ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to provide an overview of some of the major themes addressed by scholars specializing in Nara and Heian period religiosity. It discusses the study of religious developments following the Asuka period (c.538–710) that were part of what historians have called the ritsuryō state, rule by regents and rule by retired emperors. In terms of historical divisions, these categories belong to the period from the classical to the early medieval era. The chapter includes works from both History and Religious Studies and addresses the rigid divisions imposed on its traditions. It discusses the relation between religion and state, and addresses scholarship on gender. Western scholarship has blurred the modern divisions between traditions and has focused on the analysis of ritual, devotion, and gender roles. While many traditions colored the premodern religious landscape, the Buddhist tradition occupied a central position from its official acceptance in the sixth century.
