TY - JOUR
T1 - Illustrating the mind
T2 - "Faulty memory" Setsuwa and the decorative sutras of late classical and early medieval Japan
AU - Eubanks, Charlotte
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - This article explores the overlap between descriptions of sutra devotion that appear in setsuwa narratives and graphic traditions of sutra decoration popular in classical and medieval Japan, particularly from the eleventh century onward. Drawing on material from two Heian-period setsuwa collections, Hokke genki (1040-1044) and Konjaku monogatari shū (ca. 1120), the article focuses on the visual elements of written sutras, especially as elaborated in tales concerning "faulty memory." The article considers particular setsuwa as written stories which can be embodied in performance (preaching) and which attempt to activate the visual imaginations of their reader-listeners. Furthermore, the article argues that these setsuwa posit the memory, the page, and the human body as intertwined locales for the inscription of sacred Buddhist text.
AB - This article explores the overlap between descriptions of sutra devotion that appear in setsuwa narratives and graphic traditions of sutra decoration popular in classical and medieval Japan, particularly from the eleventh century onward. Drawing on material from two Heian-period setsuwa collections, Hokke genki (1040-1044) and Konjaku monogatari shū (ca. 1120), the article focuses on the visual elements of written sutras, especially as elaborated in tales concerning "faulty memory." The article considers particular setsuwa as written stories which can be embodied in performance (preaching) and which attempt to activate the visual imaginations of their reader-listeners. Furthermore, the article argues that these setsuwa posit the memory, the page, and the human body as intertwined locales for the inscription of sacred Buddhist text.
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U2 - 10.18874/jjrs.36.2.2009.209-230
DO - 10.18874/jjrs.36.2.2009.209-230
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:70350108467
SN - 0304-1042
VL - 36
SP - 209
EP - 230
JO - Japanese Journal of Religious Studies
JF - Japanese Journal of Religious Studies
IS - 2
ER -