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Buddhism and cultural heritage in the memorialization of the Hiroshima bombing : the art and activism of Hirayama Ikuo

Paride Stortini (UGent)
(2022) RELIGIONS. 13(2).
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Abstract
Debates on the memorialization of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima have played an essential role in the construction of postwar Japanese identity, public memory, and historical consciousness. Religion, often conceived beyond traditional terms through concepts such as "spirituality" and "heritage", was part of this process. This article examines the role of Buddhism in the autobiographical and visual narratives of the atomic bomb survivor Hirayama Ikuo, who expressed his personal trauma through art, turning it into a call for peace and for the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Silk Road, associated with the spread of Buddhism. Using recent critical approaches to heritage studies, I will show how the heritagization of Buddhism in Hirayama's work does not preclude the sacralization of aspects of Silk Road heritage. Placing Hirayama's approach to the nuclear bombing in the context of postwar discourses on Japan as a peaceful "nation of culture", I will also problematize his view of Buddhism and the Silk Road by showing how similar views were used in support of imperialism in the prewar period.
Keywords
cultural heritage, memory, Hiroshima bombing, Buddhism, Hirayama Ikuo, Silk Road, Yakushiji

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MLA
Stortini, Paride. “Buddhism and Cultural Heritage in the Memorialization of the Hiroshima Bombing : The Art and Activism of Hirayama Ikuo.” RELIGIONS, vol. 13, no. 2, 2022, doi:10.3390/rel13020146.
APA
Stortini, P. (2022). Buddhism and cultural heritage in the memorialization of the Hiroshima bombing : the art and activism of Hirayama Ikuo. RELIGIONS, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13020146
Chicago author-date
Stortini, Paride. 2022. “Buddhism and Cultural Heritage in the Memorialization of the Hiroshima Bombing : The Art and Activism of Hirayama Ikuo.” RELIGIONS 13 (2). https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13020146.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Stortini, Paride. 2022. “Buddhism and Cultural Heritage in the Memorialization of the Hiroshima Bombing : The Art and Activism of Hirayama Ikuo.” RELIGIONS 13 (2). doi:10.3390/rel13020146.
Vancouver
1.
Stortini P. Buddhism and cultural heritage in the memorialization of the Hiroshima bombing : the art and activism of Hirayama Ikuo. RELIGIONS. 2022;13(2).
IEEE
[1]
P. Stortini, “Buddhism and cultural heritage in the memorialization of the Hiroshima bombing : the art and activism of Hirayama Ikuo,” RELIGIONS, vol. 13, no. 2, 2022.
@article{01HD1ND8VNFAGJ1G9R14BJ7RKJ,
  abstract     = {{Debates on the memorialization of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima have played an essential role in the construction of postwar Japanese identity, public memory, and historical consciousness. Religion, often conceived beyond traditional terms through concepts such as "spirituality" and "heritage", was part of this process. This article examines the role of Buddhism in the autobiographical and visual narratives of the atomic bomb survivor Hirayama Ikuo, who expressed his personal trauma through art, turning it into a call for peace and for the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Silk Road, associated with the spread of Buddhism. Using recent critical approaches to heritage studies, I will show how the heritagization of Buddhism in Hirayama's work does not preclude the sacralization of aspects of Silk Road heritage. Placing Hirayama's approach to the nuclear bombing in the context of postwar discourses on Japan as a peaceful "nation of culture", I will also problematize his view of Buddhism and the Silk Road by showing how similar views were used in support of imperialism in the prewar period.}},
  articleno    = {{146}},
  author       = {{Stortini, Paride}},
  issn         = {{2077-1444}},
  journal      = {{RELIGIONS}},
  keywords     = {{cultural heritage,memory,Hiroshima bombing,Buddhism,Hirayama Ikuo,Silk Road,Yakushiji}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{15}},
  title        = {{Buddhism and cultural heritage in the memorialization of the Hiroshima bombing : the art and activism of Hirayama Ikuo}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.3390/rel13020146}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}

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