also highlights a shift away from visual and media an- thropological practices that present media technologies as outwardly communicative, to the use of media and digital technologies by anthropologists interested in collabora- tion with communities that is inward looking and protective. Whether the Sawau Project can maintain its momentum and extratextual significance within the communityFdependent on factors such as the passing of Fiji’s Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Culture Bill, an unstable national and tribal politics, dynamic tribal politics, ongoing technology maintenance, and training, continued funding, and the sheer will of local project stewardsFwill remain to be seen. Preaching from Pictures: A Japanese Mandala Produced and directed by David W. Plath, 2006, 119 minutes, color. Distributed by the Asian Educational Media Service, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, 805 West Pennsylvania Avenue, MC-025, Urbana, IL 61801, http://www.aems.uiuc.edu Yeoh Seng Guan Monash University Sunway Campus Preaching from Pictures succeeds in acquainting the viewer with an unfamiliar place, milieu, and archaic visual didactic technique. Using the intricately drawn contemporary Buddhist painting of the Kumano Kanjin Jikkai Mandala (‘‘Mandala of the Ten Worlds’’) as the focal piece of discussion, it interweaves snippets of the social and religious worlds of the residents of Edo (the former name for Tokyo), Japan’s early modern capital city. Edo City was the seat of power for the To- kugawa Shogunate from the early 17th to the mid–19th centuries, and preeminent among some two hundred and fifty castle-towns built by daimyos and samurais during an extended period of peace. With a population ap- proaching 1 million, it was probably the largest city in the world of its time. Great strides in material prosperity not only saw the rise of urban social classes, but also a flourishing of no- vel modes of religious expressions. In Edo, we are told, ‘‘all of Japan was replicated’’ in terms of religious pilgrimage practices. For instance, the notion of utsushi (‘‘mirror’’ or ‘‘reflection’’), where miniature replicas of distant Buddhist and Shinto shrines or structures were built, enabled pilgrims to metaphorically worship Mount Fuji without having to leave Edo. The Tokugawa Shogunate commissioned panoramic silk screens picturing the history, gaiety, and splendor of Edo’s hierarchical social fabric. But in contrast to the Shogun paintings’ this-worldly focus, the Jikkai Mand- ala refracts the arc of life through the Buddhist lens of karma, linking the here and now with the afterlives to come. This is visually illustrated by the painting’s pow- erful symmetry in its depiction of time and space. Nonetheless, these pictures were mute, and required ex- plication by itinerant preachers, which in this case were bikunis (nuns) from the Kumano sect. They preached and recited at roadsides and various public spaces of Edo, and even beyond the city boundaries into the country- side. In essence, the Jikkai Mandala drew ideas from Tendai Buddhism and Shugend mountain ascetics. It beckoned viewers and listeners to observe their minds (kanjin) by contemplating on the ten realms (jikkai) of existence, which include six courses of rebirths and four levels of enlightenment. Aptly, the centerpiece of Preaching from Pictures is a fascinating exegetical tour of the many human figures, bodhisattvas, demons, and other sentient beings that populate the Jikkai Mandala by an unseen female nar- rator. We are told that a central motif linking all of these disparate entities is kokoro (‘‘compassion’’)Fa heart with a right attitude will generate right actions, which will avoid the sufferings of the underworld. Drawing from Confucianist elements, the Jikkai Mandala also in- corporates filial piety into its visual narrative of right action. The account is juxtaposed with short commen- taries on daily life in Edo. In keeping with the sober tone of the Jikkai Mandala, the narration is terse and reflec- tive, and is accompanied by minimalist Japanese music and Buddhist chants. This portion of the DVD lasts around 37 minutes. A more substantial portion is found in an interactive section that is organized along three interlinked clusters. The first is a series of dyadic conversations (approxi- mately 80 minutes) with American experts on Japanese history and Japanese religions. These are organized un- der the key headings of ‘‘religious practices,’’ ‘‘karma,’’ ‘‘life cycles,’’ ‘‘Edo’s energy,’’ ‘‘filial piety,’’ ‘‘pilgrim- age,’’ and ‘‘bikuni.’’ Each conversation is around 11 minutes. Under this cluster, a contemporary 17th-cen- tury text taken from a puppet drama known as the ‘‘Etoki sermon’’ is read aloud in Japanese, enhancing the aural sense of the Mandala’s visual power. Another section allows for a closer look at the im- ages of maps, scripts, paintings, and photographs that have been editorially cut into the conversations. Finally, all the key terms used in the conversations are listed and explained in a glossary cluster. This arrangement, in ef- fect, allows easy intertextual navigation into portions that may interest the viewer. Using the Jikkai Mandala for preaching and prose- lytization purposes by kumano nuns fell out of fashion in the 1920s. We are told that one of the contributing 92 VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY REVIEW Volume 25 Number 1 Spring 2009