Exploring Environmental Mastery in Japanese Art - Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳

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The art shown above comes from the series A Short Pictorial Biography of the Founder of the Nichiren Sect, which depicts a scene in which the Mantram, Namumyohorengekyo, appears to the Nichiren monks when they are trapped by storm on their way sailing to the Sado Island.

The scene depicted in the art above contradicts the reaction of Nichiren, the Buddhist priest, with the rest of the crew on the boat. When facing the life-threatening storm on the sea, the crews are all panicking, losing their balance in the boat or crying in despair, while the priest is standing calmly and taking action against the wave by chanting the central mantra Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō. We may interpret their reactions as their ability to cope with the environment, i.e. their level of environmental mastery

In Buddhism, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō is a mantra that is chanted widely by monks of different schools of Buddhism. It is believed that chanting helps one calm down, clearing one's concerns and unnecessary thoughts from the mind. In the art, the mantra was depicted on one of the huge waves, suggesting that the mantra gives out a super-power that helps diminish the waves. Indeed, words cannot pose any power against a natural phenomenon, but one way to interpret this mantra is that the priest's religious belief helps him stay calm when he is in danger, and enhanced his ability to take action for what is going on. The mantra can be seen as the embedded mental power of the priest, supporting him in different environmental conditions. This art hence suggests that one's belief can be mentally supportive of well-being, 

But how is the religious belief linked to environmental mastery? Buddhism puts emphasis on mental training and the monks use meditation and chanting as the central practice. Meditation has been proofed to be beneficial to people's psychological health. It helps reduce stress, control anxiety and even enhance one's self-awareness and attention span. In addition, the religious belief itself can also put the person in a more mentally secure state, hence allowing one to stay calm when facing difficulties.