Healing as a this-worldly religious benefit has always been a major function of Buddhism in Japan and elsewhere. In ancient Japan, Buddhist institutions and their representatives – in competition with the offi cial medical institutions established according to the Yōrō Code – were frequently employed as healers by the imperial court. Mass ordinations for the sake of a sick court member were common means to bring about the cure. Th e healing power of Buddhist priests was evidently ascribed to their “charisma of the offi ce,” rather than to their “personal charisma.” From the latter half of the Heian period, however, we observe a shift towards personal charisma. It is suggested that a heightened consciousness of crisis complemented by a trend towards individualization generated an increased demand for charismatic leaders such as ascetics and itinerant priests not only for healing purposes. As soon as the groups that gathered around charismatic fi gures such as Hōnen (1133–1212) began to institutionalize the notoriously unstable and revolutionary charismatic leadership was routinized and thus “tamed.”
目次
A Short History of Medicine in Early Japan 14 Buddhist Monks as Healers in Classical Japanese Literature 18 Healing Monks in the Offi cial Chronicles 19 Healing Monks in Edifying Narratives 22 Monks as Healers in Makura no sōshi and Genji monogatari 23 The Charismatic Turn 29 Conclusion 33
