![]() | Hokkeji and the Reemergence of Female Monastic Orders in Premodern Japan Subjects: Buddhist nuns -- Japan -- Hokkeji (Nara-shi); Buddhist monasticism and religious orders for women -- Japan -- Hokkeji (Nara-shi); Monastic and religious life (Buddhism) -- Japan -- Hokkeji (Nara-shi); Hokkeji (Nara-shi Japan) -- Religion; Hokkeji, an ancient Nara temple that once stood at the apex of a state convent network established by Queen-Consort Komyo (701-760), possesses a history that in some ways is bigger than itself. Its development is emblematic of larger patterns in the history of female monasticism in Japan. In Hokkeji and the Reemergence of Female Monastic Orders in Premodern Japan, Lori Meeks explores the revival of Japan's most famous convent, an institution that had endured some four hundred years of decline following its establishment. With the help of the Ritsu (Vinaya)-revivalist priest Eison (1201-1290), privately professed women who had taken up residence at Hokkeji succeeded in reestablishing a nuns' ordination lineage in Japan. Meeks considers a broad range of issues surrounding women's engagement with Buddhism during a time when their status within the tradition was undergoing significant change. The thirteenth century brought women greater opportunities for ordination and institutional leadership, but it also saw the spread of increasingly androcentric Buddhist doctrine. Hokkeji explores these contradictions. Meeks Lori R. : Lori Meeks is associate professor of religion and East Asian languages and cultures at the University of Southern California. |
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