■Topics 2018
2018-10-01 NichibunkenNews
Evening Seminar (September 6, 2018) “Buddhist Expertise on Embryology, Childbirth, and Women’s Health in Medieval Japan”
“Buddhist Expertise on Embryology, Childbirth, and Women’s Health in Medieval Japan,” Anna Andreeva (research fellow at the Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies, Heidelberg University, Germany and visiting fellow at Nichibunken)Anna Andreeva’s presentation introduced some recent research findings indicating that esoteric Buddhist priests were deeply involved in the issues of women’s bodies—such as pregnancy and childbirth—and healthcare in medieval Japan.
Buddhist scriptures often mention women’s bodies as being in some way deficient, deeming them inherently unable to achieve enlightenment. Observing the Vinayaprecepts, male Buddhist clerics were supposed to be very careful in dealing with lay women and nuns. Given such considerations, it is surprising to learn that in medieval Japan Buddhist priests and scholars produced a plethora of semi-religious, proto-scientific texts dealing with the issues of elite women’s healthcare. For the purpose of supporting the nobility, who patronized Buddhism, these texts focused in particular on the physiological and karmic ability of elite women to give birth to an heir for their family.
Notable among the various documents Andreeva introduced is the Gushi nintai sanshō himitsu hōshū (Collection of Secret Methods on Seeking the Offspring, Pregnancy, and Childbirth), attributed to Priest Annen (841–889?) of the Tendai school of Buddhism. Literally a secret text on conception, pregnancy, and delivery, this book is presumably the oldest extant work of its kind. It is a typical medieval text mixing limited scientific knowledge and religious belief; while containing some medical guidance, it relied on magical power, for example, showing how to give birth to a boy or a girl. Anna Andreeva points out that the formation of Buddhist theories of pregnancy, delivery, and the like played an important part in the process of the Heian- and Kamakura-period nobility seeking to restore their political power.
(Reported by Shiraishi Eri, assistant professor, Office of Digital Resources, Publications, and Public Information)
