REL303ShortTopicsI

Topics for Paper I, REL 303 Japanese Religions

Due on Canvas, Wed, Oct 28, 2026.

Select either PATH A or B (One topic from Path A, or Path B). In Path A, you will compose a traditional academic essay. In Path B, you will create a series of stories/narratives (fictional, or can be based on non-fiction material) for Papers 1, II, and the Final Paper, so that the end result will be one story/narrative. This provides for more creativity but can be more challenging as well, since it requires showing literary ability.

For All Papers:
REGARDLESS of whether you select Path A or B, you will be graded on the basis of your understanding of the course readings and materials, and your ability to cite your sources
Double-spaced, not more than 700 words (If necessary, you can go over some, but the topics are designed so that you can address them within the limited space alloted. You may use parenthetical notation to indicate page numbers for textual references. Provide a bibliography at the end.)
I encourage you to discuss these topics with one another. You might find the Discussion Board on the Blackboard site for this course to be a convenient way to exchange ideas.
Be sure to write your name, the name of the class, and the TOPIC NUMBER and TITLE for Path A (1. Applying the Hollow-Centered Model, 2. Shamanism and Divine Madness, and so forth) at the top of the page.
I also encourage you to read the essays on my Writing web pages, especially "Four Keys to Writing in the Humanities," "Paper Writing Guidelines," "Checklist for Papers," and "Writing: The Bridge between Consciousness and Unconsciousness." Be sure to provide CITATIONS for your paper (direct quotations and/or page references plus bibliography) There is no need to go to any materials other than the assigned readings.

Two to three pages (If necessary, you can go over some, but the topics are designed so that you can address them within the limited space alloted. You may use parenthetical notation to indicate page numbers for textual references. Provide a bibliography at the end.)
Select ONE topic from below, either from Topics A, or Topic B.
I encourage you to discuss these topics with one another.
Write your name, the name of the class, and the number and title of your topic at the top of the page.
For both Topics A and B, be sure to document your ideas. Include direct quotations and/or page references from the readingsrelevant to your chosen topic in developing the body of your paper. If you are using a source that does not have page numbers (such as the Kindle version of a book), then there are other ways to document your use of the sources: a) As noted above, you can use direct quotations, and cite your sources in the Bibliography. b) You can provide an annotated Bibliography with a brief paragraph description of how you used each of the sources under each bibliography entry. For citation and bibliography format, you can view the "Writing Sample" from the Writing Page (scroll to the bottom) from my Home Page. For Topics B, you can choose to just provide an annotated Bibliography with a paragraph description for each of the sources used.
I also strongly encourage you to read the essays on my Writing web pages, especially "Four Keys to Writing in the Humanities," "Paper Writing Guidelines," "Checklist for Papers," and "Writing: The Bridge between Consciousness and Unconsciousness."
I encourage you to use Grammerly, an online writing aid tool, available free at https://www.grammarly.com/ The basic version is free.

TOPICS A

1. Applying the Hollow-Centered Model
According to Kawai, Japanese mythology has a hollow-centered structure (CR1). Apply this model to two real-life cases as found in the Blacker (description of shamaness/interrogator/musician triad; cae of NAKAYAMA Miki)(CR3). To what extent do these cases fit Kawai's model, and to what extent does his model not work for explaining these cases? What are the potential strengths and weaknesses of this model for understanding Japanese society?

2. Shamanism and Divine Madness
Use Unno's categories for analyzing divine madness ("Divine Madness-Exploring the Boundaries of Modern Japanese Religion") to examine the case of the NAKAYAMA Miki from Carmen Blacker's The Catalpa Bow (130-132)(CR3)? To what extent does Nakayama appear to be sociologically, psychologically, and/or spiritually mad? That is, how, if at all, does society define her as mad; how does she suffer psychological instability from her own perspective; and is there a truly spiritual, creative dimension to her madness? (Important point: Sociological madness and psychological madness are very different. Sociological madness refers to the way in which society labels someone as being "mad" from the outside (objectively). Psychological madness refers to the way in which a person feels internal stress and instability (subjectively). In this sense, I am not using "psychological" as a clinical, objective term, but something someone might use to describe themselves: "I'm feeling psychologically stressed out.")

3. Women and Gender in the Tale of the Heike
The story of Lady Gio, Lady Hotoke, and Kiyomori weaves a tapestry of women's social and religious lives in relation to the dominant male order. At the end of the story, Lady Hotoke joins Lady Gio and her sister Ginyo, forming a triad of nuns looking to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Amida (CR6). Is this a story of women's empowerment or disempowerment? In either case, is it a matter of social, economic, or religious empowerment or disempowerment, or is it some combination?

