Japanese Religious Traditions

by Yusa, Michiko, Ph.D.

• ISBN13: 9780130911643
• ISBN10: 013091164X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-06
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

This illuminating introduction to Japanese culture and religiosity offers a straightforward chronological narrative to Japanese religions by focusing on major Japanese religious and political figures who have profound acumen into their own living faith and describing what each thought (or taught) and did.Covers Japanese religious practices from the medieval times to present day, taking an existential and psychological approach to exploring the founders of various Japanese Buddhist sects and concentrating on what kind of questions they themselves asked about Buddhism. Describes the rise of modern Japanese nationalism in relation to "State Shinto" , explaining how it underwent ideological and political transfigurations through the times to help readers in their appraisal of the current state of Japanese society, politics, and what direction the country may be taking in the future. Also presents significant discussions on the role of women and their positions in Japanese religions, history, and society.For general readers interested in Japanese religions, world religions, and Asian culture.

Author Biography

Michiko Yusa is Professor of Japanese and East Asian Studies, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington.

Table of Contents

Foreword	6	(2)
Preface	8	(1)
Timeline	9	(2)
Map of Japan	11	(1)
Japanese Religions, Past and Present	12	(7)
A Chronological Framework	12	(4)
Japanese Historical Periods and Religions---A Brief Overview	12	(4)
Some Features of Japanese Religions	16	(3)
Religions in Contemporary Japan	17	(1)
Art as Religion	18	(1)
Shinto: the Native Religion of Japan	19	(12)
``The Way of Kami''	19	(1)
The Sacred	19	(1)
Early Shinto Practice	20	(5)
Himiko, the Shamanic Queen	21	(1)
The Sun Goddess Amaterasu in Shinto Myths	22	(1)
The Incident of the ``Heavenly Rock Cave'' and the Imperial Regalia	23	(2)
The Ise Shrine	25	(6)
The Institution of Saigu at Ise	26	(1)
Sengu: Periodic Rebuilding of the Shrines at Ise	27	(2)
The Cultural Significance of Sengu	29	(1)
Daily Activities Surrounding the Ise Shrine	30	(1)
The Arrival of Buddhism	31	(16)
The Essence of Buddhism	31	(2)
Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism	32	(1)
The Introduction of Buddhism	33	(3)
Prince Shotoku	35	(1)
The Cult of Prince Shotoku	36	(1)
Nara Buddhism	36	(3)
The Appeal of Buddhism to the Rulers	37	(1)
Todaiji and the Great Buddha Image	37	(1)
The Move to Kyoto	38	(1)
Saicho and the Tendai Sect	39	(2)
The Lotus Sutra and the Guide to Tendai Meditation	40	(1)
Kukai and the Shingon Sect	41	(2)
Mountains as a Religious Training Ground	43	(2)
The Practice of Barring Women from Sacred Mountains	44	(1)
Five Hindrances, Threefold Submission	44	(1)
Folk Beliefs and Popular Religious Practices	45	(2)
Fear of Retribution by Angry Spirits	46	(1)
The Rise of Kamakura Buddhist Sects	47	(13)
The Amida Cult and Nenbutsu	47	(2)
Genshin and the Pictures of Paradise and Hell	47	(2)
The Rise of ``Kamakura Buddhism''	49	(11)
Honen and the Pure Land Sect	49	(2)
Shinran and the True Pure Land Sect	51	(1)
Zen or the Meditation School	52	(2)
Eisai and the Rinzai Zen Sect	54	(1)
Dogen and the Soto Zen Sect	55	(1)
Patronage of Zen by the Kamakura Shogunate	56	(1)
Laying the Foundations for the Five Mountain Culture	57	(1)
Nichiren and the Lotus Sect	57	(2)
Ippen and the Ji Sect	59	(1)
The Medieval Period	60	(18)
Shinto-Buddhism Interaction and Fusion	60	(4)
The ``Essence-Manifestation'' Theory	61	(1)
The Emperor as Living Kami	62	(1)
A Divinely Protected Country	62	(1)
The Emergence of Shinto Treatises	63	(1)
Development of Popular Piety	64	(1)
The Development of Kamakura Buddhist Sects	64	(4)
Buddhist Sects in Arms	64	(1)
Doctrinal Debates	65	(1)
The Development of Zen Sects and the Zen-Influenced Arts	66	(2)
In Focus: The Japanese Garden	68	(2)
Francis Xavier and the Introduction of Christianity	70	(6)
Initial Obstacles	71	(1)
Nobunaga and Christianity	72	(1)
Hideyoshi and Christianity	73	(1)
The Incident of the San Felipe and the Christian Martyrs	74	(1)
Deification of Hideyoshi	75	(1)
In Focus: The Way of Tea and Zen	76	(2)
The Early Modern Period	78	(14)
Ieyasu and the Tokugawa Shogunate	78	(3)
The Isolationist Policy	79	(1)
Persecution of Christians and the Danka System	79	(1)
The Deification of Ieyasu	80	(1)
The Obaku Zen Sect	81	(1)
Buddhism Under the Shogunate	81	(2)
Buddhism Becomes a Funeral Religion	82	(1)
The Spread of Confucian Learning	83	(2)
The Fusion of Shinto and Confucianism	84	(1)
The Poet Basho	85	(1)
The Development of Popular Ethics	86	(6)
The Status of Women	87	(1)
The Discovery of Native Learning (Kokugaku)	88	(1)
``Hirata Shinto''	89	(1)
Living Buddhism	90	(2)
The Modern Period	92	(17)
The Emergence of Popular Religious Movements	92	(11)
The Opening of the Ports and the Resurfacing of the ``Hidden Christians''	94	(1)
The Meiji Restoration	94	(1)
The Separation of Shinto and Buddhism	95	(1)
The Image of the Emperor as a Kami	96	(1)
Abolition of Old Festivals, New Festivals Created	97	(1)
Lifting the Ban on Christianity	97	(1)
The Invention of State Shinto	98	(1)
The Meiji Constitution and the Imperial Rescript on Education	98	(1)
Christianity in Modern Japan	99	(1)
Spiritual Movements Among Leading Intellectuals	100	(2)
Scholarship and the Buddhist Faith	102	(1)
The Establishment of Omoto	102	(1)
From the Taisho to the Showa Period	103	(6)
The Implementation of State Shinto	104	(1)
The Yasukuni Shrine	105	(1)
The War Effort and State Shinto	105	(1)
The Postwar Dismantling of State Shinto	106	(1)
The Rise of More New Sects	106	(3)
Japanese Religions in the New Millennium	109	(5)
``New-New'' Religious Sects	109	(2)
The Rise and Fall of Aum Shinrikyo	109	(1)
The Religious Phenomenon of Mizuko Kuyo	110	(1)
Japanese Religions Today	111	(1)
Looking Toward the Future	112	(2)
Notes	114	(4)
Glossary	118	(5)
Pronunciation Guide	123	(1)
Major Festivals and Holidays	124	(1)
Suggested Further Reading	125	(2)
Index	127

