Overview
Japan's
religious history has been a long process of mutual influence between
religions. Shinto has been a big part of Japanese life ever since the
beginning of Japan's history and continues today.
When
Buddhism was introduced into Japan in the sixth century, it started to have an
effect on the Shinto beliefs, and vise versa. An interesting example
of this interaction is honji suijaku, in which shinto kami were seen as the
incarnations of Buddhist deities.
Two
other religions that were brought into Japan are Confucianism and Taosim.
For more than 1,000 years, these religions have had significant impact on
Japan's society. The rules of Confucianism have had major impact on the
ethical and political philosophy by it's influence during the sixth to ninth
centuries and later from 1600 to 1868. The use of the Chinese calendar,
fortune-tellers, among other things is a result of Taoism in Japan. It is
much harder to trace than Confucianism, it's influences are still seen today.
SHINTO
The word Shinto is comprised of two Chinese
characters and is often translated as "the way of the gods." The
first character, when used alone, is pronounced kami, which means "god,
deity" or "divine power" and the second character means
"way" or "path."
Kami can be used to describe just one god or as a
collective term for the many gods that are a central part of worship in
Japan. A part of all aspects of life, kami appear in may different
forms. Nature kami live in sacred stones, trees, mountains and other
aspects of nature. Clan kami, which are the guardian deities of specific
clans. Actually these are considered to be a deified ancestor of the
clan. Another kami is the ta no kami, which is the god of the rice
paddies. This kami is worshipped at rice planting and harvest
festivals. The heavenly divinities who live on the Takamagahara (High
Celestial Plain) are those kami that are similar to gods in the Western
sense. These kami are led by Amaterasu Omikami, the goddess who is
worshipped at the Ise Shrine, which is the central shrine of Shinto.
Interestingly, the introduction of Buddhism into
Japan was partly responsibly for Shinto to become more organized. This was
accomplished by structuring previously unorganized native beliefs and
rituals. Another result, was the compilation of two books, Kojiki
(Record of Ancient Matters) and Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan).
These were part of an effort to trace the imperial lineage and place it on a
mythological and religious foundation. The books trace the imperial line
back to the mythical age of gods and tell how the jami Izanagi and Izanami made
the Japanese Islands and the central gods Amaterasu Omikami (sun goddess),
Tsukuyomi no Mikoto (moon god), and Susanoo no Mikoto (god of storms). It
is said that the great-great-grandson of Amaterasu Omikami (sun goddess) is
Emperor Jimmu, the legendary first sovereign of Japan.
The Shinto religion doesn't have any official
sacred scriptures. Instead of emphasizing moral commandments, Shinto
focuses on ritual purity and cleanliness in dealing with the kami.
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BUDDHISM
Sometime around the 5th century BC,
Buddhism was started in India and spread throughout China in the 2nd and 3rd
centuries AD. It was introduced to Japan after the
king of Paekche in Korea sent a Buddha statue and copies of sutras to the
Japanese emperor during the 6th century. It spread rapidly through the
upper class after anti-Buddhist factions were defeated by the pro-Buddhist Soga
family. Prince Shotoku (574-622) is considered to be the true founder of
Buddhism though. It was through his imperial support that major temples
were built, such as Horyuji (in present day Nara Prefecture).
Emperor Shomu (701-756) made Buddhism the official
state religion and built the temple Todaiji at Nara along with its huge statue
of Buddha. Six Nara sects, which were predominate in Buddhism at this
time, were responsible for carrying out rituals to promote national
welfare. They were basically academic by nature and didn't have any great
influence on the general population. Priest Saicho (767-822) introduced
the Tendai sect to Japan in the Heian period (794-1185), while the Shingon sect
was introduced by Kukai (774-835), who is also known as Kobo Daishi. These
last two esoteric sects became the most important Buddhist sects at the imperial
court.
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Two major developments occurred in Japanese
Buddhism during the Kamakura period (1185-1333). Eisai (1141-1215), who
was the founder of the Rinzai sect, established the Zen school. Dogen
(1200-1253), the founder of the Soto sect, later modified it. The warrior
elite were receptive to this because it emphasized self-discipline and
meditation, as well as its directness. To reach enlightenment (satori),
meditation (zazen) and irrational riddles (koan) are used. A difference between
the two groups is that in the Rinzai Zen, there is much more emphasis placed on
the riddles than in the Soto Zen.
