Kyoto Asian Studies Group November meeting

[niels van steenpaal]

Dear colleagues,

 

The speaker for the November meeting of the Kyoto Asian Studies Group is María Salvador, who will present “Immanence and Ecology in the Art of the Kasuga Cult” (see abstract below). 

  

The talk will be held on Friday, November 17^th, 18:00-20:00 Seminar Room 8 (第8演習室), on the basement floor of Research Bldg. No. 2 (総合研究2号館), on the Kyoto University Main Campus (see link below for access information). 

  

  

Abstract 

  

  

Immanence and Ecology in the Art of the Kasuga Cult 

 

This talk examines the art of the Kasuga cult in Nara from an eco-phenomenological perspective. Building on the works of scholars such as Marshall Sahlins and Anthony B. Pinn, my research interprets the amalgamation of kami and buddhas through the concepts of immanence and religion as technology. Stated differently, while respecting the doctrinal supremacy of Buddhist deities over kami attributed to honji suijaku theory, I take a bottom-up approach where the relationship with the immanent world becomes the lens through which daily experiences are explained and legitimized.   

Interpreting the local landscape as a cosmological map is a false dichotomy. To illustrate this point and its soteriological implications, I will first focus on some examples from the vast surviving corpus of Kasuga mandara. I will then turn to the hanging scroll The Thousand Bodies of the Jizō of Kasuga (Kasuga Sentai Jizō-zu) from the Nara National Museum and its more comprehensive representation of the local geography.   

Fundamental to this narrative are the nonhuman agents within the cult's sphere, primarily the cervids featured in the Kasuga Deer Mandara painting genre. From its inception, these deer played a critical role in the mythology of Kasuga. Still, the Kasuga Deer Mandara took their significance to new heights, directly impacting the ecosystem. Finally, deer came to be known not just as “messengers of the kami” but as manifestations of the kami themselves, complicating the human-nonhuman relationship and leading us to the question of the ontology of the deity of Kasuga.     

 

 

María Salvador is a PhD Candidate in History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University 

 

 

For access information see: 

https://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/access/main-campus-map
(the venue is on the south side of the basement floor of the building listed on the map as nr. 34) 

 

Please refrain from bringing food into the meeting room.  

 

Contact: Niels van Steenpaal, nielsvan...@hotmail.com 

 

 

About the Kyoto Asian Studies Group: 

The KASG is a long-standing Kyoto-based research network that hosts monthly research presentations by experts from various Asian Studies fields. Emphasizing long Q&A sessions, we aim to provide an informal atmosphere in which scholars can freely exchange ideas concerning both finished and in-progress research. Admission is free, and we always welcome new members and presenters.