The Halo of Golden Light

In The Halo of Golden Light , Asuka Sango explores the introduction of an annual Buddhist ritual known as the Misai-e Assembly in the Japanese imperial court, as well as the history of its performances in the Heian period (794–1185 CE). Based on the Golden Light Sutra's depiction of the ideal Buddhist king, the Misai-e was first used, along with numerous other mythical and symbolic resources, by the Emperor Tenmu (r. [673]–686) and his wife and successor, the Empress Jitō (r. [686]–697) to legitimate their rule. By the Heian period, this ritual complex had become standardized as a seven-day event on the imperial court's annual liturgical calendar in the first lunar month. One part of this assembly, which Sango makes much of, was a series of ritualized debates among representatives of the major schools of Buddhism. According to Sango, “in the Heian era the display of scholarly knowledge in Buddhist debates ( rongi ) became the major avenue for advancing monastic careers” (25). Indeed, she makes much—perhaps too much at times—of the persistence of this particular ritual complex through the Heian period. For instance, a little later (53), Sango enumerates various forms of “by-pass promotion”—that is, alternative routes to the Misai-e for advancing monastic careers—that quickly developed. Nevertheless, Sango's study is a significant contribution to the scholarship insofar as it offers more than the typical description of the step-by-step performance of a ritual complex. Sango rightly focuses on the shifting politics that informed the ritual performances of the Misai-e over the sweep of the Heian period. At her best, she skillfully elucidates the different uses the Misai-e was put to by different power blocks—the emperor, the Fujiwara regent, the retired emperor(s), and particular Buddhist sectarian institutions—at particular moments in the Heian period as they jockeyed for position and power.

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Archaeology · Buddhism · Emperor · Period (music) · Political science · Scholarship · Chinese history and philosophy · Classics · History · Japanese History and Culture · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies