Drawing on tradition
Book Description
Drawing on Tradition offers a fascinating exploration of how spiritual wisdom emerges through unexpected channels in contemporary Japanese culture. Jolyon Baraka Thomas reveals how manga and anime serve as more than mere entertainment, functioning as dynamic spaces where ancient religious traditions meet modern creative expression.
Through careful analysis of visual storytelling and cultural practices, Thomas demonstrates how creators and audiences actively engage with Buddhist and Shinto imagery, transforming traditional spiritual concepts into new forms of meaning-making. Rather than simply depicting established religious doctrines, these illustrated worlds become laboratories for spiritual experimentation, where sacred ideas are playfully reimagined and personally internalized.
The book illuminates how the act of creating and consuming these visual narratives becomes a form of spiritual practice itself. Audiences develop what Thomas calls "religious frames of mind" through their immersive engagement with these stories, suggesting that spiritual understanding can flourish through imaginative participation rather than formal instruction alone.
This scholarly yet accessible work bridges the gap between academic religious studies and popular culture, showing how contemporary media can serve as vehicles for spiritual transmission and innovation. Thomas reveals the profound ways that creative play with sacred themes can generate fresh insights into timeless questions about meaning, purpose, and transcendence.
For those interested in how spiritual wisdom adapts and thrives in modern contexts, this book offers valuable perspectives on the evolving relationship between tradition and contemporary expression.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Short (< 200 pages) (~6 hours)
📄 Length: 199 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Comic books, strips, etc., history and criticism
- ✓ Explore History and criticism
- ✓ Explore Religious aspects
- ✓ Explore Japan, religion
- ✓ Explore Manga
- ✓ Explore Comic books, strips, etc., religious aspects
- ✓ Explore Religion
- ✓ Explore Art and Design
