by Doctor Science
I'm finishing up a work project, so I don't have time to write about anything where I might have to monitor the comments closely. So you get culture.
On Tuesday we trained in to NYC and I went to the Met. I didn't get all the way through the exhibit on Storytelling in Japanese Art -- I hope I can get back before it closes in May.
These pictures are from the first set of items in the exhibit, the Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine handscrolls.[1]
Here the Buddhist monk Nichizo, guided by a friendly demon, sees the eight-headed monster guarding the gates of Hell.
More pictures under the cut ...
On the other side of the gate is a sea of flame, in which distinctly unfriendly demons poke tormented souls.
It looks like a pretty familiar journey-to-hell scene, until I realized: it looks familiar. This scroll was painted at pretty much the same time Dante was writing The Divine Comedy -- but the entire width of Eurasia away. I don't know if Europe had even heard of Japan yet: the Mongol conquests were a work in progress, and Marco Polo had only just been born.
So how could the Japanese and Italian hells look so similar? They couldn't have been in anything like direct contact -- is this an archetype in action? Did people at the opposite ends of the world get the idea from the same distant source, probably somewhere in India? Or is it just coincidence, on some level?
The torments of hell, brilliantly envisaged, reflect contemporaneous paintings of hell inspired by Pure Land teachings.I'm guessing that Pure Land Buddhism, like other Buddhist sects, includes Hells for punishment that probably derive from Hindu ideas of Hell. It's not completely clear to me whether Hinduism:Buddhism::Judiasm:Islam::parent:child, or whether the relationship is like Rabbinical Judaism:Christianity, which is more of a sibling relationship -- both being derived, more or less at the same time, from a now-obsolete parent religion. In the case of Judaism & Christianity, the mutual parent is Second Temple Judaism; I don't know if Hinduism as it is today(ish) is terribly like that of the time of Gautama.
But I digress. My point is, do any of you know how Dante illustrations could be produced in 13th-century Japan? Why there was a Hell of flames and punishment, guarded by a multi-headed ... mammal-esque creature, visited by a voyager and his guide? Coincidence, zeitgeist, or archetype?
[1] The big reason I was so hot to see this exhibit was that I wanted to see by looking how much continuity there is between manga and the traditional Japanese handscroll genre. One point I'm particularly interested in is the distinction between otoko-e (Men's pictures) and onna-e (Women's pictures), which seems to parallel the distinction between shōnen and shōjo manga for boys and girls, respectively. But there was no mention of otoko-e/onna-e in the parts of the exhibit I saw, so I wonder how much of genre difference there actually was. The only thing I noticed was that there was a codex version of one tale -- I think maybe "The Great Woven Cap" -- with a explanatory plaque suggesting that this was intended for women, rather than the handscrolls used by men. That opens up a whole 'nother trove of questions about readership, book production, and gender in premodern Japan, but I have to stop somewhere.
a case of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_entanglement> quantum entanglement?
Posted by: bobbyp | February 26, 2012 at 11:16 AM
I would guess that there are a number of different pathways for this cross-cultural connection, in the order of age:
1) Jewish mythology was heavily influenced by Babylonian-Persian myths after the fall of Jerusalem, during the first diaspora. The Persian mythology could also influence the Indian culture.
2) The conquests of Alexander the Great also caused a large influx of Greek ideas and cultural phenomena into Northern India. However, this is unlikely to be the source, as Greek mythology does not involve this sort of hell.
3) During the Abbasid dynasty, there was heavy exchange of ideas between India and Persia. This is, nonetheless too late, as the Buddhist religion had already formed. (And even Jesus refers to a fiery hell, in the story of Lazarus and the rich man.)
I would wager common heritage through Zoroastrianism, which has a fiery hell, and which has influenced both Hinduist and Jewish mythology.
Posted by: Lurker | February 26, 2012 at 12:49 PM
These paintings are very interesting, and gorgeous. Thanks.
Cerberus is a creature (three-headed hound) from Greek and Roman mythology, so if there was mythological cross-pollination, it had a lot of time to happen before the 13th century. Multi-headed creatures are often seen in ancient Indian art and, in Japanese mythology, the eight-headed Yamato no Orochi dates from at least 700 A.D. All over the world, there are a lot of multi-headed monsters.
Blake was painting Dante's description of Cerberus in the first half of the 19th century, and although the influence of Japanese art on Western art is usually dated to the second half of the century, it's certainly possible that Blake had some knowledge of Japanese art. (I'm just thinking about the stylistic similarities, not so much the mythological reference which, again, is more ancient.) Not being an art historian by any stretch of the imagination, I am not trying to analyze the influences here, but just saying that there really isn't any reason to think that the two artistic depictions are related.
Certainly an archtype.
Posted by: sapient | February 26, 2012 at 12:58 PM
None of you are considering the possibility that if two people from two very different cultures both visit Hell, they might see the same things. Details might differ--Dante seemed to notice a disproportionate number of Italians, but that's only natural. No, no, I mean natural that Dante as an Italian would notice them more.
