Sunday 19 September 2010

JAPAN

The history of Buddhism in Japan can be roughly divided into three periods, namely the Nara period (710 - 794), the Heian period (794–1185) and the post-Heian period (1185 onwards). Each period saw the introduction of new doctrines and upheavals in existing schools.

In modern times, the main paths of Buddhism are Amidist (Pure Land) schools, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon Buddhism and Zen Buddhism.

About 91 million people in Japan claim to be Buddhist practitioners.

The arrival of Buddhism in Japan is ultimately consequence of the first contacts between China and Central Asia which occurred with the opening of the Silk Road in the 2nd century BC, following the travels of Zhang Qian between 138 and 126 BC, which culminated with the official introduction of Buddhism in China in 67 AD. Historians generally agree that by the middle of the 1st century, the religion had penetrated to areas north of the Huai River.


Ritsu

Founded by Dàoxuān , China, c. AD 650

First Introduction to Japan: Ganjin , AD 753. The Ritsu school specialized in the Vinaya (the monastic rules in the Tripitaka). They used the Dharmagupta version of the vinaya.

The Satyasiddhi school is considered to be an offshoot of the Sautrantika school, one of the Nikaya schools of Indian Buddhism. They were distinguished by a rejection of the Abhidharma as not being the "word of the Buddha". The name means literally, "Ends with the Sutras", which refers to the traditional order of texts in the Tripitaka—vinaya, sutra, abhidharma.


Kusha

Introduced into Japan from China during the Nara period (710–784). The school takes its name from its authoritative text, the Abidatsuma-kusha-ron(Sanskrit:Abhidharma-kosa), by the 4th- or 5th-century Indian philosopher Vasubandhu. The Kusha school is considered to be an offshoot of the Indian Sarvastivada school.

Sanron

Literally: Three-Discourse School; a Madhyamika school which developed in China based on two discourses by Nagarjuna and one by Aryadeva. This school was transmitted to Japan in the 7th century. Madhyamika is one of the two most important Mahayana philosophies, and reemphasizes the original Buddhist teachings that phenomena are neither truly existent or absolutely non-existent, but are characterized by impermanence and insubstantially.

Hossō

The Yogacara schools are based on early Indian Buddhist thought by masters such as Vasubandhu, and are also known as "consciousness only" since they teach a form of idealism which posits that all phenomena are phenomena of the mind. The Hossō school was founded by Xuanzang , China, c. AD 630, and introduced to Japan in AD 654.

The Avatamsaka Sutra is the central text for the Kegon school. The Shin'yaku Kegonkyō Ongi Shiki is an early Japanese annotation of this sūtra.

Heian Period

The Late Nara period saw the introduction of Esoteric Buddhism to Japan from China, by Kūkai and Saichō, who founded the Shingon and Tendai schools. The later Heian period saw the formation of the first truly Japanese school of Buddhism, that of Nichiren.

Known as Tiantai in China, the Tendai school was founded by Zhiyi in China, c. AD 550. In 804 Saichō traveled to China to study at the Tiantai teachings, at Mount Tiantai. However before his return he also studied, and was initiated into the practice of the Vajrayana - with emphasis on the Mahavairocana Sutra. The primary text of Tiantai is Lotus Sutra , but when Saichō established his school in Japan he incorporated the study and practice of Vajrayana as well.

Kūkai traveled to China in 804 as part of the same expedition as Saichō. In the T'ang capital he studied esoteric Buddhism, Sanskrit and received initiation from Huikuo. On returning to Japan Kūkai eventually managed to establish Shingon as a school in its own right. Kūkai received two lineages of teaching—one based on the Mahavairocana Sutra , and the other based on the Vajrasekhara Sutra.

Kamakura, Muromachi.

The Kamakura period saw the introduction of the two schools that had perhaps the greatest impact on the country: (1) the Amidist Pure Land schools, promulgated by evangelists such as Genshin and articulated by monks such as Hōnen, which emphasize salvation through faith in Amitabha and remain the largest Buddhist sect in Japan (and throughout Asia); and (2) the more philosophical Zen schools, promulgated by monks such as Eisai and Dogen, which emphasize liberation through the insight of meditation, which were equally rapidly adopted by the upper classes and had a profound impact on Japanese culture.

In Muromachi period, the Zen school, particularly Rinzai, obtained help of the Muromachi shogunate and the Emperor, and accomplished considerable development.

