Week 3a: Hell, Hungry Ghosts, and Demons

Images of the Hell and Hungry Ghost scrolls (click here).

1. How do the images of Hell compare to images of Hell in medieval Christianity? What is similar? What seems different?

2. Why do you think the concepts of heaven and hell develop in religion generally?

3. What might the image of Hungry Ghosts be modeled on? Why is their embodiment appropriate for their "sin" of over-indulgence in worldly pleasures?

[J Tales] "Introduction"

Royall Tyler's introduction to Japanese Tales gives you a sense of the worldview of late-Heian and medieval Japanese. The goal of the setsuwa stories was both didactic (usually teaching a Buddhist moral) and entertainment. Pay special attention to the sections on religion and the supernatural (pp. ixxx-lii); it is a good review. The tales mainly date from the 11th-13th centuries, and reflect the changing attitude towards ghosts and demons in this period.

[J Tales] Various setsuwa tales. I've grouped the tales into categories (Tours of Hell, Demons, The Hundred Demon Parade). See what you can figure out about medieval Japanese beliefs about hell and demons just from reading the stories. Why do people end up in hell? How do they get out? Are demons always "evil" in these stories? Why or why not? Here are three examples:

#149 "Incorrigible"

This story follows the "tour of hell" format that we saw in the Michizane oracle by Nichizo/Doken (#101). Why is it surprising that a poet should have this vision? Why does he end up in hell? How does he escape the first time? The second? What seems to be the moral of the story?

#215 "Be Good to Your Mother and Your Father"

Another tour of hell. Again, how is this different from earlier hell tours? According to this story what keeps you out of hell? What clues are there that this story was not developed in a Buddhist context?

#46 "The Weight of Tradition"

What is interesting here about the reasons Haruto is sent back to life? What does it seem to say about King Enma (or Emma)?

[OL] Optional Review Robert Ellwood, Japanese Religion
"The Kamakura Period" and "The Muromachi Period" (35-42)

Understanding the historical changes in Medieval Japan will help you understand the changes in the representation of ghosts. If you have no background in Japanese history and religion, you really need to read this! See also the link to my historical chronology.

Week 3 Discussion Section: Ghosts Become Visible

Reading [J Tales]:
Review: "Introduction" to Japanese Tales
"Very Kind of Him, No Doubt" (#28)
"A Model Demon" (#97)
"Hell in Broad Day" (#216 pp. 313-314)
[OL] The Taiheiki, "The Suicide of the Protector of Etchû"