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IJS Lecture: Jack Stoneman, “Saigyō: Poet and Sorcerer”

Image of Okunoin Cemetary
Wed, April 14, 2021
2:20 pm - 3:50 pm
Online (Registration Required)

The Institute for Japanese Studies presents:

“Saigyō: Poet and Sorcerer”

Jack Stoneman
Brigham Young University

Flyer: Jack Stoneman Flyer [PDF]

Illustration of Saigyo's "humanoid"

Abstract: Over more than eight centuries of reception, the occult side of the genial wandering monk and poet Saigyō (1118-1190) has been largely ignored, even though he uttered mysterious incantations, ensorcelled with mudras, and employed the power of numinous words to achieve magical ends. This wonderworking aspect of Saigyō is very important to understanding how he was viewed in the pre-modern era as a religious figure, even a thaumaturge and necromancer. It is also very important to understanding his spellbinding poetics. I will analyze a variety of sources, including poems, setsuwa (Buddhist anecdotes), and karon (poetic treatises), to better understand Saigyō the poet-sorcerer. By uncovering this long-obscured aspect of his poetry and legend, we will be better able to comprehend both the unique position Saigyō held in the pre-modern Japanese imagination and the enduring effects of his poesy.