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The Face of Jizo: Image and Cult in Medieval Japanese Buddhism
“Farther on, I find other figures of Jizo, single reliefs, sculptured upon tombs. But one of these is a work of art so charming that I feel a pain at being obliged to pass it by. More sweet, assuredly, than any imaged Christ, this dream in white stone of the playfellow of dead children, like a beautiful young boy, with gracious eyelids half closed, and face made heavenly by such a smile as only Buddhist art could have imagined, the smile of infinite lovingness and supremest gentleness. Indeed, so charming the ideal of Jizo is that in the speech of the people a beautiful face is always likened to his―‘Jizo-kao,’ as the face of Jizo.” ―Lafcadio Hearn, Glimpses of an Unfamiliar Japan (1894)
Stone images of the Buddhist deity Jizo―bedecked in a red cloth bib and presiding over offerings of flowers, coins, candles, and incense―are a familiar sight throughout Japan. Known in China as a savior from hell’s torment, Jizo in Japan came to be utterly transformed through fusion with the local tradition of kami worship and ancient fertility cults. In particular, the Jizo cult became associated with gods of borders or the stone gods known as dosojin. Although the study of Jizo is often relegated to the folkloric, Hank Glassman, in this highly original and readable book, demonstrates that the bodhisattva’s cult was promoted and embraced at the most elite levels of society.
The Face of Jizo explores the stories behind sculptural and painted images of Jizo to reveal a fascinating cultural history. Employing the methodologies of the early twentieth-century renegade art historian Aby Warburg, Glassman’s focus on the visual culture of medieval Japanese religion is not concerned with the surface form or iconographical lineages of Jizo’s images, but with the social, ritual, and narrative contexts that bring the icons to life. He skillfully weaves together many elements of the Jizo cult―doctrine, ritual, cosmology, iconography―to animate the images he examines. Thus The Face of Jizo is truly a work of iconology in the Warburgian sense. Glassman’s choice to examine the cult of Jizo through the medium of the icon makes for a most engaging and approachable history of this “most Japanese” of Buddhist deities.
Stone images of the Buddhist deity Jizo―bedecked in a red cloth bib and presiding over offerings of flowers, coins, candles, and incense―are a familiar sight throughout Japan. Known in China as a savior from hell’s torment, Jizo in Japan came to be utterly transformed through fusion with the local tradition of kami worship and ancient fertility cults. In particular, the Jizo cult became associated with gods of borders or the stone gods known as dosojin. Although the study of Jizo is often relegated to the folkloric, Hank Glassman, in this highly original and readable book, demonstrates that the bodhisattva’s cult was promoted and embraced at the most elite levels of society.
The Face of Jizo explores the stories behind sculptural and painted images of Jizo to reveal a fascinating cultural history. Employing the methodologies of the early twentieth-century renegade art historian Aby Warburg, Glassman’s focus on the visual culture of medieval Japanese religion is not concerned with the surface form or iconographical lineages of Jizo’s images, but with the social, ritual, and narrative contexts that bring the icons to life. He skillfully weaves together many elements of the Jizo cult―doctrine, ritual, cosmology, iconography―to animate the images he examines. Thus The Face of Jizo is truly a work of iconology in the Warburgian sense. Glassman’s choice to examine the cult of Jizo through the medium of the icon makes for a most engaging and approachable history of this “most Japanese” of Buddhist deities.
- GenresNonfictionBuddhismJapan
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 31, 2012
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 11, 2015
There is no question that the study, research that Glassman put into his book is top notch, combined with hands on research and personal experience that give it this scholarly work a note or warmth. Anyone interested in reading this should note that he is NOT going to go into the background of information he references and that trying to read this without some kind of Japanese historical background is going to leave you in the dark.
He is also attempting the task of showing how myth, symbolism, and icons shift and change over time, which is a kind of impossible task based on ephemeral data that can never be dug up. I'm not sure he even succeeds but the possibilities he brings up have a done an amazing job in bringing together history, the arts, religion, and the general character of culture in Medieval Japan - and I think he only manages to pull this off by focusing (ish) on Jizo.
I was trying to figure out if I should 3 or 4 star the book however. Stars are meaningless, ultimately, but I like them here on Goodreads as they kind of force a diagnostic.
I found Glassman's writing style to be less then academic, it stood out in stark contrast to the content and thoughts he was trying to convey. Against something as clear well written as Delgado's "Khubilai Khan's Lost Fleet" it seemed like Glassman was constantly tripping over his own words. Whether the author was penned in by page count and couldn't elucidate on subjects relating to the Jizo 'evolution' or he simply had a poor editor working with him, I can't say.
