I. Vital Statistics The individual, Shinnyokai Shonin was born in 1688 and died in 1783. The occupation Shinnyokai held during life was an ascetic Buddhist monk. The cause of death in this instance was self-mummification, which will be more thoroughly discussed in the ‘Notable Qualities” section of this assignment. II. Preservation & Discovery The body of Shinnyokai Shonin was discovered in an effort to exhume his body three years after his death, in 1783. It is not clear who made the discovery of Shonin’s body. The method of preservation was carried out throughout the monk’s life with practices such as abstaining from eating indulgent foods, and instead only eating nuts and seeds that would promote body fat loss and drinking a poisonous tea for 1,000 days prior to solidarity. When his body was exhumed, it was a perfectly naturally preserved mummy but as time progressed the skin on the face has fallen away leaving only the hands and body to be preserved. According to Jeremiah (2010), the body is laden with white spots and exhibits that dark brown color that is seen generally with mummification. The white spots may be a sign of poor preservation due to a fungal invasion of some sort, but that is personal speculation. Currently, the mummy of Shinnyokai Shonin is on display in Asahi Village enshrined in the Dainichibo Temple. III. Background Shinnyokai Shonin’s original name was Shindo Nizaemon and he was a farmer that belonged to the Shindo. The reasoning behind why Shindo became a Buddhist monk and eventually changed his name to Shinnyokai Shonin was because he had killed a samurai during a heated fight. Shindo Nizaemon accidentally bumped into the samurai, and since Shindo was a commoner, the samurai was offended by his fo... ... middle of paper ... .... As mentioned above, there are also white spots existing on the mummy which means this mummy is not in excellent condition. This is a result of the means of mummification which is in a way both natural and artificial, because Shinnyokai purposely preserved himself but during life and the mummification process occurred on its own after death. Shinnyokai’s mummy is enshrined at the Dainichibo Temple. Most of the successful sokushinbutsu mummies are enshrined in temples because it is believed to some that these monks are not dead but rather in a state of meditation that transcends the natural human life cycle. There aren’t any precautions in place at the temple to maintain the preservation of this mummy, but that may be attributed to its context. Many visitors come and see Shinnyokai’s mummy every year and he is the most popular self mummified individual in Japan.
It shows the influence of cultural context. Unlike Qin warrior, the Japanese placed Haniwa on the top of the grave mound. According to the Gardner’s Art through the Ages, the variety of figure types suggests that haniwa functioned not as military guards but as a spiritual barrier protecting both the living and the dead from contamination. It is very clear that haniwa is treated as a door which separates people from the living and the dead.
Yu, Han. “Memorial on Buddhism”. Making of the Modern World 12: Classical & Medieval Tradition. Trans. Richard F. Burton. Ed. Janet Smarr. La Jolla: University Readers, 2012. 111-112. Print.
Walking into the Hall of the Buddhas, there was a sense of peace and guidance lingering inside me. The seated Bodhisattva, of the Northern Wei dynasty (386-534), CA.480, from the Yungang, Cave xv, Shani Province, made of sandstone, guarded the entrance. At first, I thought it was a time to be disciplined, but the transcending smile from the statue was a delicate fixed gesture that offered a feeling of welcome. It was not a place to confess your wrongdoings; neither was it a place for me to say, “Buddha I have sinned.” It was a room to purify the mind, the mind that we take for granted without giving it harmony. There was a large mural decorating the main wall called “The Paradise of Bhaishajyaguru”(916-1125). I sat down wandering if the artist of the portrait knew that his work would one day be shared on this side of the world, in my time. Much like Jesus Christ and his followers, the mural is a painting of healers and saviors. It was a large figure of the Buddha of medicine, (Bhaishajyaquru) surrounded by followers of Bodhisattvas, Avalokiteshvara, and Mahosthamaprapta with twelve guardian generals who have pledged to disseminate the Buddha’s teaching (Tradition of Liao 916-1125, Metropolitan Museum wall plaque).
The Art Institute of Chicago houses a sculpture that epitomizes Shingon Buddhism in Japan. Born from an influence of Chinese esoteric Buddhism and the Indian God Shiva, the deity Fudo Myo-o, or “The Immovable One”, is one of the most important figures in Japanese Buddhism. The deity first appears in the Heian Period during the ninth century and is made to help followers of Buddhism with any adversity faced. During the Kamakura Period from the 12th-14th centuries the figure of this guardian king developed into a more realistic sculptural form. Fudo Myo-o is unique to the Shingon Buddhism of Japan with qualities that distinguish him from most any other deity, qualities that embody his vicious compassion, wisdom, and wrath.