With the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the new government adopted a strong anti-Buddhist attitude, and a movement to eradicate Buddhism and bring Shinto to ascendancy arose throughout the country due to the strong connections of Buddhism to the Shoguns.

During World War II, most Buddhist schools (with the exception of the Soka Gakkai), strongly supported Japan's remilitarisaion. Post World War II, there was a high demand for Buddhist priests who glorified fallen soldiers, and gave funerals and posthumous names, causing a strong revival. However, due to secularization and materialism, Buddhism and religion in general, have declined.

Japan has seen a minor decline in Buddhist practice in the 21st century, with roughly 100 temples a year closing. However 70% of Japanese people still follow Buddhism in some form, and 90% of Japanese funerals are conducted according to Buddhist rites.

Amidist Schools


Founder: Hōnen , AD 1175

Japanese name: , "Pure Land"

Major Influences: Chinese Jingtu ("Pure Land"), Tendai

Doctrine: nembutsu ("prayer to Buddha")

Primary Text: Infinite Life Sutra.

Jōdo Shinshū

Founder: Shinran , AD 1224

Japanese name: , "True Pure Land"

Major Influences: Jodo, Tendai

Doctrine: nembutsu no shinjin ("nembutsu of true entrusting")

Primary Text: Infinite Life Sutra

Ji Shū

Founder: Ippen, AD 1270

Japanese name: or "Time"

Major Influences: Jodo

Doctrine: nenbutsu , "mindfulness of the Buddha")

Primary Text:

Yuzunenbutsu Shū

Founder: Ryōnin , AD 1117

Zen Schools

Several variants of Zen's practice and experiential wisdom were separately brought to Japan. Note that Zen influences are identifiable earlier in Japanese Buddhism, esp. cross-fertilization with Hosso and Kegon, but the independent schools were formed quite late.

Chinese name: Caodong , named after its founders

First Introduction to Japan: Dogen , AD 1227

Major Influences: Tendai, Hosso, Kegon

Doctrine: zazen ( "sitting meditation"),

Primary Texts: Transcendental Wisdom Sutras aka Prajnaparamita Sutras .Heart Sutra

Rinzai

Founder: Linji , China, c. 850

Chinese name: Linji , named after founder

First Introduction to Japan: Eisai , AD 1191

Major Influences: Hosso, Kegon

Doctrine: zazen ("sitting meditation"), especially koan ("public matter") practice

Primary Texts: Transcendental Wisdom Sutras aka Prajnaparamita Sutras , incl. Heart Sutra

Ōbaku

Founder: Ingen , Japan, AD 1654

Japanese name: named the mountain where the founder had lived in China

Major Influences: Rinzai

Doctrine: kyozen itchi ("Unity of Sutras and Zen")

Primary Texts: Transcendental Wisdom Sutras aka Prajnaparamita Sutras , incl. Heart Sutra

Fuke

Founder: Puhua Chanshi

First introduction to Japan: Shinchin Kakushin , AD 1254

Major Influences: Rinzai

Abolished: 1871

Nichiren Buddhism

The schools of Nichiren Buddhism trace themselves to the monk Nichiren ("Sun-Lotus") and the proclamation of his teachings in AD1253. Doctrinally the schools focus on the Lotus Sutra ( Myoho Renge Kyō; abbrev. Hokkekyō), but practice centers on the mantra Nam(u) Myōhō Renge Kyō . Nichiren Buddhism split into several denominations after the death of Nichiren, typically represented by tradition-oriented schools such as Nichiren Shu and Nichiren Shoshu and "new religions" such as Soka Gakkai, Rissho Kosei Kai, and Reiyukai. See Nichiren Buddhism for a more complete list.

Silk Road artistic influences

Timeline

Buddhist Holidays in Japan

Obon

Though its date and practices vary region to region, the Buddhist Obon festival is celebrated primarily in Japan and in communities with large Japanese diasporic communities. It is believed that the spirits of the dead return to earth for three days and visit the family shrines or graves. Similar to Mexico's Day of the Dead, it is customary to clean the graves and to hold family reunions.

Japanese Buddhism can be thought of as a series of imports from China. Over the centuries, starting as early as 500 C.E., both lay devotees and monks traveled to the mainland, bringing back with them layer after layer of Buddhist teachings and practices along with other Chinese cultural traditions. At the same time however, as the religion developed in Japan, it often did so along paths not followed on the mainland.