My second issue was that there was no conclusion and, as written, not even a point to the book. His Chapter four is very scanty, despite it's content being the most recent and, honestly, some of the provocative. and then it just ends with a couple paragraphs. The conclusion Or epilogue, or whatever convenient terms a writer cares to use) is the chance to restate a position, round out an argument, answer potential criticism, etc, all Writing 101 stuff here. I find it often gets missed. In this case Glassman didn't really have an argument, he's reporting on the art Jizo through the ages. I say it's a book on the Jizo 'evolution' but no where is that stated within the work.
So, it's very unfinished. Dude needs a better editor for sure. And if you haven't read a couple Buddhist Sutras, don't know the basic story of the Japanese Kami, and aren't familiar with the history c.a. 700 -1400 ad Japan, don't count on getting any of that background while you read this, you will need to already know it.
He is also attempting the task of showing how myth, symbolism, and icons shift and change over time, which is a kind of impossible task based on ephemeral data that can never be dug up. I'm not sure he even succeeds but the possibilities he brings up have a done an amazing job in bringing together history, the arts, religion, and the general character of culture in Medieval Japan - and I think he only manages to pull this off by focusing (ish) on Jizo.
I was trying to figure out if I should 3 or 4 star the book however. Stars are meaningless, ultimately, but I like them here on Goodreads as they kind of force a diagnostic.
I found Glassman's writing style to be less then academic, it stood out in stark contrast to the content and thoughts he was trying to convey. Against something as clear well written as Delgado's "Khubilai Khan's Lost Fleet" it seemed like Glassman was constantly tripping over his own words. Whether the author was penned in by page count and couldn't elucidate on subjects relating to the Jizo 'evolution' or he simply had a poor editor working with him, I can't say.
My second issue was that there was no conclusion and, as written, not even a point to the book. His Chapter four is very scanty, despite it's content being the most recent and, honestly, some of the provocative. and then it just ends with a couple paragraphs. The conclusion Or epilogue, or whatever convenient terms a writer cares to use) is the chance to restate a position, round out an argument, answer potential criticism, etc, all Writing 101 stuff here. I find it often gets missed. In this case Glassman didn't really have an argument, he's reporting on the art Jizo through the ages. I say it's a book on the Jizo 'evolution' but no where is that stated within the work.
So, it's very unfinished. Dude needs a better editor for sure. And if you haven't read a couple Buddhist Sutras, don't know the basic story of the Japanese Kami, and aren't familiar with the history c.a. 700 -1400 ad Japan, don't count on getting any of that background while you read this, you will need to already know it.
March 17, 2018
This was a very interesting look at the bodhisattva Jizo. But it also has more than that - it shows (through the example of medieval Japan) ways in which communities relate to statues (icons), and the way that disparate communities/classes can be brought together through the same.
Some of the most interesting material in the book pertained to the non-institutional religious landscape. For example, the Hachitataki ("gourd-beaters") who were known for processing through graveyards, banging gourds, carrying staves with antlers on top, while chanting the nenbutsu. (They were also responsible for spreading certain forms of the Jizo cult through song). Similarly interesting were the female religious specialists, often from a disadvantaged class, who were often involved in the forefront of Japanese religious movements. Both of these subjects are ones I will definitely follow up on in the future.
Unfortunately, (as Brendan noted before me), the book suffers from a lack of critical scaffolding, including conclusion, to really make a coherent set of points. As it is, the book is a collection of information brought together from disparate sources, and the work of critical integration is mostly left to the reader. Because of that, I might have to read through this one once more to pick up some details I might have missed.
Nonetheless, this book has so much to offer to anybody interested in Japanese religion, Buddhism, art history, or how communities can form around ideas and objects.
Some of the most interesting material in the book pertained to the non-institutional religious landscape. For example, the Hachitataki ("gourd-beaters") who were known for processing through graveyards, banging gourds, carrying staves with antlers on top, while chanting the nenbutsu. (They were also responsible for spreading certain forms of the Jizo cult through song). Similarly interesting were the female religious specialists, often from a disadvantaged class, who were often involved in the forefront of Japanese religious movements. Both of these subjects are ones I will definitely follow up on in the future.
Unfortunately, (as Brendan noted before me), the book suffers from a lack of critical scaffolding, including conclusion, to really make a coherent set of points. As it is, the book is a collection of information brought together from disparate sources, and the work of critical integration is mostly left to the reader. Because of that, I might have to read through this one once more to pick up some details I might have missed.
Nonetheless, this book has so much to offer to anybody interested in Japanese religion, Buddhism, art history, or how communities can form around ideas and objects.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews