3月15日13時に第15期公募情報を公開いたしました。
4月1日13時より応募者登録サイトへの登録が可能です。
Information on the 15th call for applications was opened at 13:00 on 15 March.
Applicants can register on the registration website from 1 April at 13:00.
Medieval Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, Shinto, and Dragon Cults
Medieval Japanese religions can roughly be subdivided into a Buddhist wing and a Shinto wing, but when investigating concrete cases, one very often, if not always, encounters combinatory belief systems interconnecting these two categories. Although the wealth of medieval sources makes it difficult to clearly grasp the historical development of these belief systems, the red thread running through the various religious patchworks seems to be the serpent-dragon of esoteric Buddhist tradition. In the talk, I will explain this feature of medieval Japanese religions by first highlighting the preeminent role of the serpent-dragon in esoteric Buddhism and introducing some of its most salient transformations. Then the talk will proceed with a description of how the multi-faceted esoteric Buddhist dragon gave birth to ‘medieval Shinto’ by occupying the central position in a number of major medieval Shinto lineages.