Buddhist Temples in Japan, Past and Present
2009 Exploration Seminar in Japan

THIS PROGRAM IS FULL AND NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS. PLEASE CONSIDER ANOTHER EXPLORATION SEMINAR PROGRAM!

Program Director: Cynthea J. Bogel, Art History
Dates of Instruction: August 30 - September 18, 2009


Course Content and Structure
This 20-day seminar introduces students to the beauty and profundity of Buddhist temples. We will experience meditation, daily monastery life, monks and nuns, and living Buddhism in many temples. The course will feature both ancient and modern Buddhist architecture, icons, gardens, temple plans, and Shinto shrines. Throughout our travels and residencies, we will compare today’s temple life with ritual contexts in ancient times, and come to understand changes in Buddhist temples and practice. Mountain temples, city temples, family temples, and secret meditation temples are each part of the itinerary. We will also touch upon common themes, styles, and subjects among Japanese, Chinese, and Korean temples. By the end of the seminar students will appreciate how and why Buddhist visual culture was critical to the life of Japanese people in times past, and how it continues to have a role in modern life. Participants will discover Buddhismas a practice, a philosophy, and an artistic tradition in which changing rituals, contexts, and people form a “history” of Buddhist that keeps it alive today.

In Kyoto we will be the only guests at a Zen temple, Shunkōin, part of the important Myōshinji monastery (Rinzai Zen tradition). Our stay will be greatly enriched by interactions with the Vice Abbot, who studied in the US for 7 years and speaks English. Optional Zen meditation sessions and several Japanese “survival” lessons will be included in the cost. Free bicycles are available most days for exploring Kyoto, a fascinating and safe city of 1.5 million people.

After a few days in Kyoto we will stay 6 days in the heart of the 8th century capital of Nara, walking ancient paths through sacred forests and visiting ancient temples and Shinto shrines devoted to indigenous gods. We will lodge in the center of Naraon the former grounds of Kōfukuji. We will make day trips to famous temples such as Tōdaiji and isolated monasteries like Murōji.

Next we travel by train and cable car to the “summit city of temples” atop Mt. Kōya, deep in in the mountains of Wakayama Prefecture, for three days and nights. Here again we will stay in a practicing monastery (Henjōkō’in, with a huge bath and vegetarian Buddhist meals prepared for us). The Esoteric (Tantric) master Kûkai (Kōbō Daishi) established a meditation training center at Mt. Kōya early in the ninth century. Through daily interactions with masters and monks, participation in visualization meditation, goma rites, sutra and Buddha image copying, mandala and icon study, museum visits, and mountain hikes along pilgrim trails, we will gain first-hand knowledge of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism and visual culture.

We return to Kyotoand our “home base,” Shunkōin, for a final week of study. We will focus on medieval and modern gardens and temple worship halls as we explore and study Kyoto’s many scenic and cultural treasures. We will participate in small groups in a tea ceremony in an old tea house, and visit popular festival shrines.

We will consider Buddhist temples and their icons from various aspects: history, artistic medium, types of divinities and rituals, Buddhist school or sect, and ritual settings. We will also touch upon common themes, styles, and subjects among Japanese, Chinese, and Korean temples. By the end of the seminar students will appreciate how and why Buddhist visual culture was critical to the life of Japanese people in times past, and how it continues to have a role in modern life.

Field trips will take place daily, except at free times. Museum visits and guest lectures by Buddhist monks and resident experts will supplement our learning process. In addition to on-site student presentations and discussions, a journal, and intense site study, students will be encouraged to explore one aspect of particular interest to them for a short paper (due in November). Topics might include a particular divinity, Buddhist ritual, modern economics of temple tourism, materials used for making icons or buildings, the life of a modern priest, Shinto shrines and other religions in Japan, women and taboos in Buddhism, Buddhist cooking (shōjin ryōri), the history of a priest, or mountain pilgrimage. Students will sample many kinds of Japanese foods and should be open to new tastes and social conventions, Japanese-style tatami sleeping accommodations, and moderate to strenuous daily field trips. Patience, group cooperation, and cultural sensitivity are essential.

The program includes all in-country transportation; all lodging; all temple, garden, and museum entry fees; Japanese lessons; a tea ceremony; Zen meditation; and extracurricular temple flea markets, a white-water boat trip, and hiking. It also includes 4 dinners and 4 breakfasts. Students can cook at the Zen monastery (inexpensive and fun), eat in local restaurants (breakfast $3-6; lunch  $6-10; dinner $9-20), or purchase o-bento from shops.

Credits: Participants may receive 5 credits of either:

• ART H 321: Arts of Japan (I&S/VLPA) which can be counted toward the Asian Studies major (Japan or General concentrations), or toward the Japan Studies minor; see (http://jsis.washington.edu/advise/undergradstudy.html).
• RELIG 399 (I&S) for Comparative Religion majors
• ART H 499, graduate credit and honors credit are also possible but only with approval and consultation with Prof. Bogel or your advisor. Some students may also be permitted to add 2-3 additional credits during the fall term for extended research and writing on exceptional projects.

Participants should check with their academic advisors to determine how these credits may apply to major requirements. 

Books and Readings:
Required text: Mason, Penelope.  History of Japanese Art.  Revised by Donald Dinwiddie.  Second edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.  All students should purchase this book (used or new) and bring it to Japan. I will provide participants with a CD of images and PDF readings as soon as you register for the seminar. You can print it or, if you bring your computer, read the items from the disk.

Student costs:

• $3,350 Program Fee
• $200 International Programs & Exchanges Feey
• Click here for a Estimated Budget of Student Expenses (for financial aid requests)
• The program fee includes all in-country transportation on class days; all lodging; all admission fees to temples, gardens, and museums. It also includes 3 Japanese lessons; a tea ceremony; Zen meditation instruction; and 10 special Japanese meals (5 dinners, 5 breakfasts). Lunch will generally be on the road, either bento or restaurants near temple sites (allow $6-$10 each lunch). When in Kyoto, students can cook dinner at the Zen monastery (inexpensive and fun); in Kyoto and Nara you may eat in local restaurants (dinner $8 and up) and buy breakfast supplies and snacks at nearby shops.
• Additional costs include: round trip airfare to Kansai International Airport (Osaka), transfer by train and bus to our base temple from the airport (~ $40 one way), health insurance, course text and pack, meals not noted above, personal travel, and personal expenses. Non-matriculated students may apply.

Students are encouraged to arrive several days early to acclimatize and/or may choose to remain after the final day of the program. In either case you may stay at the Kyoto temple for 3,500 yen (~$38)/night with an introduction; however, 2 months advance request is requested--after that, space is subject to availability.



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