Buddhism and the Arts of Japan

Buddhism and the Arts of Japan PDF Author: Richard B. Pilgrim
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231113472
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 92

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Book Description
Few aspects of American military history have been as vigorously debated as Harry Truman's decision to use atomic bombs against Japan. In this carefully crafted volume, Michael Kort describes the wartime circumstances and thinking that form the context for the decision to use these weapons, surveys the major debates related to that decision, and provides a comprehensive collection of key primary source documents that illuminate the behavior of the United States and Japan during the closing days of World War II. Kort opens with a summary of the debate over Hiroshima as it has evolved since 1945. He then provides a historical overview of thye events in question, beginning with the decision and program to build the atomic bomb. Detailing the sequence of events leading to Japan's surrender, he revisits the decisive battles of the Pacific War and the motivations of American and Japanese leaders. Finally, Kort examines ten key issues in the discussion of Hiroshima and guides readers to relevant primary source documents, scholarly books, and articles.

Buddhism and the Arts of Japan

Buddhism and the Arts of Japan PDF Author: Richard B. Pilgrim
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231113472
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 92

Get Book

Book Description
Few aspects of American military history have been as vigorously debated as Harry Truman's decision to use atomic bombs against Japan. In this carefully crafted volume, Michael Kort describes the wartime circumstances and thinking that form the context for the decision to use these weapons, surveys the major debates related to that decision, and provides a comprehensive collection of key primary source documents that illuminate the behavior of the United States and Japan during the closing days of World War II. Kort opens with a summary of the debate over Hiroshima as it has evolved since 1945. He then provides a historical overview of thye events in question, beginning with the decision and program to build the atomic bomb. Detailing the sequence of events leading to Japan's surrender, he revisits the decisive battles of the Pacific War and the motivations of American and Japanese leaders. Finally, Kort examines ten key issues in the discussion of Hiroshima and guides readers to relevant primary source documents, scholarly books, and articles.

Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art, 1600–2005

Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art, 1600–2005 PDF Author: Patricia J. Graham
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824862465
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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Book Description
Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art explores the transformation of Buddhism from the premodern to the contemporary era in Japan and the central role its visual culture has played in this transformation. Although Buddhism is generally regarded as peripheral to modern Japanese society, this book demonstrates otherwise. Its chapters elucidate the thread of change over time in the practice of Buddhism as revealed in temple worship halls and other sites of devotion and in imagery representing the religion’s most popular deities and religious practices. It also introduces the work of modern and contemporary artists who are not generally associated with institutional Buddhism and its canonical visual requirements but whose faith inspires their art. The author makes a persuasive argument that the neglect of these materials by scholars results from erroneous presumptions about the aesthetic superiority of early Japanese Buddhist artifacts and an asserted decline in the institutional power of the religion after the sixteenth century. She demonstrates that recent works constitute a significant contribution to the history of Japanese art and architecture, providing evidence of Buddhism’s compelling presence at all levels of Japanese society and its evolution in response to the needs of new generations of supporters.

Flowing Traces

Flowing Traces PDF Author: James H. Sanford
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400862949
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
According to the contributors to this volume, the relationship of Buddhism and the arts in Japan is less the rendering of Buddhist philosophical ideas through artistic imagery than it is the development of concepts and expressions in a virtually inseparable unity. By challenging those who consider religion to be the primary phenomenon and art the secondary arena for the apprehension of religious meanings, these essays reveal the collapse of other dichotomies as well. Touching on works produced at every social level, they explore a fascinating set of connections within Japanese culture and move to re-envision such usual distinctions as religion and art, sacred and secular, Buddhism and Shinto, theory and substance, elite and popular, and even audience and artist. The essays range from visual and literary hagiographies to No drama, to Sermon-Ballads, to a painting of the Nirvana of Vegetables. The contributors to the volume are James H. Foard, Elizabeth ten Grotenhuis, Frank Hoff, Laura S. Kaufman, William R. LaFleur, Susan Matisoff, Barbara Ruch, Yoshiaki Shimizu, and Royall Tyler. Originally published in 1992. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Muroji

Muroji PDF Author: Sherry D. Fowler
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824874587
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
Murōji, a magnificent temple founded in the eighth century, is known both for its dramatic location and the exceptional quality of its ritual objects and art dating from the ninth and tenth centuries of the Heian period. Sherry Fowler makes extensive use of primary sources to explore the circumstances surrounding the creation and function of the temple’s main images and considers why major works of early Heian sculpture were housed in such a remote mountain setting. Employing a multifaceted approach that looks at Murōji’s art and architecture in socio-political context, she explores the establishment of the temple, its role in the religious life and power structure of the region, and the ways in which the temple reconfigured its early history to suit its later circumstances. Emerging from Fowler’s study are pervasive themes relating to worship and practice at Murōji that highlight plurality of practice (of different schools of Buddhism as well as Shinto); flexibility of practice and its impact on sculptural icons; the relationship of Murōji to other temple/shrine complexes; and the association of the temple with women’s worship.

Enlightenment Embodied

Enlightenment Embodied PDF Author: Hiromitsu Washizuka
Publisher: Japan Society Gallery
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
Catalog of the first exhibition in the US to emphasize on the connection between the aesthetic considerations and construction techniques of Japanese Buddhist sculptors.

The Arts of Japan

The Arts of Japan PDF Author: Seiroku Noma
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description


The Enduring Art of Japan

The Enduring Art of Japan PDF Author: Langdon Warner
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 1222

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Buddhist Art in Its Relation to Buddhist Ideals, with Special Reference to Buddhism in Japan

Buddhist Art in Its Relation to Buddhist Ideals, with Special Reference to Buddhism in Japan PDF Author: Masaharu Anesaki
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Buddhist Art in Its Relationship to Buddhist Ideals

Buddhist Art in Its Relationship to Buddhist Ideals PDF Author: Masaharu Anesaki
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Buddhist art
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description


Behold the Buddha

Behold the Buddha PDF Author: James C. Dobbins
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824879996
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Images of the Buddha are everywhere—not just in temples but also in museums and homes and online—but what these images mean largely depends on the background and circumstance of those viewing them. In Behold the Buddha, James Dobbins invites readers to imagine how premodern Japanese Buddhists understood and experienced icons in temple settings long before the advent of museums and the internet. Although widely portrayed in the last century as visual emblems of great religious truths or as exquisite works of Asian art, Buddhist images were traditionally treated as the very embodiment of the Buddha, his palpable presence among people. Hence, Buddhists approached them as living entities in their own right—that is, as awakened icons with whom they could interact religiously. Dobbins begins by reflecting on art museums, where many non-Buddhists first encounter images of the Buddha, before outlining the complex Western response to them in previous centuries. He next elucidates images as visual representations of the story of the Buddha’s life followed by an overview of the physical attributes and symbolic gestures found in Buddhist iconography. A variety of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and other divinities commonly depicted in Japanese Buddhism is introduced, and their “living” quality discussed in the context of traditional temples and Buddhist rituals. Finally, other religious objects in Japanese Buddhism—relics, scriptures, inscriptions, portraits of masters, and sacred sites—are explained using the Buddhist icon as a model. Dobbins concludes by contemplating art museums further as potential sites for discerning the religious character of Buddhist images. Those interested in Buddhism generally who would like to learn more about its rich iconography—whether encountered in temples or museums—will find much in this concise, well-illustrated volume to help them “behold the Buddha.”