In Her Likeness: Female Divinity and Leadership at Medieval Chūgūji

This study takes as its focus the medieval deification of Prince Shōtoku's mother, Anahobe no Hashihito. Long associated with the Nara nunnery Chūgūji, Empress Hashihito was resurrected as patron goddess of the nunnery in the medieval period, when Chūgūji was restored and expanded by the nun Sh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Japanese journal of religious studies 2007-11, Vol.34 (2), p.351-392
Main Author: Meeks, Lori R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asian history
Buddhism
Convents
Deities
Divinity
Empresses
Females
Hashihito, Anahobe no
Japanese language
Mandalas
Middle Ages
Narratives
Nuns
Ordinations
Priests
Religious studies
Women
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Summary:This study takes as its focus the medieval deification of Prince Shōtoku's mother, Anahobe no Hashihito. Long associated with the Nara nunnery Chūgūji, Empress Hashihito was resurrected as patron goddess of the nunnery in the medieval period, when Chūgūji was restored and expanded by the nun Shinnyo (1211-?). Images of Empress Hashihito and the Nun Shinnyo take center stage in the literature and art associated with Chūgūji. This article argues that medieval Chūgūji narratives effectively ignore androcentric Buddhist teachings in favor of popular legends that present Empress Hashihito as a female deity and Shinnyo as a female Buddhist exemplar. That Chūgūji materials offer these seemingly positive images of Buddhist women challenges the commonly held scholarly assumption that medieval Japanese women fully internalized the disparaging views of the female body disseminated in Buddhist doctrinal texts.
ISSN:0304-1042
DOI:10.18874/jjrs.34.2.2007.351-392