In Defense of Desire and Devastation: Buddhist Antinomianism in a Medieval Japanese Illustrated Scroll

Speaker: Or Porath, Assistant Professor, Tel Aviv University

Abstract: How do Buddhist teachings justify antinomian behavior? In A Long Tale for an Autumn Night, a monk’s love for a young acolyte precipitates war and loss, culminating in a revelation of the boy’s divine nature, and the utter destruction of monastic temples. This talk examines how a medieval scroll housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art employs textual and visual language to recast sexual transgression within a Buddhist soteriological framework.

Speaker Bio: Or Porath is an Assistant Professor at Tel Aviv University and a Visiting Scholar at the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies. His research examines topics such as gender, sexuality, and Buddhist monasticism in medieval Japanese religion.

Co-sponsored by the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University