Book

Anna Dulina

Metamorphosis of the Hachiman Deity: the God of War or Merciful Bodhisattva? Formation and Evolution of the Hachiman Cult in Japan in the 8th—14th centuries

New Studies on Japanese Culture


Editor: Molodiakov Vassili

Москва, 2018, 284 p.

Hachiman is commonly identified as a Shinto god of war and as guardian deity of warriors and Minamoto clan in particular. This aspect of martial god as a state protector co-exists with another identity as a merciful Bodhisattva, who vowed to achieve enlightenment for all sentient beings and obtained virtue of not killing. This book examines the historical records and Hachiman’s origin narratives (engi), and analyzes the evolution of Hachiman from Shinto deity to a more complex entity, which has to justify his martial nature in terms of Buddhist prohibition against murder. The appendix of the book includes a translation from classical Japanese into Russian of the Hachiman gudōkun (Teachings of Hachiman to Ignorant Children), a Hachiman cult origins account created by Iwashimizu shrine-temple in the first decades of the fourteenth century.

РУССКАЯ ВЕРСИЯ: Метаморфозы Хатиман: грозный бог войны или милосердный бодхисаттва? Становление и эволюция культа божества Хатиман в Японии в VIII — XIV вв.