The official story of the arrival of Buddhism to Japan states that a political delegation arrived from Korea in 538 C.E.. Among the gifts it brought for the Emperor were a bronze Buddha image, some sutras, a few religious objects and a letter warmly praising the most excellent Dharma. The gifts were accepted, and a temple was built to house the objects. During the course of the next half century, Japan witnessed the firm establishment of Buddhism officially recognized and actively supported by the imperial court, thus overcoming doubts about its efficacy as a means of preventing disease, and also overcoming the fear of the national kami. In these early days, the most important aspect with regard to the flow of Chinese culture into Japan was the introduction of the Chinese script. This provided the means for the Japanese (who did not possess an indigenous writing system of their own) to assimilate the vast tradition of Chinese classics, and the Chinese version of the Buddhist canon. Only very few imported Chinese texts were translated into Japanese; most have continued throughout their history to be used in their original version.

The main three characteristics of the arrival of Buddhism in Japan are as follows.

Firstly, it did not come to Japan on a popular level, but was only accepted by the imperial court and then disseminated in the country from the top. Often, Buddhist faith in Japan is connected with absolute devotion to a leader with emphasis on veneration of the founders of sects, and the majority of sects keep close relations to the central governmental authority of their times.

Secondly, Buddhism was often associated with magic powers, and was used by the court as a means of preventing or curing disease, bringing rain and abundant crops etc. Thirdly, Buddhism did not replace the indigenous kami, but always recognized their existence and power. This led to numerous varieties of Shinto-Buddhist amalgamation, in which often the kami were considered manifestations of the Buddhas. This is typical of how Buddhism favours harmonious coexistence with indigenous beliefs, and it was to be a similar story when Buddhism subjugated local gods and spirits in Tibet a few centuries later.

During the course of the development of Buddhism in Japan, the prevailing tendency is to search for fulfillment and ultimate truth, not in any transcendental sphere, but within the structure of secular life, neither denying nor repressing man’s natural feelings, desires or customs. This perhaps explains why many Japanese arts and skills are pervaded by Buddhist spirituality. Well known examples being the tea ceremony, the arts of gardening, calligraphy and the No play.

The initial period saw the introduction onto Japanese soil of the six great Chinese schools, including the Hua-Yen and Lu, that became respectively the Kegon and Ritsu in Japanese. In terms of geography, the six sects were centered around the capital city of Nara, where great temples such as the Todaiji and Hokkeji were erected. However, the Buddhism of this early period – later known as the Nara period – was not a practical religion, being more the domain of learned preists whose official function was to pray for the peace and prosperity of the state and imperial house. This kind of Buddhism had little to offer the illiterate and uneducated masses, and led to the growth of “people’s priests” who were not ordained and had no formal Buddhist training. Their practice was a combination of Buddhist and Taoist elements, and the incorporation of shamanistic features of the indigenous religion. These figures became immensely popular, and were a source of criticism towards the sophisticated academic and bureaucratic Buddhism of the capital.

Heian Period (794-1185)

In 794, the imperial palace of Japan moved to Kyoto, and it is from this date that important changes and developments take place which result in the emergence of a more characteristically Japanese form of Buddhism. Two schools – the Tendai and the Shingon – particularly came to the fore, in time supplanting the other established schools, and laying the foundations for future developments.

Two monks, Saicho (767 – 822) and Kukai (774 – 835), effected this change which so decisively affected the future of Japanese Buddhism. By their comprehensive syntheses of the Chinese doctrine, two systems of teaching and practice were created, which effectively furnished all the essentials for the entire further development of Japanese Buddhism .

Saicho, the founding father of the Tendai school, entered the sangha at an early age. After years of study and practice, he became especially partial to the teachings of the Chinese grand master Chih-I and the T’ien-t’ai School, which were based on the Lotus Sutra. In 804, he went to China, and returned with an improved knowledge of various teachings and practices, along with many sutras. He established his base on Mount Hiei, and received permission to ordain two novices every year. Official recognition of his Tendai sect soon followed, and it became one of the two dominating schools of Japanese Buddhism during the Heian period.

