female priest; nun; women's agency; Japanese clericism; contemporary Buddhism; boundary work
摘要
This paper explores how ordained Buddhist women define and implement their clerical role within the context of a secularized society, and the indeterminacy of the clerical lifestyle in contemporary Japan. Ordained women may live a monastic life or head a temple, or they may also live "secular" lives, married or not. How do they claim religious authority and legitimize their agency under these conditions? I argue here that boundary work, or the creation, contesting, bridging, and dissolving of boundaries, is an important means to this end. On the one hand, boundaries such as those of gender are often experienced as having strongly constraining and even discriminating effects. On the other hand, actively drawing or bridging boundaries from male clerics, other ordained women, or lay Buddhists is a means of creating solidarity, elevating women's contribution to the clerical role, and legitimizing various actions and appearances as conforming to that role.
目次
Introduction 139 Terms 140 Structure and Data 141 Clerical Marriage and the Diversity of Lifestyles 141 Individual Interpretations of the Clerical Role 144 Boundary Work 147 The Restrictive Frame of Gender 148 Reinterpreting the Gender Boundary 151 Creating Solidarity on the Basis of Gender 154 Lifestyles: Clerical vs. Lay as a Boundary 155 Outward Appearance as a Boundary Marker 157 Conclusion 159 REFERENCES 160
