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Japanese Syncretism (‘cultural blending of distinct religions’.) BUDDHISM SHINTO: ‘Way of the Gods'
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A Civilisation and a Religion
Japan A Civilisation and a Religion Japanese Syncretism (cultural
blending of distinct religions.)
BUDDHISM SHINTO: Way of the Gods' Japanese Syncretism, cont.
BUDDHISM SHINTO Shuichi Kato on Japan & Literature
No story to history; no plan; no plot of events. undeniable
tendency of Japanese culture is to avoid logic,the abstract, &
systemization, in favour of emotion, theconcrete, the
unprogrammatic. Events are accumulative by addition Japan
assimilates by a simple addition of an external conceptor item and
then recontextualising it In the West, there is an accommodation
required: areconfiguration of the addition or of the entire
systemaround it. No transcendental values: which means that when
adding newnot necessary to discard the old. No cultural crisis.
Born Shinto, Married Christian; Buried Buddhist Civilisations: (one
conception of)
A civilisation is ashared set of values,culture, art,architecture,
historyand ways of life; andmost of all,fundamental and(usually)
unconsciousassumptions about theway that the worldworks and is.
Latin American Orthodox Baltics, Greece, EasternEurope, Russia
Eastern Muslim Japan Sub-Saharan African Western Anglosphere +
westernEurope Cultural Exclusivity Thesis
Give every civilisation the benefit of itsown assumptions
Civilisation chauvinism to assumeones own civilisation has the
universalunderstanding Approach other civilisations andcultures
from the assumption that theirfundamental values and
understandingof the world is different from yourown. Universality
(multiculturalism) may be aEuro-centric ideology? Western
Civilisation Values
All civilisations and cultures are fullyexplainable from Western
premises andmethods. Western science is the universally-validmethod
of study. All civilisations and cultures perceivethe worldconfigure
phenomena identically and in away that Westernscience can explain
Japanese Civilisation Assumptions
Intensely subjective Context creates meaning demons chuckle when
they hear us talk about next year. Passivity a virtue when
connected with reflection sthetics are more important than
Logicalconsistency . Death is stheticised in seppuku Only slight
exaggeration to say that Japan is ansthetic. Japanese relations to
each other formalities, hierarchies, ritualsand to nature
aresthetic, Japanese cultural assumptions: examples.
Western concept of symbolism: one thing signifiesanother type of
thing. Platonic Forms; Judo-Christiantype-archetype; Freudian
conscious-subconscious Japan: this thing is associated with that
experience oraspect. Non symbolic. A lonely old tree is associated
withinvokesthoughtsof age and loneliness. The meaning is in the
person,not the object: an sthetic approach to the world. Japanese
cultural assumptions: examples cont.
Western Artthe fuller the mind of theperceiver the better the Art
is appreciated Literary Modernism: James Joyce Finnigans Wake
Renaissance Art: Giorgione The Tempest Japan: the less the mind is
active, the better. Renaissance Art: Giorgione The Presence of
Absence
Hokusai: (Under a Wave Off Kanagawa) Shuichi Kato on Japan &
Religion
No story to history; no plan; no plot of events. undeniable
tendency of Japanese culture is to avoid logic,the abstract, &
systemization, in favour of emotion, theconcrete, the
unprogrammatic. Events are accumulative by addition Japan
assimilates by a simple addition of an external conceptor item and
then recontextualising it In the West, there is an accommodation
required: areconfiguration of the addition or of the entire
systemaround it. No transcendental values: which means that when
adding newnot necessary to discard the old. No cultural crisis.
Born Shinto, Married Christian; Buried Buddhist Japanese Religious
sthetic: Mujokan
Mujokan: A sense oftransience the impermanentquality of
life,nature, andhuman artifacts. Buddhism: 4 Noble Truths 8-Fold
Path Japanese Religious sthetic: Mujokan
Mujokan: A sense of transience the impermanent quality of life,
nature, andhuman artifacts. First of Buddhist 4 Noble Truths:
Dukkha love of ambiguity and the abhorrence ofclarity in literature
and everyday language tendency in design and architecture towardthe
asymmetrical and seasonal rather thanthe symmetrical and permanent:
click for current example: yaeba. asymmetry is open to movement of
observerseye or mind & therefore suggests transience. Japan:
mushinno-mind
Mushin is an intellectual, sthetic & martialconcept: remove the
conscious mind from getting in the wayof understanding,
appreciation and response. Zen : from zenna = a practice
ofmeditation Zen koan emphasise meditation on nothing(mu) Japanese
martial arts work toward mushin ashighest warrior state Mushin:
mono no aware Mono no aware: awareness of the pathos of
things
Mono: things; aware: sadness. Lady Shikibu, c.985 Tale of Genji: an
literarysensibility. Contemplation of natural objectsold
trees,plants, seasonsto reflect on the sadness ofones own transient
existence. JapanSilence: a significant cultural, personal,
religious, and artistic virtue.
Iwanu ga hana. Not-speaking is theflower (Silence isgolden.)
