lunes, 1 de julio de 2013

Kyoto Asian Studies Group. Meeting July 8th

Dear colleagues,

The speaker for the July meeting of the Kyoto Asian Studies Group is Heather
Blair, who will present “Mere Mummery or Real Religion? A Noblewoman’s
Religiosity in the ‘World of the Shining Prince.’” (see abstract below).

The lecture will be held on Monday, July 8th from
6:30-8:30 in Room 212 of the Fusokan on the Doshisha
University Campus (see link below for access information).

Abstract:
Mere Mummery or Real Religion? A Noblewoman’s Religiosity
in the ‘World of the Shining Prince’

In his 1964
classic, _The World of the Shining Prince_, Ivan Morris characterized much of
the religious culture of Heian-period aristocrats as “mere mummery” and
superstition. This talk begins by re-visiting influential twentieth-century
models of Heian religiosity, including Morris’s, and examining their ongoing
influence. Working from the premise that aristocrats used ritual action and the
rhetoric of piety to construct and navigate their world, this talk aims to
reassess Heian religiosity through a consideration of the career of Minamoto no
Reishi (1040-1114). Though she is virtually unknown today, Reishi was a grand
lady in her own right. Born into an eminent family, she played the roles of
mother and wife to Fujiwara regents and foster-mother to an empress. It is
possible to piece together a mosaic-style representation of Reishi’s religious
undertakings, as well as their role in shaping her social reputation, by
reading votive texts she commissioned from male literati and combing through
the diaries of her male family members. At the same time, this exercise raises
questions about how we construe religion, the role of gender categories in
Heian society and contemporary research, and the boundaries between reportage
and the telling of tales.

Heather Blair
is assistant professor of East Asian religions in the Department of Religious
Studies at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN, and a postdoctoral researcher
with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science at Kyoto University during
2012-13.

Sponsored by the Kyoto Consortium
for Japanese Studies. For access information see:
http://www.doshisha.ac.jp/english/access/ima_campus.html

Please refrain from bringing food or drinks into the meeting room.

Contact: Hillary Pedersen, hillyped@yahoo.com