Monthly Archives: February 2010
Buddhist Heian Art : The Lotus Sutra
This illustration is from the later part of the Heian period, approximately a century after Sei Shonagon and Murasaki Shikibu lived, wrote, and gossiped about each other. Considering that Buddhist compassion and forgiveness has been in the news lately following … Continue reading
Filed under art, beauty, buddhism, Murasaki Shikibu, Shonagon
In Winter, the Early Mornings…
Last night and into the morning, a new blizzard hit the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, bringing with it a good half foot of snow or more. While this winter has been particularly cold, and being cooped up indoors induces a form … Continue reading
Filed under beauty, sedentariness, Shonagon, snow
Heian Syncretic Sculpture
This statue of Zao Gongen can be seen in the East Asian Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Zao Gongen was the spirit of Mt Kimpu, which is south of Nara. He had previously been holding a thunderbolt scepter, … Continue reading
Be Extremely Repetitive in Your Use of Vocabulary
I know I am! Heian literature requires a great deal of effort to translate from the original Japanese, and must be altered totally from its initial form. Why might that be, you ask? A common Heian literary conceit, which was … Continue reading
Filed under Literature, Shonagon, translation, Uncategorized
