Unexplored Avenues: The Esoteric and the Sacred in the Buddhist Arts and Temples of the Nara Period

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26370135
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Fine art history
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: BOGEL CYNTHEA 九州大学, 人文科学研究院, 教授 (50637931)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 仏教美術史 / 仏像 / 奈良時代 / 古密教 / 薬師寺 / 神仏 / 世界観 / 日本書紀

Outline of Final Research Achievements

There are fundamental gaps in our understanding of the Nara period: the use of the term komikkyo; the character of eighth-century kami representation; icon production outside Kinai, especially Kyushu; statues and temples before the Todaiji Daibutsuden. My research notes the dearth of appropriate terms and concepts for the “esoteric” and the limitations posed by few remaining icons. In order to understand the nature of eighth-century icons we must revise our notions about what constitutes “Buddhism” during certain periods, recognize misleading ideas about kami-related practices and their modern sources, and endeavor to critique the history promoted in the Nihonshoki--especially as it relates to the formation of a Chinese-style imperial state--to understand the relationships of ruler and religious institutions and practices ca 820 and the opportunity it provides to reexamine early Nara temples and shrines. Last, we should dispose of terms like “old Mikkyo.”

Free Research Field

美術史