Japanese Buddhism: A Cultural History - Softcover

Tamura, Yoshiro

Softcover

ISBN 10: 4333016843 ISBN 13: 9784333016846

Publisher: Kosei Publishing Co, 2001

Synopsis

Buddhism was founded in India more than two thousand years ago, but the Japanese molded it to suit their culture, and it became one of the most enduring and far-reaching cultural and intellectual forces in Japan's history.

The stamp of Japanese Buddhism is unmistakable in the nation's poetry, literature, and art; and the imprint of Japan's indigenous culture is clear from the amalgamation of pre-Buddhist worship and esoteric Buddhism in the practice of the Shugendo ascetics.

Japan's Buddhism and the nation's cultural infrastructure are so inextricably linked that it is impossible to understand one without the other. Japanese Buddhism is both a history of Japanese Buddhism and an introduction to Japan's political, social, and cultural history. It examines Japanese Buddhism in the context of literary and intellectual trends and of other religions, exploring social and intellectual questions that an ordinary history of religion would not address.

About this title

About the Author:

Yoshiro Tamura (1921-89) was one of Japan's most outstanding scholars of Buddhism. At the time of his death, he was professor of Buddhist studies at Tokyo's Rissho University.

About this edition

• Publisher: Kosei Publishing Co
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 4333016843
• ISBN 13: 9784333016846
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 232