At Midlife in Medieval Japan
"A Long Tale for an Autumn Night" tells the story of an ill-fated love affair between Keikai, a highly placed priest of Mt. Hiei, and Lord Umewaka, son of the Hanazono Minister of the Left. It ends with the burning of Mii-dera, where the young lord had been residing as a chigo, the suicide...
| Published in: | Japanese journal of religious studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Nanzan Institute
[1999]
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| In: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
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| Further subjects: | B
Tales
B Liminality B Monks B Religious Studies B Impermanence B Priests B Caves B Japanese culture B Children |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | "A Long Tale for an Autumn Night" tells the story of an ill-fated love affair between Keikai, a highly placed priest of Mt. Hiei, and Lord Umewaka, son of the Hanazono Minister of the Left. It ends with the burning of Mii-dera, where the young lord had been residing as a chigo, the suicide of the young lord, the awakening of Keikai to the truth of impermanence, and the revelation of the young lord as an incarnation of the bodhisattva Kannon. It has been interpreted as didactic, teaching the doctrine of impermanence, and also as part of a cynical attempt to obscure the realities of institutionalized homosexual prostitution and rape. An alternate interpretation from the perspective of analytic psychology sees it as a tale of midlife transition. This interpretation raises the issue of applying a psychological theory developed in the context of twentieth-century Euro-America to medieval Japan. Hermeneutic pluralism maintains that several different interpretations may all be informative and are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Alternate interpretive theories can be evaluated in terms of interpretive power and interpretive scope, while specific interpretations must be evaluated in terms of interpretive match. On all of these criteria, the interpretation of "A Long Tale" as one of midlife transition appears to be supported. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
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