Called "Tenjiku" (天竺), India was an object of admiration to the ancient Japanese as the home country of Shaka (釋迦). However, since no Japanese had ever been there, its landscapes were beyond their imagination. It is a Japanese sense of beauty (美意識) and feeling for the seasons (季節感) that are reflected in landscapes depicted in Japanese stories of Buddhist origin. To the Japanese, Tenjiku is a country where cherries blossom in spring and trees aflame with red leaves in autumn. Japanization occurred not only in landscapes. The favourites of Taishakuten (帝釋天), the Japanese counterpart of Indra, are such fruits as persimmons and chesnuts and such marine products as bonitos and abalones.
目次
A キサラギのモチヅキの頃に死んだシャカ 39 B 春の花に秋の紅葉 41 C1 栗や柿に鮑や鰹を好むタイシャクテン 43 C2 ブッダになるつもりがない兎 44 C3 マコトノ-ココロくを尊ぶテンヂク人 47 C4 報いが予定されていない行為 48 D 憧れのテンヂク 50