4. The "Goddess" from the Vimalakirti Sutra and Lady Gio from the Tale of the Heike

The "Goddess" chapter from the Vimalakirti Sutra presents the Goddess' view of the two-fold truth (conventional truth, form; highest truth, emptiness), with sex and gender the topic of her dialogue with Sariputra towards the end

(CR5). Relate this discussion of the two-fold truth and sex/gender to the story of Lady Gio from the Tale of the Heike

(CR6). Identify two similarities and two differences in the views of sex/gender between these stories.

5. Buddhism and Shinto in the Religious Life of the Buddhist Monk Myoe
Discuss the manner in which the relationship between the Shinto kami (deity) of the Kasuga shrine and the Buddhist figure it supposedly represents (Sakyamuni Buddha) are reflected in the relationship between the Shinto shamaness (priestess), the Woman of Yuasa, on the one hand, and the Buddhist monk Myoe, on the other (see Mark Unno, "Chapter 6: Gendered Power of Light," Shingon Refractions

(CR9). Use the concept of honji suijaku (essence and manifestation) to explain this relationship. Which is in the superior position: Buddhist monk/Buddha or Shinto shamaness/kami? Can either one be in the superior position depending on context? Reader's perspective? How should one understand their relation, religiously, socially, politically?

6. Dogen and Sitting-Only
Dogen emphasized "sitting-only" as the core of his Zen Buddhist practice. Explain how this concept is both historical and philosophical. Identify at least two passages from the readings for Week 5 that illustrate your views (CR11, 12).

7. Dogen and Shunryu Suzuki
Use two passages from Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind to explain two passages from the "Genjokoan" chapter from Dogen's Shobogenzo. (There are passages that Suzuki directly refers to from the "Genjokoan") (CR11).

8. Barbara Ruch and Women from Previous Readings
In the "Other Side of Culture in Medieval Japan" (CR 13), Barbara Ruch presents the story of the Zen nun Mugai along with her idea that women in Medieval Japan could only pursue independence as a nun or a prostitute. Compare and contrast this female figures presented in earlier readings (such as the Unno reading on women in the chapter on the "Gendered Power of Light" (CR 9) and the Tale of Heike (CR 6).

TOPICS B
You need to select an initial scenario from among the following. You can write in either the first-person voice ("I") or third-person voice ("He/She/They, or Sam, Joey, Margaret, etc.)

A. Time and Dimensional Traveler
You (or the character you create) have/has superpowers that allows for time travel and dimensional travel (earthly realm into mythological realms). You are find yourself in prior Japanese history and you are interacting with one to two historical figures (such as Fujiwara no Kamatari or Nakayama Miki, the founder of Tenrikyo) and ask them about the world of the kami, Japanese gods/goddesses. They open a portal to the world of Japanese deities, you find out about their lives (such as sexuality, social relations, their relevance to earthly existence, etc.), and this raises questions about their imagination, creativity, dark side, problems. This fascinates you, and you write about your (or your character's) discoveries and what this means to (you/them). Be sure to document and provide a bibliography.

B. Scholar with a Hidden Wound
You (or the character you create) are/is a scholar/professor of premodern Japanese religion. As you go through archives or visit sacred sites in Japan, you learn about the religious experiences, practices, and lives of two figures (such as Lady Gio from The Tale of the Heike or an Emperior who plays music and provides the sacred space [temenos] for shamanesses to be possessed and channel the gods, as described by Carmen Blacker). As you continue your research, you begin to realize you are carrying a hidden emotional wound that has gone unresolved. You begin to see how your scholarly research might be connected to the hidden wounds you carry.) Be sure to document and provide a bibliography.

C. Private Individual with a Traumatic Past
You (or the character you create) have/has a traumatic past due to something - it could be as a victim of violence, lack or denial of emotional connection or nurturing, escape from a life and death situation. You are drawn to some figure from Japanese religion, and you begin to sense there is the possibility of healing or liberation in this encounter. This encounter could take place through reading about them (such the "Goddess" from the Vimalakirti Sutra), or a present manifestion (someone who seems to be a kind of shamaness that reminds you of the founder of Tenrikyo, Nakayama Miki), or someone who has come to life from the past and who finds themselves in an unfamiliar environment (Lady Hotoke from the Tale of Heike finds herself in present-day New York City). You (or the character you create) begin/begins to describe what this encounter might mean to you/them, and you connect this encounter to at least one other aspect of premodern Japanese religion that helps you to elucidate the significance of the encounter (such as the gender fluidity of the story of Torikaebaya/The Changelings, or encountering the Woman of Yuasa, the cousin of the monk Myoe who is a Shinto Shamaness/Priestess [from Mark Unno, Shingon Refractions, CR9]). Be sure to document and provide a bibliography.