{"title":"\"Heart Sutra Pop\": Religious Textual Democratization by a Sexy Vocal Android","authors":"John A. Shultz","doi":"10.3138/JRPC.2019-0040","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:In 2010, the publication of \"Heart Sutra Pop,\" an online animated video featuring the cyber-idol Hatsune Miku singing the Heart Sutra, launched a viral enthusiasm for the text that is unmatched throughout its more than twelve-hundred-year history in Japan. This article explores the digital rebirth of the sutra and the rise of an unlikely virtual spiritual leader. I argue that this cyber-idol-driven sutra boom is both doctrinally justifiable and consistent with a wave of new media initiatives by Japanese Buddhists.","PeriodicalId":38290,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion and Popular Culture","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1000,"publicationDate":"2021-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Religion and Popular Culture","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3138/JRPC.2019-0040","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"RELIGION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract:In 2010, the publication of "Heart Sutra Pop," an online animated video featuring the cyber-idol Hatsune Miku singing the Heart Sutra, launched a viral enthusiasm for the text that is unmatched throughout its more than twelve-hundred-year history in Japan. This article explores the digital rebirth of the sutra and the rise of an unlikely virtual spiritual leader. I argue that this cyber-idol-driven sutra boom is both doctrinally justifiable and consistent with a wave of new media initiatives by Japanese Buddhists.