The second major development was the the rapid
growth of popular Buddhist sects among the commoners. One of these sects
was called the Pure Land sect and taught that chanting Buddha Amida's name was
the idea way to achieve rebirth in Amida's Western Paradise. Another sect
was the Nichiren sect. This sect emphasized the chanting of the title of
the Lotus Sutra.
The Tokugawa shogunate, in the Edo period
(1600-1868), wanted to wipe out Christianity and control the population, so he
requested that everyone join or become a part of a Buddhist temple.
Although there was a large number of members, the vitality of Buddhism as a
living religion was not greatly increased. As a result of anti-Buddhism,
encourage by the governments wishes to eradicate Buddhism and uplift Shinto as
the state religion, the previous system was destroyed. With the social
environment changing and as a result of the uprising against it, Buddhism has
been working to improve its stand in modern Japan.
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CHRISTIANITY
Introduction and Persecution
Francis Xavier, a Jesuit missionary, went to
Kagoshime in August 1549. The Jesuit missionary work was concentrated on
Kyushu (the southernmost island of Japan) and by 1579 six regional military
lords were converted to Christianity. There were about 100,000 Christians,
but the efforts of the Jesuits were initially not taken seriously by the
military leaders, Oda Nobunagaa and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. As the Christian
influence began to spread in Kyushu, Hideyoshi attempted to put a stop to it by
having 26 Christians crucified at Nagasaki in 1597. In 1600, Tokugasa
Ieyasu became the de facto ruler of Japan and allowed the missionaries to
remain, but 14 years later the government forbade Christianity and forced the
missionaries out of the country. At this point in time, there were about
300,000 Japanese Christians and many of them renounced Christianity as a result
of persecution. In addition, it is estimated that about 3,000 Christians
were executed. In spite of the persecution, many Christians remained
strong in their beliefs and worshipped in private.
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Reintroduction
In 1859, foreign missionaries returned to Japan
after the government lifted it's ban, but they couldn't hold meetings
openly until 1873. Groups of Christians who had worshipped in secret came
out during this time after over 200 years of persecution, in all about 30,000
Christians came forward.
Active at this were both Catholic and Protestant
missionaries, but their labor resulted in just a few converts. In spite of
this, Christians were able to influence education and the trade union
movement. The 1930's was a difficult time for Christians due to increasing
nationalism and the patriotic duty of attending Shinto shrines.
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Post World War II
Small gains in the Christian faith were made after
World War II, in spite of support by Occupation authorities. By 1996, less
than 2.5 percent of the Japanese population were Christians though the numbers
had greatly increased to 3,170,000. Christian wedding ceremonies are
becoming more popular, and knowledge of and interest in Christianity has
increased, but it is probably still felt to be a foreign religion by many
Japanese. The increase in interest has not added greatly to the Christian
base in Japan, probably due to the fact that the belief is in one God, thus
eliminating the relaxed polytheism of Shinto and Japanese Buddhism.
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RELIGION IN JAPAN TODAY
Mainstream Shinto and Buddhism
Many people in Japan today consider themselves
Shintoist and Buddhist, in spite of alienation from specific Buddhist temples
and Shinto shrines associated with their family. According to a 1996
report, about 194,000,000 Japanese are members of both religions, about 54% more
than the total population of Japan. Apparent by these numbers, Shinto and
Buddhism are not in conflict with each other but exist peacefully
together. What is not seen by these numbers, is the number of regular
worshipers and attendees. A majority of the people go to shrines and
temples only for annual events and rituals. Some examples of annual
attendances would be the first shrine or temple visit in the new year (hatsumode),
and a visit to the family grave during the Bon Festival. Some rituals that
are observed are those that involve the different stages of a person's life,
like a newborn's first shrine visit (miyamairi), the Shichi-go-san Festival
shrine visit for 3 & 5 year old boys and for 3 & 7year old girls, a
Shinto wedding ceremony and a Buddhist funeral.
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Links
to other websites...
Information provided by the
Japanese Embassy
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