Research Catalog

Title

Zenkōji and its icon : a study in medieval Japanese religious art / Donald F. McCallum.

Author

McCallum, Donald F. (Donald Fredrick), 1939-2013.

Publication

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 1994.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xviii, 268 pages, 64 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations; 25 cm

Summary

• One of the most significant traditions of image-making in medieval Japanese Buddhist art is based on a large group of gilt-bronze icons representing the Buddha Amida and his two attendant Bodhisattvas.
• The prototype, a secret image enshrined at Zenkoji in Nagano Prefecture, served as the basis both for numerous replications found in temples throughout Japan and for a highly developed cult that promised believers various rewards, including release from the terrors of hell and ultimate salvation in the western Paradise of Amida. Donald F. McCallum takes a broad, multidisciplinary approach to relating this icon tradition to broader currents in Japanese political, social, and religious history.
• .
• Rather than reifying the icons as objects of art designed for aesthetic contemplation, the book focuses on the real issues that motivated their production. McCallum devotes particular attention to examining how worshipers conceived of the Zenkoji icon, which was believed by many to be actually alive.
• The long time span during which the Zenkoji Amida triads were made and worshiped, along with the relationship that the cult had to all levels of society, makes the tradition an interesting barometer of significant developments in Japanese history. Consequently, the work is of value to a variety of specialists, including historians of Japanese art, Japanese political and religious history, Asian art and religion, and icon-making in general.

Subject

• Amitābha (Buddhist deity) > Art
• Amitābha (Buddhist deity) > Cult > Japan
• Zenkōji (Nagano-shi, Japan)
• Buddhist gods in art
• Gilt bronzes, Japanese > To 1600
• Buddhist gilt bronzes > Japan

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [247]-259) and index.

Contents

• Ch. 1. Introduction -- Ch. 2. Shinano Province before the Kamakura Period. The Zenkoji Plain in the Yayoi and Kofun Periods. The Early Historical Period. The Heian Period (794-1185). Land Tenure in Heian-period Shinano. Buddhism in Shinano during the Early Heian Period. Buddhism of the Late Heian Period. The Rise of the Warrior. Early Documentary References to Zenkoji -- Ch. 3. The Origin of the Zenkoji Amida Triad. Legendary Accounts. The Icon -- Ch. 4. Zenkoji and Its Cult in the Kamakura Period. Zenkoji and the Kamakura Bakufu. Pure Land Buddhism in the Kamakura Period. Shinano Zenkoji in the Kamakura Period. Zenkoji and the Hijiri. The Shin Zenkoji System -- Ch. 5. Early Kamakura Copies of the Zenkoji Amida Triad. Kofu Zenkoji Amida Triad. The Amida Figures in Zensuiji and a Private Collection. Shimane Zenkoji Amida Triad. Summary. Gilt-bronze Sculpture in Japan -- Ch. 6. Later Kamakura Copies of the Zenkoji Amida Triad. The Seiryoji Parallel. Kotokuji Amida Triad. Tokyo National Museum Amida Triad.
• Images of the 1260s. Engakuji Amida Triad. Ankokuji Amida Triad. A Group of Undated Images. Monuments of the Later Kamakura Period. Conclusion -- Ch. 7. The Later History of Zenkoji and Its Icon. Shinano and Zenkoji in the Muromachi Period. The Kawanakajima Battles and the Establishment of Kofu Zenkoji. The Zenkoji Amida Triad and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Zenkoji in the Edo Period -- Ch. 8. Conclusion. The Icon at Zenkoji. The Myth, (The Engi). Relationship of Icon and Myth. The Priesthood. Ritual. The Worshiper. Nature of the Zenkoji Cult -- Names With Japanese Equivalents -- Zenkoji Icons Dated to the Kamakura Period.

ISBN

0691032033 :

LCCN

93041543

OCLC

• 29314652
• ocm29314652
• SCSB-14074567

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries