Memory, Music, Manuscripts

The Ritual Dynamics of Kōshiki in Japanese Sōtō Zen
Erscheinungsjahr 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8248-9273-9
Verlag: University of Hawaii Press

Buch, Englisch, 277 Seiten, Hardback, Format (B × H): 154 mm x 232 mm, Gewicht: 794 g

Reihe: Studies in East Asian Buddhism/Kuroda Institute

Koshiki (Buddhist ceremonials) belong to a shared ritual repertoire of Japanese Buddhism that began with Tendai Pure Land belief in the late tenth century and spread to all Buddhist schools, including Soto Zen in the thirteenth century. In Memory, Music, Manuscripts, Michaela Mross elegantly combines the study of premodern manuscripts and woodblock prints with ethnographic fieldwork to illuminate the historical development of the highly musical koshiki rituals performed by Soto Zen clerics. She demonstrates how ritual change is often shaped by factors outside the ritual context per se--by, for example, institutional interests, evolving biographic images of eminent monks, or changes in the cultural memory of a particular lineage. Her close study of the fascinating world of koshiki in Soto Zen sheds light on Buddhism as a lived religion and the interplay of ritual, doctrine, literature, collective memory, material culture, and music.

Mross highlights in particular the importance of the sonic dimension in rituals. Scholars of Buddhist and ritual studies have largely overlooked the soundscapes of rituals despite the importance of music for many ritual specialists and the close connection between the acquisition of ritual expertise and learning to vocalize sacred texts or play musical instruments. Indeed, Soto clerics strive to perfect their vocal skills and view koshiki and the singing of liturgical texts as vital Zen practices and an expression of buddhahood--similar to seated meditation.

Innovative and groundbreaking, Memory, Music, Manuscripts is the first in-depth study of koshiki in Zen Buddhism and the first monograph in English on this influential liturgical genre. A companion website featuring video recordings of selected koshiki performances is available at https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/dq109wp7548.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mross, Michaela

Buswell, Robert E

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Buddhismus Buddhismus: Leben & Praxis, Soziale Aspekte
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Buddhismus Zen-Buddhismus
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikwissenschaft Allgemein Musiktheorie, Musikästhetik, Kompositionslehre

Über Autor(innen)

Michaela Mross is assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University.