Excerpts

In today's increasingly interdependent world, it is vitally important that different nations and cultures understand one another. Many Westerners have acquired some understanding of Japan--through contact with visiting Japanese students, perhaps, or even through travel to Japan. Even so, Japan tends to be seen predominantly in its modern role, as a key player in the global economy; the nation's distinctive humanistic traditions are often overlooked. Japanese culture is a complex amalgam of old and new, and because Japan's various religions have been central to the development of this culture, they serve as windows to the Japanese people's sense of identity.In the following pages I have adopted a chronological approach to the study of Japanese religions. I have placed religious events, experiences, and customs in a framework of Japanese history, which includes an account of Japan's interactions with the Western world. It is hoped that this small book will serve as a useful guide to the spiritual traditions of the Japanese people.In the summer of 2000, I made extensive pilgrimages to sacred places in Japan in preparation for the writing of this book. I would like to thank Professor A. Mineshima, who kindly guided me through Zojoji in Tokyo, the head temple of the Pure Land sect. I would also like to thank Professor Z. Ilidaka, abbot of the Sanboin temple at Mt. Koya. Although I did not write about the religion of the Ainu people, I learned much about them from meeting with Dr. S. Kayano at the village of Nibutani, in Hokkaido.Moreover, I am deeply indebted to the work of Japanese scholars such as Kanaoka Shuyu, Ishida Mizumaro, Miyasaki Yusho, Kino Kazuyoshi, Nakamura Hijime, Murakami Shigeyoshi, Tamura Encho, and many others.My special thanks go to Professor Edward Kaplan, my colleague at Western Washington University, who read my earlier drafts and made expert editorial comments. My thanks go also to Melanie White, Richard Mason, Kate Tuckett, Eleanor Van Zandt, and Julia Ruxton, of Laurence King Publishing Ltd., whose tireless encouragement was essential for the completion of this book. I owe special thanks to Christine Davis, Project Editor, as well as to the reviewers whose comments were of invaluable assistance. I thank Western Washington University for its Faculty Development Grant.I will never know what Professor Ninian Smart would have had to say about this book, but I hope that I would not have disappointed him. I dedicate this small but dear book to Ninian and his beloved wife, Libushka, with all my love. Michiko Yusa September 2001