Temple Myths and the Popularization of Kannon Pilgrimage in Japan: A Case Study of Ōya-ji on the Bandō Route
The Bandō pilgrimage is a major form of Kannon devotionalism in Japan. This paper explores the role of founding tales (engi) in promoting the Bandō pilgrimage by examining an example from one of its sites, Ōyaji. Pilgrims were deeply stirred by what they saw at Ōya-ji, particularly the mysterious im...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Nanzan Institute
[1997]
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| In: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
Year: 1997, Volume: 24, Issue: 3/4, Pages: 375-411 |
| Further subjects: | B
Tales
B Cliffs B Deities B Religious Studies B Pilgrimages B Caves B Spiritual visions B Bodhisattva B Temples |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | The Bandō pilgrimage is a major form of Kannon devotionalism in Japan. This paper explores the role of founding tales (engi) in promoting the Bandō pilgrimage by examining an example from one of its sites, Ōyaji. Pilgrims were deeply stirred by what they saw at Ōya-ji, particularly the mysterious image of the senju Kannon that was the temple's main devotional image. The stories collected in the Ōya-ji engi concerning the origin of this image and its worship stirred the religious imagination of pilgrims. The engi does so by identifying Ōya's environs descriptively with the mythscape of Kannon's abode on Mount Fudaraku. Second, it offers a dramatic vision of the bodhisattva's powerful presence on site by using one type of founding myth of meeting-subjugating the kami through the issue of spiritual light. Third, it has tales about exemplary meetings of Kannon with pilgrims. These emphasize the spiritual benefits that can accrue through worship. Engi like Ōya-ji's and others collected in pilgrimage texts called reijō-ki were vital for the popularization of the Bandō and other Kannon pilgrimages in Japan. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
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