- 著者
-
浪波 利奈
- 出版者
- 美学会
- 雑誌
- 美学 (ISSN:05200962)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.71, no.1, pp.37-48, 2020 (Released:2022-02-16)
The present study aims to clarify that Buddhism influences the aesthetic thoughts of
KAWAI Kanjiro (1890-1966) in the post-war era, focusing on his word: “Work in which
work does its work”.
He got the idea of this motto in September 1948, thereafter it appeared in his collected
essays “Hi-no-Chikai” [The Oath of Fire] published in November 1953. Looking closely at
his diaries and notes, this paper investigates how it developed from his original thoughts
on artistic creation. It became clear that the doctrine of Ippen (1239-1289) brought this
motto to its completion.
Kanjiro got the first suggestion from YANAGI Soetsu (1889-1961). His lecture “Mingei
We Propose” (May 1948) quotes Ippen’s teaching: It is Nembutsu which does Nembutsu
(i.e. Pray does its pray). According to Ippen, oneness of the prayer and the Amitabha
Buddha is established in the moment of pray. Kanjiro took Ippen’s idea of the unity
and expanded a concept of self-organizing function of artistic creation (work), where
the artist or craftsman thoroughly merges in and beauty, as Kanjiro puts it, emerges
from. Taking this into account, further this paper takes the concept ‘salvation’ into
consideration and sees the similarity between Kanjiro and Ippen.