Culture and Religion: Atsumori and Inferno

Various factors have been an influence in literature, both for past authors and present authors. These factors may stem from the culture in which we live and the religion in which we partake. In Dante’s Inferno and Motokiyo’s Atsumori, these influences were evident. In this paper, you will see how these influences affected these two historical pieces of literature. Dante’s Inferno included numerous elements suggesting to its’ religious influence. Dante also wrote two other pieces—Purgatorio and Paradiso-- during this time which lead to the belief that these three were symbolic to the Christian trinity; Father, Son, Holy Spirit (1827). Also notable about Dante’s writing is that he ended these three pieces with the same word, stelle (stars). He wrote of the different crimes (sins) and punishments that would be placed upon all citizens if necessary. Those who disobeyed would be cast in to purgatory. Some examples of these crimes were lust, violence against neighbors, and violence against God. These are also extremely comparable to The Ten Commandments in the Christian religion. He also spoke of Lord, Noah, and Abel in this piece (Canto IV, Lines 50-55). Culture also played a role in this piece of literature. Before this time, Dante had been extremely active in the military in Florence. He had lived most of his life supporting the church until later in his life when he began to think the church was corrupt. He lived many years in turmoil. However, after many years of struggles and tribulations, he realized the church was not what he had made it to be earlier. He, once again, began to show his loyalty to it. His commitment to the church and religion was widely accepted during this time. Zeami Motokiyo wrote in Atsumori ‘Praise to Amida Buddha!’ (Line 85). He also incorporated several religious contexts into his writings. During this time, Buddhism was widespread throughout Japan. The storyline behind Atsumori closely relates to that Buddhist teachings. Despite the tragedies in life, persevere and continue to move forward. Wikipedia suggest that it is the beheading of Atsumori that led Kumagai to become a Buddhist monk. This provides even greater clarification and understanding between the religion and cultural influences into this literary work of art. While other influences might have evoked these two highly praised scholars to write such literary pieces, their culture and religion played a significant role. In my studies of world literature and world history, the connections between culture, religion and personal well-being have been very evident. They are also evident in these two great works. Culture and religion will affect our lives indefinitely. The two easily cross paths and co-exist.

Works Cited
Lawall, Sarah, Trans. "Dante Alighieri." In The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Second Edition, Volume B: 1826-1962. Print.
Lawall, Sarah, Trans. "No Drama." In The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Second Edition, Volume B: 2342-2355. Print.