calebscarter.bsky.social
Teaching Japanese religions at Kyushu Uni, current Harvard-Yenching visiting scholar, thinking about religiosity and mountains, modernity, sacred graffiti. Casual climber and banjo noodler.
141 posts
1,591 followers
1,537 following
Regular Contributor
Active Commenter
comment in response to
post
along with everything else
comment in response to
post
well, that was fast
comment in response to
post
Thanks!
comment in response to
post
So there's the nutshell. Here's the link!
uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/a-path...
comment in response to
post
The epilogue recounts the gov’t's decimation of Shugendō in the Meiji era before pivoting to its recent return to many mountains. I end by reflecting on how historical perceptions shape its performance today and how reimagining that history fosters new modes of engagement.
comment in response to
post
Ch 10 shows how 18th c. storytelling strategically embedded Shugendō in the ancient landscape, placing it at the very roots of the mountain’s origins. This image remains today, offering both inspiration and obstacles for innovation.
comment in response to
post
Ch 9 returns to the issue of women’s exclusion from the site. I look at the economics, popular beliefs, and policies that accelerated this exclusion in the 18th century. Relying on Miyazaki Fumiko’s work, I also use Mount Fuji’s loosening restrictions as a counter example.
comment in response to
post
Ch 8 explores the early modern growth of Shugendō at Togakushi through new narratives, rituals, and policies. While the apex of Shugendō is typically romanticized as medieval, the evidence demonstrates that it’s really the Edo period when things take off.
comment in response to
post
After revising the conventional timeline of Shugendo, I similarly locate Shinto's arrival in the 17th c. Despite common perceptions, this shows that neither Shugendō nor Shinto were ancient traditions but spread to sites like Togakushi through specific historical contexts.
comment in response to
post
Ch 7 focuses on how Togakushi's priests and Shugendō practitioners promoted their mountain’s wonders to a growing laity and traveling public who were eager to experience Shugendō firsthand and encounter the mountain’s famous dragon spirit.
comment in response to
post
Ch 6 traces the transmission of those texts and the ritualized mountain entries they describe to Togakushi in the 1520s, marking the birth of Shugendō at the site.
comment in response to
post
In chapter 5 we reach the self-conscious system of Shugendō. First emergent in mountains south of Nara, it gets fully articulated in ritual texts compiled at Mount Hiko (Kyushu) in the early 16th century.
comment in response to
post
Ch 4 covers asceticism in the caves and on the slopes of Togakushi up through the fifteenth century. This activity is usually identified as part of Shugendō. I distinguish as part of esoteric Buddhism but absent of any self-aware elements of Shugendō.
comment in response to
post
Ch 3 examines internal tensions over exclusionary policies against women at Togakushi and other mountains. Texts I introduce expose significant rifts over such practices in medieval Japan.
comment in response to
post
Ch 2 shows how two centuries later–as the country’s central powers buckled under the brink of warfare–the mountain community flexed its autonomy, taking back its legendary origins and transforming the earlier beast into an all-powerful nine-headed dragon.
comment in response to
post
Ch 1 looks how at how a monastic powerhouse—economically, politically, militarily—influenced Togakushi and beyond in the 13th c. through a simple technique. Storytelling. Subject: a serpentine demon with nine heads.
(Photos below are mine from Togakushi and the archives.)
comment in response to
post
My book is now out! A Path into the Mountains takes a fresh look at the history of mountain worship in Japan. In it I trace the formation of a tradition known as Shugendo alongside a range of issues in the history of Japanese religions. At center stage: a site called Togakushi.
comment in response to
post
Thanks Frank!
comment in response to
post
Our faculty specializes in Japanese history, literature, religion, and art and architectural history. We offer a rigorous curriculum, intensive supervision, and a thriving community, with regional excursions in Kyushu and a fieldwork week for MA first-years with destinations all over Japan.
comment in response to
post
For those without institutional access, here's an open link (I get 50 free copies), or just let me know: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/YUAFK...
comment in response to
post
It's my first stab at a larger project mapping religious influences and intersections in the modern making of mountaineering--often assumed to be squarely secular. Now halfway through my research year at the Harvard Yenching Institute, I'm knee deep in the project, so let me know what you think!
comment in response to
post
Brits are bringing Protestant orientations to Japan's mountains, naturalist literature by Emerson and others is being read, Japanese climbers are evaluating their own cultural heritage of mountain worship, women are ascending more peaks, and imperial agendas advance on the sidelines.
comment in response to
post
It began with a question. Many of us love to get into the mountains--why? Even when unconnected to religion in a formal sense, there's often something deeper going on than just exercise. I'm tracing those underlying ideas, with an emphasis on Japan (my field of expertise). The material is rich!
comment in response to
post
You can see more of her work here: prudencewhittlesey.com
comment in response to
post
Pru’s work deserves so much more attention than it’s gotten. It’s great to see her talents recognized over the past couple years at Yale, first by painting neuroscientists at the Wu Tsai Institute and now professors at the school of law.
comment in response to
post
Sitting for Pru is transformative, a visual expression of what’s going on inside you. I often won’t be aware of certain feelings until seeing them in vibrant brushstrokes of oil or watercolor. It offers me a different way of learning about myself.
comment in response to
post
comment in response to
post
Congratulations Kaitlyn!
comment in response to
post
Cool. The shape of the tail (?) looks like a nod to Raijin and Fūjin depictions
comment in response to
post
Sorry, I don’t have any useful info but sounds like a great trip!
comment in response to
post
Could you add me? I’m in Japanese religions. Thanks!
comment in response to
post
That sounds right. From what I know, they look for a place that fits well overall (surroundings, height, visibility) for their fuda. They’ll choose the size of fuda to paste based on the spot too. And I think some of it comes down to personal taste and preference regarding premium spots.
comment in response to
post
Thanks, I’ll share when it’s out!
comment in response to
post
And a beautiful shot! Do you remember where you took it?
comment in response to
post
Thanks! I just drafted an article (for the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies) that will come out next year. I’d like to get out something mainstream at some point too
comment in response to
post
Thanks! Glad to hear you’ve been spotting them. There are popular pilgrimage circuits (Saikoku, Chichibu, Bando) and sought out temples like Sensōji and Zenkōji (neither of which allow it anymore). Haven’t heard about the competitive nature. They use extension poles to paste high (close to the kami)
comment in response to
post
Finally, pasting is already in decline and most people (domestic and foreign) don’t know about it. More attention could help generate more accommodating stances and appreciation for this very cool practice! 7/
comment in response to
post
Cultural heritage interests are another. The protection of valuable places is important, but often cultural *sites* get prioritized over cultural *practices*. Tourist dollars may flow in but at the expense of the site’s regular users 6/
comment in response to
post
It’s still done today, but shrines and temples are increasingly banning the practice. There’s a variety of reasons for this. One is new sticker versions, which degrade poorly, damage wood surfaces, and are often seen as too flashy for the aesthetics of the site. (Please don’t use these!) 5/
comment in response to
post
Edo’ites (people from the shogun’s capital/old Tokyo) have been doing this since the mid-18th century. This text from 1790 states that people who paste with a sincere heart will have their prayers answered 4/