Zen Sanctuary of Purple Robes: Japan's Tokeiji Convent Since 1285 [Paperback]

Sachiko Kaneko Morrell (Author), Robert E. Morrell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 2006

A fascinating look at a Zen convent throughout its history.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Zen Sanctuary of Purple Robes examines the affairs of Rinzai Zen’s Tōkeiji Convent, founded in 1285 by nun Kakusan Shidō after the death of her husband, Hōjō Tokimune. It traces the convent’s history through seven centuries, including the early nuns’ Zen practice; Abbess Yōdō’s imperial lineage with nuns in purple robes; Hideyori’s seven-year-old daughter—later to become the convent’s twentieth abbess, Tenshu—spared by Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle for Osaka Castle; Tōkeiji as "divorce temple" during the mid-Edo period and a favorite topic of senryu satirical verse; the convent’s gradual decline as a functioning nunnery but its continued survival during the early Meiji persecution of Buddhism; and its current prosperity. The work includes translations, charts, illustrations, bibliographies, and indices. Beyond such historical details, the authors emphasize the convent’s "inclusivist" Rinzai Zen practice in tandem with the nearby Engakuji Temple. The rationale for this "inclusivism" is the continuing acceptance of the doctrine of "Skillful Means" (hōben) as expressed in the Lotus Sutra—a notion repudiated or radically reinterpreted by most of the Kamakura reformers. In support of this contention, the authors include a complete translation of the Mirror for Women by Kakusan’s contemporary, Mujū Ichien.

"This cultural history of the famous Tōkeiji Convent is rich in detail and generous in providing translations of the prose and poetry speaking to both its Rinzai Zen cult and its popular reputation as a sanctuary for women escaping from abusive marriages. This is engaged scholarship." — Edwin Cranston, Harvard University

"This long-awaited tome on Tōkeiji through the ages is chock full of witty insights, poetic excerpts, irascible comments, and fascinating information. A delightful read." — Paul L. Swanson, coeditor of Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions

"This book provides a very interesting social history of a particular Buddhist temple in Japan by taking an interdisciplinary approach that integrates historical, literary, art historical, and related materials to open a window into a fascinating side of Japanese religion and society." — Steven Heine, coeditor of Japan in Traditional and Postmodern Perspectives --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Sachiko Kaneko Morrell is retired from her position as East Asian Librarian at Washington University in St. Louis. Robert E. Morrell is Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature and Buddhism at Washington University in St. Louis and the author of Sand and Pebbles (Shasekishu): The Tales of Muju Ichien, A Voice for Pluralism in Kamakura Buddhism, also published by SUNY Press,and Early Kamakura Buddhism: A Minority Report. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (July 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791468283
• ISBN-13: 978-0791468289
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #826,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars World-class Scholarship, July 30, 2006

By 

Randall R. Scott (St. Louis, Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zen Sanctuary of Purple Robes: Japan's Tokeiji Convent Since 1285 (Paperback)

I'm almost finished with _Zen Sanctuary of Purple Robes_ and I'm quite impressed with the organization and attention to detail. The Morrells have contributed heavily here to three fields -- Japanese history, Japanese literature, and Japanese Buddhism. The new and carefully-researched details they bring to light on the Tokeiji's history as sanctuary and, later, divorce temple for women, are both timely and historically valuable. In addition, their inclusion of much new translation also sets this book apart. Muju Ichien's (1226-1312) _Mirror for Women_ (1300), for instance, provides valuable insight into not only this monk's advice for women and men both, but into the general belief system of medieval Rinzai Buddhism as well. The volume also includes translation of numerous _senryu_ ("light verse," from the mid- to late Edo Period, 1603-1868), which particularly bring home the contemporary Japanese attitudes (both positive and negative) toward the Tokeiji as a unique refuge and recourse for women in domestic turmoil. The book's appendixes, endnotes, cross-referenced guide to cited texts, bibliography, and index complete this first-class effort. Well done indeed, and many thanks!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Author's Comments, June 17, 2008

By 

Robert E. Morrell (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zen Sanctuary of Purple Robes: Japan's Tokeiji Convent Since 1285 (Paperback)

Authors of books with specialized academic focus are well-aware that they can never hope to reach an audience of more than a couple thousand. However interesting the subject matter, distribution is often too small to attract the attention of even local reviewers, let alone the large national printing enterprises. And however many readers may be completely satisfied with such a book, very few will decide to write a review for it.

Probably for this reason, Amazon provides authors an opportunity to say a few words in their own behalf. Here are mine.

1. "Sand and Pebbles (Shasekishu)" (1985) is the first of what can be seen as a coherent trilogy. It has never been reviewed on Amazon.com -- but it has been favorably reviewed elsewhere. It is the parent of what follows.

2. "Early Kamakura Buddhism: a Minority Report" (1987). 5 star review.

3. "Zen Sanctuary of Purple Robes:
Japan's Tokeiji Convent Since 1285" (2006). 5 star review.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Runaway Success, November 24, 2006

By 

Crazy Fox (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zen Sanctuary of Purple Robes: Japan's Tokeiji Convent Since 1285 (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this excellent book. It has a lot more personality and spunk than most academic titles today, and approaches the subject of Buddhism in very interesting and important ways. Yeah, it also has some oddities and awkward moments, but these are significantly outweighed by its positive qualities.

"Interdisciplinary" is such a buzzword in the ivory tower's postmodern discourse, and yet this book, so adamantly anti-postmodern and thankfully free of francophonic jargon and snide mud-slinging, is ironically one of the most truly interdisciplinary books I've seen. Social History, Buddhist Studies, and Literature are combined in a potent mix along with illuminating illustrations, and translations from a great variety of genres (vernacular sermons, satirical poems, temple records, regional guides, travel diaries, ritual invocations, and such) are used to great effect. All of this gives the reader a richly complex kaleidoscopic view of the Tokeiji Convent and its guiding principles (religious pluralism and the provision of sanctuary) through time. This focus keeps the book well-grounded in specifics even as wider implications for our understanding of Japanese Buddhism in general are addressed--in a rather refreshing unabashedly opinionated manner. I especially liked the authors' take on Mahayana Pluralism as articulated particularly in the Lotus Sutra--indeed, this was not sloppy syncretism or cowardly compromise but an informed, explicit spiritual stance with scriptural basis. Also, the translations are masterfully done and are mostly unabridged so that we can better judge the total effect and intent of the text.

The book also rambles a bit and sometimes goes off on tangents, and it uses D.T. Suzuki's description of practice at Engakuji Monastery to extrapolate what religious practice was probably like at Tokeiji Convent--this seemed like a rather haphazard method to me despite the two temples' institutional ties, and this quote from another English language source seemed way too long in any case. Also I was sometimes uncomfortable with the way that certain traditions were depicted as almost purely negative; Confucianism certainly comes across as the bad guy here, for instance. To invoke another buzzword, a little "nuance" wouldn't have hurt. But don't let these almost trifling nitpicks interfere with your appreciation of this fine book. The primary appeal will of course be to those interested in Buddhism and its history in Japan, but it has much to offer in the way of Japanese literature too, especially the chapter devoted to senryu (haiku's witty and worldly cousin). And if by chance you are going to Kamakura to visit some temples, you'll definitely want to read this book on the way.