24 Amore, Roy C. and Julia Ching. The Buddhist Tradition. In Willard G. Oxtoby, Ed. World Religions: Eastern Traditions. P. 221
...uried. The way Heaney describes this cleansing of the body and clothing it was depicted in a very ritualistic and loving way. It showed how important it was to Heaney that his cousin was buried correctly and humanely.
Shintoism has no founder ,and the history behind the technicalities of the rise of Shinto are rather obscure. Experts don't agree as to when Shinto became a unified religion more than just a label to give to the different faiths of Japan. Before the arrival of Buddhism, Shinto referred to the many local cults of the prehistoric Japanese people. These people were animists; devoted to the worship of nature and spirits. These spirits were the Kami; found in living things, nonliving things and natural phenomena. The early Japanese created a spiritual world—and rituals and stories to accompany it—that seemingly gave them control of their lives. It wasn't considered a religion at those times, early Japanese people regarded their faith as a commonality as a part of the natural world. The realms of Earth and the supernatural were closely integrated into each other for them. (“Religions”)
Beginning as early as the Shang dynasty, we have found evidence of the Chinese honoring and paying respect to their ancestors. The process of divination used turtle carapace or ox scapula in order to find out if their ancestors wanted certain rituals or sacrifices done. Evidence of honoring the deceased has also been found in tombs during the Shang dynasty. Lady Fu Hao’s tomb is a prime example of this, since hundreds of artifacts were buried with her, obviously denoting respect for the dead or that t...
The Prince “played a key role in establishing Buddhism in Japan right after its official introduction.” (HoJB.18) Interestingly enough the Prince came to be so enamoured with the religion thanks to when he was young a visiting clergy from Korea went about “Prostrating himself one day, before the little son of the Mikado, the priest declared he recognized him the re-incarnation of one of the disciples of Buddha, and one who was destined to effect a great spiritual work in Japan.” (ReligioninJapan.52) This obviously stuck with Shotoku because after he came back from his visit to the Tang Dynasty he worked tirelessly to spread the religion of Buddhism as the one true religion. He revealed in his writings “This world is a lie,” he wrote, reflecting the Buddhist belief in an ultimate reality beyond.” (School Text.268) The priest’s control was subtle. He placed the prince in a position that promised authority and significance. This lead to Shotoku’s efforts to spread the foreign religion effortlessly which made Buddhism heir apparent to Japan. For this Shotoku is considered the Father of Japanese
The Coffin of Tentkhonsu, observed at the National Museum of Natural History, was very eye drawing, its drawings on the outside and inside captive that mummies journey to rebirth. The readings of the artwork state that the mummy of Tehtkhonsu has never been completely identify. The coffin also dates back to 3,000 years.
Fourteenth century Japan was a time of peace for many people. Buddhism had just become a major part of Japanese culture due to the Shogun Yoshimitsu. He became ruler in 1367 at the sapling age of ten (Waley 21). Yoshimitsu needed to distinguish himself from his ancestors and he did this by being devoted to Buddhism, specifically the Zen Sect (21). “Zen Buddhism and the life and teaching of Shinran are popularly identified as typical Japanese Buddhism.” (Takeda 27) However Buddhism, in Japan, is different and unique from Buddhism in other countries because it is considered the “funeral religion” (27). This is mainly influenced by ancient Japanese beliefs of the onryo.
Bibliography: Religious Persons and Traditions Buddhism- Plain and Simple
Chamberlain, Andrew, and Pearson Michael Parker. Earthly Remains: The History and Science of Preserved Human Bodies. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.
Shinto has ancient origins that can be traced all the way back to 500 B.C.,but it wasn’t called Shinto until 8th century Japan when Buddhism started to threaten the Japanese way of life. The religions begun, of course, in Japan. Shinto has no founder, it has been practiced by the Japanese since they appeared on the earth apparently so nobody knows who the heck started it (). There is no specific person who spread the religion, due to the fact Shinto didn’t spread much, There are some temples in Hawaii, South America, and Europe, which are most likely from immigrants into those regions from Japan (). Some say that Shinto is tied in with the land of Japan. If your mom was Shinto yo...
The origin of the Shinto religion dates back to the beginning of Japanese history. Shinto was first used in the 6th century C.E., even though the roots of the religion date back to at least the 6th century B.C.E. Shinto does not have a founder and does not have any sacred scriptures that correlate directly with the religion. Shinto bases the majority of its principles on ancient books. Two of the most important books of the Shinto religion are the Kojiki and the Nihongi. While preaching is a usual practice in Christianity, it is uncommon in Shinto. This is due to the fact that Shinto is already deeply rooted into the Japanese people and traditions. Shinto is a local religion and the percentage of people who practice Shinto quite small. The word Shinto originated from the Chinese characters “Shin” meaning “divine being” and Tao meaning “way of the spirits”. All together this translates into “Way of the Spirits”.