
Zen Sanctuary of Purple Robes
Japan's Tokeiji Convent Since 1285
State University of New York Press
Published on 10. July 2006
Book
Hardback
266 pages
978-0-7914-6827-2 (ISBN)
Description
A fascinating look at a Zen convent throughout its history.
Zen Sanctuary of Purple Robes examines the affairs of Rinzai Zen's Tokeiji Convent, founded in 1285 by nun Kakusan Shido after the death of her husband, Hojo Tokimune. It traces the convent's history through seven centuries, including the early nuns' Zen practice; Abbess Yodo's imperial lineage with nuns in purple robes; Hideyori's seven-year-old daughter-later to become the convent's twentieth abbess, Tenshu-spared by Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle for Osaka Castle; Tokeiji as "divorce temple" during the mid-Edo period and a favorite topic of senryu satirical verse; the convent's gradual decline as a functioning nunnery but its continued survival during the early Meiji persecution of Buddhism; and its current prosperity. The work includes translations, charts, illustrations, bibliographies, and indices. Beyond such historical details, the authors emphasize the convent's "inclusivist" Rinzai Zen practice in tandem with the nearby Engakuji Temple. The rationale for this "inclusivism" is the continuing acceptance of the doctrine of "Skillful Means" (hoben) as expressed in the Lotus Sutra-a notion repudiated or radically reinterpreted by most of the Kamakura reformers. In support of this contention, the authors include a complete translation of the Mirror for Women by Kakusan's contemporary, Muju Ichien.
Zen Sanctuary of Purple Robes examines the affairs of Rinzai Zen's Tokeiji Convent, founded in 1285 by nun Kakusan Shido after the death of her husband, Hojo Tokimune. It traces the convent's history through seven centuries, including the early nuns' Zen practice; Abbess Yodo's imperial lineage with nuns in purple robes; Hideyori's seven-year-old daughter-later to become the convent's twentieth abbess, Tenshu-spared by Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle for Osaka Castle; Tokeiji as "divorce temple" during the mid-Edo period and a favorite topic of senryu satirical verse; the convent's gradual decline as a functioning nunnery but its continued survival during the early Meiji persecution of Buddhism; and its current prosperity. The work includes translations, charts, illustrations, bibliographies, and indices. Beyond such historical details, the authors emphasize the convent's "inclusivist" Rinzai Zen practice in tandem with the nearby Engakuji Temple. The rationale for this "inclusivism" is the continuing acceptance of the doctrine of "Skillful Means" (hoben) as expressed in the Lotus Sutra-a notion repudiated or radically reinterpreted by most of the Kamakura reformers. In support of this contention, the authors include a complete translation of the Mirror for Women by Kakusan's contemporary, Muju Ichien.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Albany, NY
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Edition type
Annotated edition
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Weight
490 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7914-6827-2 (9780791468272)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Sachiko Kaneko Morrell is retired from her position as East Asian Librarian at Washington University in St. Louis. Robert E. Morrell is Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature and Buddhism at Washington University in St. Louis and the author of Sand and Pebbles (Shasekishu): The Tales of Muju Ichien, A Voice for Pluralism in Kamakura Buddhism, also published by SUNY Press, and Early Kamakura Buddhism: A Minority Report.
Content
Figures
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Winds of Doctrine: The World of Thought and Feeling in Late Kamakura Japan
2. Muju Ichien's Mirror for Women (Tsuma kagami, 1300): A Buddhist Vernacular Tract of the Late Kamakura Period
3. Abbess Kakusan and the Kamakura Hojo
4. Princess Yodo's Purple-clad Nuns
5. From Sanctuary to Divorce Temple: Abbess Tenshu and the Later Kitsuregawa Administrators
6. Everyday Life at Matesugaoka Tokeiji : Sacred and Secular
7. The "Divorce Temple" in Edo Satirical Verse
8. Meiji through Heisei: Tokeiji and Rinzai Zen Continuity
Appendixes
Chart A.Zen Lineage from Sakyamuni to the Tokeiji
Chart B.Kakusan's Relationship to the Hojo and Adachi Families
Chart C.From Ashikaga to the Kitsuregawa Administrators
Chart D.Relationships in the Tokeiji Succession during the Late Muromachi and Early Edo Periods
Chart E.Tokeiji Head Abbesses and Acting Abbesses
Notes
Annotated Cross-Referenced Index to Major Cited Texts
Bibliography
Index
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Winds of Doctrine: The World of Thought and Feeling in Late Kamakura Japan
2. Muju Ichien's Mirror for Women (Tsuma kagami, 1300): A Buddhist Vernacular Tract of the Late Kamakura Period
3. Abbess Kakusan and the Kamakura Hojo
4. Princess Yodo's Purple-clad Nuns
5. From Sanctuary to Divorce Temple: Abbess Tenshu and the Later Kitsuregawa Administrators
6. Everyday Life at Matesugaoka Tokeiji : Sacred and Secular
7. The "Divorce Temple" in Edo Satirical Verse
8. Meiji through Heisei: Tokeiji and Rinzai Zen Continuity
Appendixes
Chart A.Zen Lineage from Sakyamuni to the Tokeiji
Chart B.Kakusan's Relationship to the Hojo and Adachi Families
Chart C.From Ashikaga to the Kitsuregawa Administrators
Chart D.Relationships in the Tokeiji Succession during the Late Muromachi and Early Edo Periods
Chart E.Tokeiji Head Abbesses and Acting Abbesses
Notes
Annotated Cross-Referenced Index to Major Cited Texts
Bibliography
Index