Bonds of the Dead
Temples, Burial, and the Transformation of Contemporary Japanese Buddhism
Bonds of the Dead
Temples, Burial, and the Transformation of Contemporary Japanese Buddhism
Despite popular images of priests seeking enlightenment in snow-covered mountain temples, the central concern of Japanese Buddhism is death. For that reason, Japanese Buddhism’s social and economic base has long been in mortuary services—a base now threatened by public debate over the status, treatment, and location of the dead. Bonds of the Dead explores the crisis brought on by this debate and investigates what changing burial forms reveal about the ways temple Buddhism is perceived and propagated in contemporary Japan.
256 pages | 10 halftones, 2 line drawings, 2 tables | 6 x 9 | © 2011
Asian Studies: East Asia
History: Asian History
Religion: South and East Asian Religions
Reviews
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The “Death” of Japanese Buddhism
2. Avoiding Abandonment
3. Challenging the Status Quo—Myo¯ko¯ji
4. Limitless Connections—To¯cho¯ji
5. Scattering Ashes
6. Sectarian Researchers and the Funeral Problem
Conclusion
Appendix: Jo¯do Sect Survey of Funerary Buddhism (1994)
Works Cited
Index
Awards
American Academy of Religion: AAR Award for Excellence - Analytical-Descriptive Studies
Shortlist
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