Posted by: Donald Johnson | February 26, 2012 at 04:17 PM
Details might differ
But therein the devil lies.
Posted by: sapient | February 26, 2012 at 04:33 PM
BTW, coincidentally I'm trying (somewhat fitfully) to read The Divine Comedy again. I never get past about halfway up Purgatory. Even Virgil got further up than that. Since I'm more interested in the theology I'm content to read the Dorothy Sayers translation, which I gather more literary-minded people think is abominable. But it's got lots of footnotes and I like those.
For those interested in how Dante could think a loving God could create Hell, here's a link to a collection of essays by Eleonore Stump--
link
I didn't link directly to the paper so you have to scroll down and find it. If you click on it you'll find your computer automatically downloading a pdf file (which I find annoying).
For those of us who don't think God really created an eternal torture chamber the essay isn't altogether convincing, but it is interesting--if Hell were just a dreary self-inflicted eternal waiting room I could even buy it. Not that it matters what I could buy, actually.
Posted by: Donald Johnson | February 26, 2012 at 05:14 PM
For those of us who don't think God really created an eternal torture chamber
I suppose I'll find out soon enough.
Of course, just seeing what goes on around here (talking about the planet Earth) is kind of worrisome, not even counting man-made horror. If there's a reason for it, it's far, far beyond my ability to fathom.
I read Paradiso and Pergatorio in college, and have read several translations of Inferno since then. Maybe it's time to look at the bright side again.
Posted by: sapient | February 26, 2012 at 05:29 PM
Somebody in Italy puts a book on a boat to Alexandria, somebody in Alexandria puts a book on a camel (the Red Sea to Nile canal was closed at the time, otherwise a barge) to the Red Sea, somebody on the Red Sea puts a book on a boat to China.
Posted by: wkwillis | February 27, 2012 at 04:54 AM
The idea of a hell of some kind seems to be an archetype. I think there are few if any cultures that do not believe in (some) life after death. This afterlife seems to come mainly in three flavors:
1. The spirits stay in this world
2. The spirits go into a giant storeroom of boredom
3. The spirits are judged by some higher entity and get reward or punishment (and maybe another chance)
With the possible exception of the Egyptians (where failed spirits are destroyed and posthumous murder is possible) all cultures voting for option 3 seem to have a hell of some sort as either temporary or permanent destination of the 'bad'. And these places are filled with all kinds of ways to hurt human mind can come up with. Fire (or boiling liquid) seems to be the most common. A rare exception are cultures from very cold climates that seem to prefer an icy hell. There are anecdotes that the first Christian missionaries found it difficult to convert the Inuit since they thought that Christian hell must be paradise because it is always warm there.
Christian hell is actually an aberration form traditional Jewish thought that followed option 2(clearly influenced by Mesopotamian beliefs). John the (likley stoned) author of Revelations looks like the main culprit to me.
Posted by: Hartmut | February 27, 2012 at 06:00 AM
From the description of Zoroastrian hell, in LJ's Hell-on-line cite:
The use of a hedgehog to punish sinners seems also to be unique.
And for that we may all, including the hedgehogs, be thankful.
Posted by: russell | February 27, 2012 at 10:19 PM
And these places are filled with all kinds of ways to hurt human mind can come up with. Fire (or boiling liquid) seems to be the most common.
which seems odd, since a soul, being a non-corporeal entity, has no flesh to burn, and no nerves with which to feel pain. fire could not possibly affect it. so any hell would have to inflict some kind of psychological pain (assuming souls are free-range consciousness), or some kind of metaphysical pain (whatever that might be).
my vote: it's all crap.
Posted by: cleek | February 29, 2012 at 03:39 PM
my vote: it's all crap.
My hope: it's all crap!
Posted by: sapient | February 29, 2012 at 03:44 PM
cleek, many cultures do not think of the soul as immaterial. Either it is material itself or it has always to be attached to something material (i.e. cannot exist independently). Under this condition torture will find a way. Even Christianity officially believes in a bodily resurrection.
For a funny treatment of this very question I recommend 'Eric' by Terry Pratchett. The new head of hell comes up with some nasty ideas how to circumvent the problem.
Posted by: Hartmut | March 04, 2012 at 06:05 AM
In the first half of the 7th century, there were three separate visits by companions of Mohammed to China, the third of which was an official state visit as envoys from the court of the Caliph to the Chinese emperor. From that time on, there were regular commercial and diplomatic exchanges and settlement in China by Moslems. While the Islamic community in China was careful not to offend local culture by proselytizing, they did establish mosques and they would have brought texts. Given Islam's acceptance that Jesus was a prophet, it would not be farfetched to guess that some Christian books, with artwork, made the journey.
The Japanese likewise had regular exchanges with China throughout the period.
So, at a guess, somewhere along the line, a Japanese merchant or diplomat got hold of a Christian image of hell brought to China from the Islamic world and took it back home.
Posted by: That's Not History | March 07, 2012 at 04:28 PM