Fabio Rambelli, professor of Japanese and comparative religion
摘要
From the end of the Heian period, a number of texts began to investigate cosmogonic issues, namely, the process of creation of the universe and the manifestations of the first deities—matters more generally pertaining to what is known as "the age of the gods" (jindai or kamiyoinline graphic). Indeed, pervasive interest in cosmogony is one of the most significant aspects of the medieval Japanese intellectual arena and characterizes the entire contemporaneous discourse about the kami. Such a focus was something quite new; far from emphasizing the primeval condition, the early foundational texts Nihon shokiinline graphic and Kojikiinline graphic allocate only a minor place to cosmogony. Although the broader intellectual context in which the focus on cosmogony arose was essentially Buddhist, a striking aspect of the discussion of such issues is its extensive recourse to non-Buddhist sources.
目次
Original Enlightenment, the Primordial Condition, and the Kami 244 Features of Medieval Cosmogony 250 In Search of the Prime 254 Concluding Remarks 261 References 264
