East Asia Center
Jackson School Information
Japan Studies Program
Friday April 9, 2010
5:30-6:30pm
Art Building Room 317
Forever Banished: Restrictions Regarding Women at Mt. Kōya
Mt. Kōya has been one of the most sacred pilgrimage, worship, and training sites in Japan since the ninth-century, drawing devotees across geographic, sectarian, class, and gender barriers. This sacred mountain and its religious institutions are regarded as paradigmatic examples of Japan’s rich religious history and culture, yet most Japanese and Western descriptions ignore the fact that one half of the population – women – was excluded for most of its history. This paper examines the history of women’s restrictions at Mt. Kōya by looking at stories about Kūkai’s 空界 (774-835) mother. I argue that gender, as symbolized by this female figure, constitutes a key variable in the construction of sacred space and the exclusion of women from it.