Reflections on Esoteric Hegemony in Medieval Japan and the Modern Academy

This review essay examines four recent titles that deal with esoteric Buddhism in medieval Japan: Kamakura Bukkyō: Mikkyō no shiten kara (Daizō Shuppan, 2023); Rituals of Initiation and Consecration in Premodern Japan: Power and Legitimacy in Kingship, Religion, and the Arts (De Gruyter, 2022); Esoteric Pure Land Buddhism (University of Hawai‘i Press, 2023); and Esoteric Zen: Zen and the Tantric Teachings in Premodern Japan (Brill, 2023). They all helpfully challenge sectarian narratives by showing how esoteric Buddhism permeated various medieval schools. In doing so, these works build upon Kuroda Toshio’s idea of a hegemonic exoteric-esoteric system (kenmitsu taisei), a concept now fifty years old. While Kuroda’s ongoing influence on recent scholarship, including the volumes under review, has been a net positive for the field, my essay raises questions about the definition and coherence of the term “esoteric Buddhism.” It also encourages future scholars to examine other non-esoteric aspects of medieval Japanese religions.