Chinmoku:kanji=sink (down)+ no-word. Seijaku: quietude+ loneliness-
sabiness wabi-sabi Wabi refers to a wordview -- a sense ofspace,
direction, or path Sabi is an aesthetic construct rooted in agiven
object and its features, plus theoccupation of time, chronology.
Wabi-sabi is a commonly unitary referral in moderntimes. Now, a pop
sthetic: Honey, look at thatdarling wabisabi coffee table!
wabi-sabi Metaphysical Basis Spiritual Values State of Mind
Evolving toward or from nothingness: change. Love equals death
Spiritual Values Truth comes from observing nature. Greatness
exists in the inconspicuous & overlooked details. Beauty can be
coaxed out of ugliness State of Mind Acceptance of the inevitable,
appreciation of cosmic order Moral Precepts Get rid of desire and
all that is unnecessary. Focus on the intrinsic & ignore
material hierarchy Local and cultural situation and order: no
absolute principle Material Qualities Suggestion of natural
process; irregularity, intimacies;unpretentious; earthy; simple
above all. wabi The original connotation of wabi is based on the
aloneness orseparation from society experienced by the
hermit,suggesting to the popular mind a misery and sad
forlornness:i.e. mono no aware. The life of the hermit came to be
called wabizumai in Japan,essentially "the life of wabi," a life of
solitude and simplicity. Only by the fourteenth century in Japan
were positive attributesascribed to wabi and cultivated. Wabi is
literally i.e. etymologically -- poverty, but it came torefer not
to merely absence of material possessions but non- dependence on
material possessions.2nd & 3rd of the 4 NobleTruths (suffering
caused by craving; divest of objects craved simplicity that has
shaken off the material in order to relatedirectly with nature and
reality. absence of dependence frees itself from indulgence,
ornateness,and pomposity. wabi, cont Wabi is quiet contentment with
simple things.
In short, Wabi is a way of life or spiritualpath. Zen principles
inform wabi : a native Japanesesyncretism of Confucian, Taoist,
Buddhism, andShinto traditions. Typical of Japanese addition over
Logic Wabi precedes the application of aesthetic. principles
applied to objects and arts, thislatter is Sabi sabi Sabi is the
outward expression of aesthetic valuesbuilt upon the metaphysical
and spiritual principlesof Zen translates these values into
artistic and material qualities. Sabi considers natural processes
result in objectsthat are Irregular Unpretentious (subtle)
ambiguous.(See yaeba.) Sabi objects are: irregular in being
asymmetrical unpretentious in being the holistic fruit of wabizumai
ambiguous in preferring insight and intuition, the engendering
ofrefined spiritualized emotions rather than reason and logic.
Ambiguity allows each viewer to proceed to their capacityfornuance.
shibui Ascerbic good taste: astringency.
Simple, unadorned,subtle, hidden,beauty The taste ofumeboshi
wabi-sabi: objects ki-sho-ten-ketsu
Literary composition principle Reader-centred, opposed to Western
writer- centred: esp. Modernism, James Joyce,Virginia Woolf, etc.
KI: opening, beginning SHO: continuing TEN: turning away (change)
KETSU: binding together. Japanese Religious-sthetic Concepts
Shichi-Go-San: 7-5- 3 Celebrate a child's3rd, 5th & 7th
birthdays,and a deceaseds 3rd,5th & 7th anniversaries. Haiku is
syllables rock-gardens haveodd-numbered -arrangements of stones
Numbers 4 and 9 areshunned: 4 can be shi meaningdeath. 9 can be ku
meaningsuffering Japanese Religious-sthetic Concepts
Ten-Chi-Jin:heaven-earth-man a sense of somethinghigh, something
low.and an intermediary:the axes are spacial,temporal and human.The
middle concept is(explicit in theconfiguration of theNoh stage) a
bridge. Japanese Religious-sthetic Concepts
Shin-Gyo-So (true,moving & grass-like.) In calligraphy, block-
style, kana & cursive; inthe cha-no-yu, of itsimplements,
formal,semi-formal, informal.Shin-gyo-so is aneffective schema
formapping the uniquelyJapanese manner ofreacting to any
discretenew foreign encounter.Evident in literature
incomparativerepresentations,structural contrasts anddevelopments
incharacter Japanese Religious-sthetic Concepts
Jo-Ha-Kyu (gathering,break, urgent action) A concept exemplifiedby
-- & likely originatingin contemplation of --the waterfall.
Inliterature -- notablyhaiku -- it
signifiesintroduction,development, action. Inmusic, it has
severalcompoundingapplications, essentiallya triptych of
increasingrapidity & climax. This isaccepted as the
naturalrhythm -- gestation,birth, life is just oneobvious universal
triad/ Japanese Religious-sthetic Concepts
Shu-Ha-Ri (keep the form, losethe form, no form) the process by
whichmastery of any art orpractice is attained. copy and practice
thefundamental forms Steadily lose reliance on useof fundamental
form Achieve mastery where theart is natural, personal,
andsubconscious (=mushin) applies to the arts (e.g.calligraphy,
literature,painting), professions, martialarts, sport, etc.