文学(アジア遊学207)』勉誠出版、2017年5月)で、もう1本は、「龍女と仏陀―「平家納経」提婆品見返絵の解明をめざして」(小峯和明編『東アジアの仏伝文学』勉誠出版、2017年6月)である。通説では、法華経の提婆品(だいばぼん)に語られる龍女(りゅうにょ)の物語は、仏教の女性蔑視を示すとされている。これに対し、阿部龍一氏は、本来は、仏教の実践者として女性が男性に全く劣っていないことを示すものであったとした。中国の隋・唐の時代には、そのように解釈されていたのが、平安中期以降の日本の仏教社会の一部できわめて差別的な歪曲が発生し、それが現在の研究者にまで引き継がれて定説となっている、というのである。この中で、阿部龍一氏は、平安時代に女性差別的解釈を広めた代表的人物として、澄憲(ちょうけん)を指摘している。澄憲は日本中世の唱導(仏教の教説を広く説くこと)の名手である。発表者は、澄憲を中心とする唱導資料の研究を行っているが、今回は、日本中世の唱導で、女性についてどのようなことが言われているか、また、女性に対してどのようなことが言われているか、探ってみたい。

Presentation Handout

IMG_8335.jpeg
← Ken Sasaki: Adopting the Practice of Horse-riding in Kofun JapanJesse Drian: Distant Travels of Local Gods →

Contact us