This article examines the Shiza kōshiki (Kōshiki in four sessions), composed by the Kegon-Shingon monk Myōe (1173–1232) for the Nehan’e (Assembly on the Buddha’s nirvana). It analyzes the performance practice of the Shiza kōshiki at Myōe’s temple Kōzanji during his lifetime and at Shingon temples in the Tokugawa period, paying special attention to its musical dimension. During the Nehan’e, clerics sang various liturgical pieces of different styles and thus created a rich sonic landscape. The musical method of reciting a kōshiki text further helped effectively convey its content and thereby supported the devotional function of the kōshiki. At certain occasions, singing was also a means to actively engage lay attendees in the ritual. In this way, I demonstrate that music is an essential element in kōshiki, as well as in Buddhist rituals in general. An annotated translation of the Nehan kōshiki, the first of the Shiza kōshiki’s four kōshiki, is included in the online supplement to this JJRS issue.
Author:"This article is a heavily revised and expanded version of an article that I published in German (Mross 2012). I would like to express my gratitude to the editor of the volume and to the Universitätsverlag Halle-Wittenberg for granting me permission to publish a revised English version of this article."
目次
Myōe’s Composition of the Shiza kōshiki 93 The Ritual Form of the Nehan’e at Myōe’s Kōzanji 95 The Development of the Nehan’e’s Ritual Form 103 The Vocalization of the kōshiki 113 Conclusion 122 References 124
