more kamakura

KEYWORDS
GUIDE TO LECTURE 9/17/01

1. Gempei Wars (1180-1185)

2. Kiso no Yoshinaka (cousin of Yoritomo). Two of his loyal retainers were:
Kanehira and Tomoe

3. Kamakura Period (1185-1336)

4. Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-99)

5. Minamoto no Yoshitsune—Yoritomo’s half brother and a great general

6. Bakufu tent government

7. Shogun—“Commander-in-Chief Barbarian Suppressing General”

8. Hôjô Masako—Yoritomo’s wife. Her family soon took control of the Kamakura shogunate

9. Samurai—warriors. The word comes from the verb samurau—“to serve”

10. Bushidô—the way of the warrior. Samurai code of honor that evolved among warrior families. Bushidô did not become a codified system of ethics and behavior until the 17th century—a period of no warfare.

11. Mongol Invasions: first was in 1274; second in 1281

12. Kamikaze—Divine Wind

BUDDHIST TERMS/NAMES

13. Mappô The Latter Days of the (Buddhist) Law. Buddhism divided into three periods calculated from the death of the Historical Buddha (ca. 947 BCE)
1. “The True Law” lasted for 1000 years after the death of the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni; Buddhist teachings flourish
2. “The Reflected Law” lasted 2000 years; Buddhist teachings begin to decline
3. “The Latter Days of the Law” calculated to have begun in 1052; Buddhist teachings disappear and world enters era of chaos

14. Amida Buddha of Infinite Light

15. Nembutsu The name of Buddha
Namu Amida Butsu—the Amida nembutsu

16. Hônen (1133-1212) founded Jôdo shû—Pure Land Buddhism

more links to Honen: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/pureland-buddhism/amida-net/ichimai-kishomon.htm

17. Shinran (1173-1262) Hônen’s disciple; founded Jôdo shinshû—The True Pure Land

                more links to True Pure Land: http://pears2.lib.ohio-state.edu/FULLTEXT/JR-ENG/bloom.htm
                                                              http://www.ne.jp/asahi/pureland-buddhism/amida-net/leiden.htm
                                                              http://www.bcc.ca/lifeofshinran.html

18. Jiriki---Self Help

19. Tariki—Other Help

20. Nichiren—exalted the Lotus Sutra. Namu hyô renge kyô “Hail to the Wonderful Law of the Lotus Sutra.” Invested Buddhism with distinctly Japanese spirit and nationalism.

more on Nichiren: http://www.nichiren-shu.org/

21. Zen—seeking release through meditation. The focus on individual discipline made it particularly attractive to samurai in Japan. Known as the “wordless tradition,” Zen endeavors to move the mind beyond attachment to the known, the reasonable, the logic. It does so through a variety of methods:

Zazen—seated meditation
Koan—riddles with no “real” answer
Art—calligraphy, painting, drama, flower arrangement, tea, etc.