Not Stuck in the Past: Archaeology and Ritual in Japan’s Buddhist Hinterland

The study of ritual in the past has much to learn from the present. The relationship between these two sources of knowledge is apparent in archaeological applications to ritual. This paper introduces work on Buddhism in early medieval Japan’s hinterland, which saw an influx of monks from urban monasteries from the 11th-13th centuries. Archaeological work in the mountain villages and temples that border Kyoto has revealed the complex ways in which locals incorporated the rituals that Buddhist institutions and practitioners brought with them to the hinterland. One affordance of archaeological work is its focus on material heritage, which often involves interactions and negotiations in the present with existing communities for whom this heritage is a source of identity. As a result, research on the medieval hinterland has relied on collaborations with existing communities in these areas.  An archaeology of ritual in Japan’s past inspires collaborative archaeology in the present.