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Of saints and blood: the Narita Buddhist sword cult in Edo Japan
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 May 2014
Abstract
This article examines the local character of early modern (1600–1868) Japanese Buddhism using a case study of the Narita Fudō cult of Shinshōji Temple, with particular attention to the temple's most sacred treasure, the legendary Sword of Amakuni. Drawing on local sources produced within and beyond clerical circles, it examines how the sword and its popular narratives became central to the public identity of the cult and the temple's proselytization efforts. This article illuminates the evolving, fluid nature of deity cults as highly mobile properties working across sectarian boundaries, and how these properties gained importance beyond the walls of Buddhist institutions among the artistic and theatrical landscapes of the country's capital.
Keywords
- Type
- Articles
- Information
- Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 77 , Issue 2 , June 2014 , pp. 313 - 335
- Copyright
- Copyright © SOAS, University of London 2014
References
Bibliography
- DBZ =
Dainihon bukkyō zensho 大日本仏教全書
(Reference format: volume.page)
- JZ =
Jōdoshū zensho 浄土宗全書
(Reference format: volume.page)
- NKBT =
Nihon koten bungaku taikei 日本古典文学大系
(Reference format: volume.page)
- Shiryō =
Naritasan Shinshōji shiryō shū 成田山新勝寺史料集
(Reference format: volume.page)
- T. =
Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新修大蔵経
(Reference format: volume.text number.page and register.line)
- TZ. =
Taishō shinshū daizōkyō zuzō 大正新修大蔵経図像
(Reference format: volume.text number.page and register.line)
Dainihon bukkyō zensho 大日本仏教全書
(Reference format: volume.page)
Jōdoshū zensho 浄土宗全書
(Reference format: volume.page)
Nihon koten bungaku taikei 日本古典文学大系
(Reference format: volume.page)
Naritasan Shinshōji shiryō shū 成田山新勝寺史料集
(Reference format: volume.page)
Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新修大蔵経
(Reference format: volume.text number.page and register.line)
Taishō shinshū daizōkyō zuzō 大正新修大蔵経図像
(Reference format: volume.text number.page and register.line)
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