The teachings of Chih-I form a far-reaching synthesis of Buddhist tradition inspired by the Lotus Sutra, and Saicho was to add three further elements: the practice of Chinese Ch’an; the commandments of the Mahayana which are based in essentials on the Bonmokyo, and parts of the esoteric teaching of the “True Word”, Chen-yen (Shingon in Japanese). All this helped to make a decisive step away from the academic Buddhism of the early period, to a revived active kind of religion based on belief. An essential element in the doctrine of the Tendai was the teaching in the Lotus Sutra that the possibility of salvation is given to all.

Kukai and his secret doctrine, known as the True Word, Shingon, had a mysterious radiance, which encouraged the formation of legends about him. During his early studies in Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism he came to know one of the principal texts of the esoteric canon, the Mahavairocana Sutra, but did not reach a deeper understanding of it. In 804, he traveled to China where all his doubts and questions with regard to the sutra were resolved; he returned to Japan with many new skills and instructions to impart. He founded his headquarters on Mount Koya on the Kii peninsular. His career was successful to the extent that he was allowed to build a Shingon temple in the emperor’s palace, where he performed esoteric rituals and ceremonies. In 835, Kukai sitting in deep meditation fell into complete silence. In the eyes of his devotees he is not dead, but still sits in timeless meditation on Mount Koya.

Esoteric practices were very influential to the point that they dominated the Heian period, and had a decisive influence on the subsequent Kamakura period. Even the more philosophical Tendai school adopted esoteric rituals in order to make it more popular with the general population, whilst figures such as Kukai succeeded by means of esoteric rites in making rain after a time of drought, giving Buddhist esotericism a magical attraction.

Towards the end of the Heian, the dissemination of more popular devotional forms of Buddhism began, which were mainly derived from the Pure Land cult of Amitabha (Amida in Japanese). This was connected with the somewhat pessimistic philosophy of a deteriorating “final period of the dharma”, which became widespread during this time. The devotional cults basically propounded the notion that salvation was only possible through the intercession of buddhas and bodhisattvas, for example through the recitation and repetition of simple formula such as the Namu-Amida-butsu (the Nembutsu – “thinking on the Buddha”). There were other faith-based doctrines during this time, the most noteworthy being the belief in the bodhisattva Jizo, who dispenses help to beings on all levels of existence and it is still alive today.

Kamakura Period (1185-1333)

From the end of the 11th century, a new military aristocracy in the provinces increasingly evaded the control of the central government, culminating in war between the Taira and Minamoto families. The latter were victorious and thereby acquired absolute power of the country, setting up a military government in Kamakura in the vicinity of present-day Tokyo. Minamoto-no Yoritomo received the title of Shogun with supreme military and police power, thus transferring rule from the court aristocracy to those of the warrior class (samurai). Inevitably, this was to change the whole cultural climate.

This new climate did not favour the study of abstruse philosophy or the performance of elaborate rituals, so more robust and generally accessible teachings became the order of the day. The Tendai and Shingon schools declined, and more earthy democratic movements such as Zen and the devotional schools advanced.The first of the three great traditions of Kamakura Buddhism, the doctrine of the Pure Land, continued the development which had begun in the Heian period. There was the founding of an independent Japanese sect of the Pure Land known as Jodo-shu by Genku (1133-1212), better known as Honen. He decided that Enlightenment was no longer achievable by the strength man alone, and that the only possible way was to surrender to Buddha Amida and rebirth into the Western Paradise Pure Land. New in Honen’s philosophy was that, while he recognized the scholastic apparatus of Mahayana philosophy, he concentrated on an intensified religious feeling which found expression in the simple invocation of the name Namu-Amida-Butsu, stamped by unshakeable faith in rebirth into Amida’s paradise.

Honen’s successor, Shinran-Shonin (1173-1262) founded the True Sect of the Pure Land, Jodo-shinshu, which is the largest Buddhist sect in Japan today. In his chief work written in 1224, he explains that the doctrine, practice, belief and realization are all given by Amida Buddha and that nothing depends on man’s “own power” (jiriki). Instead, everything depends on the “power of the other” (tariki), namely that of the Buddha Amida. Shinran emphasized that the recitation of the Namu-Amida-butsu was simply the expression of thankfu joy for having received everything from Amida. It is worth noting that Shinran was a monk who decided to take a wife, with which he had five children, and thus he symbolizes a decisive turn in Japan towards lay Buddhism. He stressed that obedience to the Buddhist commandments and the performance of good deeds were not necessary to obtain deliverance; in fact it is precisely the bad man who can be assured of rebirth in Amida’s paradise if he wholeheartedly appeals to Amida.While belief in Amida proceeds from the “strength of the other” (tariki), Zen Buddhism teaches that man can come to deliverance and Enlightenment only from his own strength (jiriki). Zen (Chinese Ch’an, from Pali, jhana and Sanskrit, dhyana) places supreme emphasis on self-power: on the active mobilization of all one’s energies towards the realization of the ideal of enlightenment. There had been contacts between Japan and Zen doctrine since the 7th century. However, a lasting tradition that concentrated on Zen practice and led to the formation of a separate sect, was first created by the Tendai monk Eisai (1141-1215). During his studies in China, he had been introduced to the practice and doctrine of a branch of Zen which went back to Lin-chi (called Rinzai in Japanese), and on his return to Japan he started to disseminate the new doctrine.

