Fire and Earth: The Forging of Modern Cremation in Meiji Japan
In the summer of 1873, the Meiji government's Council of State declared a nationwide ban on cremation, a Buddhist practice that had long been considered barbaric and grossly unfilial by Confucian and nativist scholars. In response to the prohibition, an alliance of Buddhist priests, educated ci...
| Autor principal: | |
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| Tipo de documento: | Electrónico Artículo |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Verificar disponibilidad: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Publicado: |
[2000]
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| En: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
Año: 2000, Volumen: 27, Número: 3/4, Páginas: 297-334 |
| Otras palabras clave: | B
Religious Practices
B Graves B Buddhism B Medical Practice B Salud pública B Religious Studies B Priests B Prefectures B Cremation |
| Acceso en línea: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Sumario: | In the summer of 1873, the Meiji government's Council of State declared a nationwide ban on cremation, a Buddhist practice that had long been considered barbaric and grossly unfilial by Confucian and nativist scholars. In response to the prohibition, an alliance of Buddhist priests, educated citizens, and even government officials proceeded to argue that, far from being an "evil custom" of the past, cremation was a "civilized" practice suited to the future. Insisting that cremation was sanitary and that it also saved grave space while facilitating ancestor worship, cremation supporters appropriated state-sanctioned values and aims to win repeal of the ban only two years after it went into effect. Ironically, the end result of the ban was a widely accepted rationale for cremation, which was transformed from a minority practice into a majority one. By the end of the twentieth century, cremation had become the fate of nearly every Japanese. |
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| Obras secundarias: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
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