Fwd: Conference "Popular Japanese Views of the Afterlife"

[Ono Seiko and Aaron Gerow]

Here's a call for papers that appeared on other lists.  While it doesn't 
mention film, given Itami's _Daibyonin_ and Tanba Tetsuro's films, among 
others, there is plenty for film studies to contribute to the topic.

---------------- Begin Forwarded Message ----------------
From: Susanne Formanek <brigitte.pravits at oeaw.ac.at>

Announcement of the Conference / Call for Papers

P O P U L A R   J A P A N E S E   V I E W S   O F   T H E   A F T E R L
I F E
Vienna, April 14-17, 1999
organized by the Research Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual
History of Asia of the
Austrian Academy of Sciences, Postgasse 7/4/3, A-1010 Wien, Austria
email: ias at oeaw.ac.at or susanne formanek <brigitte.pravits at oeaw.ac.at>

 In Japan as in the West the last two decades have witnessed a renewed
interest in visions of the otherworld in general and of paradise and
hell in particular, resulting in increasing numbers of historical and
anthropological studies and the publication of hitherto unknown or
neglected materials. Rather then articles of faith outdated by longer
life expectancies, ever-growing affluence and modern rationality, from
this renewed public as well as scholarly concern the popular views of
the afterlife have emerged as important collective fictions reflecting
the hopes and fears of the living, an arena of multilayered or even
conflicting religious and secular discourses, that range from
proselytizing needs of priesthoods to overall world views and major
concerns of the societies in which they
were evolved. Questions of how and to what extent people related and
relate themselves to the dead and their own life to come, of whether or
not any kind of ethical judgment was thought to concur with the passage
from life to death, and of the very contents and structure of these
visions and the practices connected with them therefore touch upon
crucial issues not only of a history of religions, but also of a history
of mentalities, such as notions of good and evil, equity, primary social
relationships or ideal life trajectories.
     With regard to Japan there exists a dichotomy between what are
described as particularly apocalyptic visions of the afterlife -- as
exemplified by medieval Buddhist hell
imagery --, and an often stipulated intrinsic this-worldliness of
Japanese religions and culture as a whole, which, combined with notions
of Japan as a culture of shame in ontrast to Western cultures of sin,
has contributed in the past to make Japanese modernity's dismissal of
the afterlife seem all the more complete. While this dichotomy may also
be couched in terms of the contrast between Buddhism as an imported
religion as opposed to indigenous beliefs, mutual influences cannot be
overlooked, nor can modern revivals of once dismissed views of the
afterlife -- of which mizuko kuy  is but one of the most obvious
examples --, and it thus calls for differentiated historical
examination.
 This conference therefore is aimed at a critical reappraisal of the
historical development and modern perdurance of popular Japanese views
of the afterlife. It is hoped that papers will emphasize the nature of
specific visions of the otherworld within their respective historical
contexts, analyze their social functions and meanings for the individual
and/or at the community level or explore the actual practices connected
with them, by drawing on a large variety of sources including not only
canonical writings, but also literary sources, personal accounts or
interviews, or items of material culture such as pictorial, sculptural
or architectural evidence. In accordance with the interdisciplinary and
cross-cultural objectives of the organizing institute, this conference
will also attempt to relate the results of research on Japan to the
wider Asian context, in order to ascertain influences, parallels and
differences.
The length of the papers should be 30 to 45 minutes. Conference language
will be English, but papers in Japanese are also welcome. Proposals for
papers including an one page abstract are requested no later than
September 30, 1998, to the address of the Research Institute above.
Decision of acceptance will be forwarded soon afterwards. It is planned
to publish the papers in a proceedings volume.

From:
Susanne Formanek
Institut f? Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte Asiens
der OEAW
Postg. 7/4/3
A-1010 Wien
email: susanne formanek <brigitte.pravits at oeaw.ac.at>