Eisai established firm relations with the new military government in Kamakura and the military caste that held sway there. They found the simple, hard and manly discipline of Zen more to their taste than the ritual and dogma of the old schools. In contrast to this, Zen Buddhism was greeted with less enthusiasm by the intellectual elite of cities such as Kyoto. There, established practice was represented by Tendai, Shingon and Pure Land with their beautiful rituals. The fierce demands of Zen, with its emphasis on personal effort and the promise of enlightenment rather than heaven, seemed rebarbative and disturbing to the elite. Eisai is also linked to the introduction of tea drinking in Japan, which in time was to lead to the creation of the “tea-way” which, though non-religious, was strongly influenced by the spirit of Zen and the Tea Ceremony.

In general, the monks involved in the transmission of Zen from China to Japan also transmitted Neo-Confucian values and ideas, which were themselves strongly influenced by Ch’an Buddhism and Hua-yen philosophy. The Zen masters added a Confucian moral to Buddhist spirituality, which appealed to the new warrior-class of the Kamakura. For many centuries, the big Rinzai temples in Japan were centres of Chinese learning in general, and Neo-Confucianism in particular. Furthermore, the Rinzai school is closely associated with Japanese arts and the “ways” – the aforementioned "tea way", the "flower way", the "way of archery" and others.

A second Chinese school of Zen, the Ts’ao-tung (Soto in Japanese), introduced to Japan by Dogen (1200-1253). After four years of training in China under Master Ju-ching, Dogen returned to Japan in 1227, and eventually established the Eihei-ji temple in a remote province, which to this day remains one of the two main temples of the Japanese Soto Zen school. The foundation of Dogen’s Zen is the constantly emphasized principle that practice does not lead to Enlightenment, but is carried out in the state of being Enlightened; otherwise it is not practice. In a logically constructed picture of the world, he equates all being – the believer, his practice and the world – with the present moment, the moment of enlightenment. Striving for enlightenment would therefore be going astray. Dogen’s chief work was the Shobogenzo (The Eye and Treasury of the True Dharma).

After Pure Land and Zen, the final great reformer and sect-founder of the Kamakura period was Nichiren (1222-82). After studying in Kamakura and training in Tendai doctrine and practice, he came to the conclusion that the highest, all-embracing truth lay in the Lotus Sutra, known in Japan as the Myoho-renge-kyo, the fundamental canonical text of the Tendai sect. However, Nichiren thought that for the simple ordinary person, Tendai dogma and the reading of the Lotus Sutra were too difficult. He proclaimed that the title, Myoho-renge-kyo, was the essence of the whole sutra, and that it was in fact identical with the state of Enlightenment of Shakyamuni Buddha. It was therefore sufficient to utter the title and find oneself in the state of highest enlightenment. This condition gave rise spontaneously to morally right behaviour, so that it was necessary for the state and society that all should follow the practice of the “invocation of the title.”

Two issues isolated Nichiren: the militant style of his presentation, and his insistence that the Lotus Sutra should inform the practice of government. He constantly made his views public, and the hot worded language which he used spared neither secular or Buddhist establishments, and led to his eventual banishment to the island of Izu. He was soon pardoned, but his continued attacks on institutions so provoked government and clergy that he was sentenced to be executed. According to legend, the axe which was raised to behead him was struck by lightning. Off the hook, he again went into exile and further developed his writings. When he finally returned to the mainland, he devoted himself to his missionary activity and to the training of monks on Mount Minobu, until today the main temple of the Nichiren sect. In recent times, certain branches of Nichiren have been connected to nationalistic tendencies within Japan.

