Category Archives: buddhism
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
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
The 1300th Anniversary of Nara
The Heian period officially starts in 794, the year that Imperial Capital of Japan moved from Nara to Heian Kyo, or modern day Kyoto. This year is Nara’s 1300th anniversary, and there will be myriad festivals and celebrations in the … Continue reading
Filed under buddhism, festivals, travel, Uncategorized
Belong to Contradictory Religions
A major confusing aspect to life in Heian era Japan is that of religion. One cannot simply ask, which religious group did Heian Kyo aristocrats follow? The answer would be every religion that they had been exposed to. Shinto shrine … Continue reading
Retreating to the Monastery
Michitsuna no Haha, otherwise known as the author of the ”The Gossamer Years”, an account of her life as Kaneie no Fujiwara’s much ignored second or third wife, frequently sought respite from the misery and boredom of her sedentary aristocratic life in Buddhist … Continue reading
Filed under buddhism, diaries, insularity
A Break in the Mountains
I have only just returned from a long trip away from my native soil, and though it is decidedly un-Heian to travel abroad, that is what I just did. Heian-era Japanese became more and more isolated from the world. They … Continue reading
