Daoism in Japan: Chinese traditions and their influence on Japanese religious culture / Edition 1

by Jeffrey L. Richey

Overview

Like an ancient river, Daoist traditions introduced from China once flowed powerfully through the Japanese religious landscape, forever altering its topography and ecology. Daoism’s presence in Japan still may be discerned in its abiding influence on astrology, divination, festivals, literature, politics, and popular culture, not to mention Buddhism and Shintō. Despite this legacy, few English-language studies of Daoism’s influence on Japanese religious culture have been published.

Daoism in Japan provides an exploration of the particular pathways by which Daoist traditions entered Japan from continental East Asia. After addressing basic issues in both Daoist Studies and the study of Japanese religions, including the problems of defining ‘Daoism’ and ‘Japanese,’ the book looks at the influence of Daoism on ancient, medieval and modern Japan in turn. To do so, the volume is arranged both chronologically and topically, according to the following three broad divisions: "Arrivals" (c. 5th-8th centuries CE), "Assimilations" (794-1868), and "Apparitions" (1600s-present). The book demonstrates how Chinese influence on Japanese religious culture ironically proved to be crucial in establishing traditions that usually are seen as authentically, even quintessentially, Japanese.

Touching on multiple facets of Japanese cultural history and religious traditions, this book is a fascinating contribution for students and scholars of Japanese Culture, History and Religions, as well as Daoist Studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138786493
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/19/2015
Series:	Routledge Studies in Taoism
Pages:	282
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jeffrey L. Richey is Associate Professor of Religion and Asian Studies at Berea College, USA, and the author of Confucius in East Asia: Confucianism’s History in China, Korea, Japan, and Viet Nam (2013), among other works on East Asian religious history.

Table of Contents

Introduction Conjuring Cultures: Daoism in Japan Part 1: Arrivals 1. Pleiades Retrieved: A Chinese Asterism’s Journey to Japan 2. Daoist Deities in Ancient Japan: Household Deities, Jade Women and Popular Religious Practice 3. Framing Daoist Fragments, 670-750 4. Daoist Resonance in a "Perfected Immortal": A Case Study of Awata no Ason Mahito Part 2: Assimilations 5. Onmyōdō Divination Techniques and Daoism 6. The Laŏzĭ and the Emergence of Shintō at Ise 7. Demarcation from Daoism in Shinran’s Kyōgyōshinshō 8. Kōshin: Expelling Daoist Demons with Buddhist Means Part 3: Apparitions 9. The Zhuāngzĭ, Haikai, and the Poetry of Bashō 10. The Eight Trigrams and Their Changes: Divination in Early Modern Japan 11. Crossing the Borders: The Magical Practices of Izanagi-ryū