Later Periods

The demise of the Kamakura regime inaugurated a new era of internal strife and fighting in Japan, which was to last into the seventeenth century. It also signaled the end of the truly creative phase of Japanese Buddhism. A slide into stagnation occurred, which was to broadly last until the end of the nineteenth century. According to the twentieth century Zen writer D.T. Suzuki, after the Kamakura period “what followed was more or less the filling-in and working out of details.”

In the 14th and 15th centuries, the privileged relations of the Rinzai Zen sect with the military government permitted it to gain tremendous wealth. This led to the creation of what is known as the “Culture of the Five Mountains” which constitutes the summit of Japanese Zen culture. It included all the arts, such as architecture, painting, calligraphy and sculpture, as well as printing, gardening and medicine. Ikkyu (1394-1481), a priest of the Rinzai sect, was particularly known for his unconventional character, and he was an accomplished poet, calligrapher and painter.

The Tokugawa Shogunate was to rule Japan from its bastion in Edo (Tokyo) for over two and a half centuries. It was to be the longest period of peace, and for the most part, prosperity in the history of the country. This was basically achieved by closing the country to the outside world, and establishing a regime of inflexible authoritarian control that created stability and order, but stifled all creative change and innovation. The Buddhist clergy was under the strict control of the government, and it was forbidden to found a new sect or build a new temple without special permission.

The Shogunate encouraged the Buddhist clergy of the sects in scholarly pursuits, hoping thereby to divert them from politics. Therefore a huge amount of learned literature was produced, and by the second half of the seventeenth century, editions of the Buddhist canon appeared, the most influential being that by Tetsugen of the new Obaku-shu sect.
Obaku-shu had been founded by the Chinese master Yin-yuan Lung-ch’i, a Rinzai Zen priest. It added a new flavour to Japanese Zen, not only by its syncretism (it contained elements of Pure Land Buddhism), but also by the introduction of rituals, customs and a new architectural style imported from Ming China.

From the Zen school during this period, a few influential figures did emerge, the poet Basho and the Rinzai Zen masters Bankei and Hakuin being chief among them. Matsuo Basho (1644-94) was a poet who consciously transformed the practice of poetry into an authentic religious way; many of his finest poems (seventeen syllable haiku form) are thought to succinctly catch the elusive, often melancholy magic of the passing moment, and thereby express the true spirit of Zen. Bankei (1622-93) was an iconoclast who challenged orthodox Zen teaching. He spent many years intensively pursuing Enlightenment, and then at last he realized that he had been in possession of what he had been seeking all along, and decided that the term Un-born best described it. He thereafter advocated that people simply awaken to the unborn in the midst of everyday affairs, and he won himself a large audience which did not go down well with the Zen establishment.

Hakuin (1685-1768) is considered to be the restorer of the Rinzai sect in modern times. He revived the use of the koan, statements of Zen masters that are used as problems set to novices in Zen monasteries. They cannot be solved by rational thinking, and are designed to help open the mind to Enlightenment. Hakuin invented many new koans himself, adapted to the need of the times, in that they do not presuppose any scholarly knowledge of the Chinese Zen classics. His most famous koan being, “The sound produced by the clapping of two hands is easy to perceive, but what is the sound produced by one hand only?”

The restoration of the imperial regime in 1868 signaled the end of Japanese isolation. The pressure on Japan to reopen her doors simply becoming too great. There followed a temporary persecution of Buddhism when Shinto was made a state cult, however Buddhism was too firmly established in the affections of the Japanese people for this to last for long, and its religious freedom was effectively soon regained. For the first time in centuries, contact was made with other Buddhist countries, along with Western ones as well, and this served to encourage Buddhist scholarship, and various Buddhist universities were established by the first half of the twentieth century.

During the last 50 years, the evolution of Buddhism has been closely linked to Japan’s history. The grip of the government during the Second World War over Buddhist institutions was rigid, and any writings in which Buddhism was placed above the authority of the state or the emperor were suppressed. The only opposition to this came from the Soka-gakkai, founded in 1930 as a non-religious society of teachers, and they were severely persecuted. Since the end of the war, Buddhism in Japan has once again revived, and there has been the foundation of many new sects, along with an ongoing reinvigoration as a result from sustained contacts with other peoples and cultures. Japanese Zen has also been successfully exported to many Western countries, in particular North America.

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.

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.

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.

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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