Shinra Myōjin and Buddhist Networks of the East Asian “Mediterranean”

201 Pages·2019·7.28 MB·English

by  Sujung Kim

Shinra Myōjin and
Buddhist Networks
of the East Asian
“Mediterranean”
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Shinra Myōjin and
Buddhist Networks
of the East Asian
“Mediterranean”
Sujung Kim
University of Hawai‘i Press
Honolulu, Hawai‘i
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©  University of Hawai‘i Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
           
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kim, Sujung, author.
Title: Shinra Myōjin and Buddhist networks of the East Asian
“Mediterranean” / Sujung Kim.
Description: Honolulu, Hawai‘i : University of Hawai‘i Press, [] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN  | ISBN  (cloth ; alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Shinra Myōjin (Buddhist deity) |
Buddhism—Japan—History—–. | Buddhism—Korea—History.
Classification: LCC BQ.S K  | DDC ./—dc
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/
University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for
permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources.
Cover art: Shinra Myōjin, thirteenth c., colors on silk. Onjōji, Shiga Prefecture.
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To my parents,
Bokim Kim and Dongsu Kim
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
Introduction: Shinra Myōjin in the East Asian “Mediterranean” Network 
Part I Maritime East Asia: Networks of Immigrants and Silla
Shrines/Temples 
 Between History and Story 
 The Network of Silla Immigrants and the Emergence of
Shinra Myōjin 
Part II Sedentarization: Networks of Silla Deities and Shinra Myōjin 
 The Medieval Transformations of Shinra Myōjin 
 Shinra Myōjin, the Multifaceted Deity 
Part III Restoring Fluidity: Functional and Symbolic Networks of the
Silla Deities 
 Trek for the Star Deity: Sonjōō and Shinra Myōjin 
 Shinra Myōjin as a Pestilence Deity: Susanoo and Shinra Myōjin 
 Shinra Myōjin as Part of the Network of the Divine Old Man 
Conclusion 
Notes 
Bibliography 
Index 
vii
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Acknowledgments
My first encounter with Shinra Myōjin was in a graduate seminar course I took in
the spring of  in which we explored the wondrous world of medieval Japanese
gods through reading the Keiran shūyōshū. I still vividly remember how excited I was
about Shinra Myōjin, and this book is the outcome of a long labor.
So many people have helped the book come into being. Intellectually, it owes
its greatest debt to my teachers at Columbia University, first and foremost, Bernard
Faure, as well as Chün-fang Yü, Max Moerman, Michael Como, and David Lurie.
My profound gratitude goes to Jacqueline Stone, Paul Groner, Saitō Hideki, Dongwu
Kwon, Iyanaga Nobumi, Abe Yasurō, Mizukami Fumiyoshi, Lucia Dolce, Siñead
Vilbar, Lan Wu, Michaela Mross, Seung Hae Yu, Michael Pye, Jin Y. Park, Youngjin
Kim, Wendi Adamek, Mark Blum, Steve Covell, Fabio Rambelli, Paul Swanson, and
Marcus Bingenheimer, all of whom taught me what the bodhisattva truly means.
I also owe profound debts to my friends and colleagues who offered me their kind-
est help along the way. Above all, I would like to thank Luke Thompson, who has
read several versions of my manuscript and significantly improved it. Bryan Lowe,
too, kindly read the entire manuscript and provided insightful and invaluable sug-
gestions. I am also grateful to Kevin Buckelew and Heather Blair for sharing their
generous feedback with me.
Two anonymous readers prompted crucial rewrites that have made the book
immeasurably stronger, and I believe that their suggestions are largely responsible
for what I consider some of the best parts of my book. Nonetheless, I must take
responsibility for any flaws and errors that remain. I also want to express my sincere
gratitude to my editors at University of Hawai‘i Press—Stephanie Chun, Cheryl Loe,
and Barbara Folsom—who have not only been passionate but immensely patient
supporters of my project.
ix
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