What is the definition of “Japanese Religion”? The answer is there is no definition for “Japanese Religion” in general. There are lots of different religions on the land of Japan: Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, and Shinto. Different religions came to Japan at different period, and influence the indigenous religions of Japan, Shinto. So even the indigenous religion of Japan was changing throughout the history. This caused a changing definition of Japanese Religion. But how can we study and understand the Japanese Religion if it changed over time? The movie Princesses Mononoke provides us an image of how the Religion of Japan changed and helps us understand Japanese Religion.
It is hard to tell when the first religion of Japan started,
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And the religion of Yamato clan has become a little bit different under the influence of China. We can see the result of the influence in many screen of the movie. For example, the monk Jigo can be considered as the symbol of influence of Buddhism. So the religion of Yamato people in the movie can represent the later Shinto that had been influence by Buddhism and Confucianism. The later Shinto of Yamato clan can be also called imperial Shinto because people believe the imperial family are descends of Sun Goddess Amaterasu. And this relationship between Kami and imperial family is the combination of Shinto and Confucian’s theory of emperor. The Yamato emperor “only to have been relatively superior to or elevated above the leaders of the other clans. Not until the next century did the Japanese, under the influence of Chinese monarchic ideas, transform their sovereign into a transcendentally divine ruler.” (3) Under this influences, Yamato people prefer to believe in their divine ruler instead of the Kami of nature. So the emotion Yamato people have to the Kami is afraid and hatred. This is what later Shinto that absorbed the idea of Buddhism and Confucianism look
Shintoism is a religion that is from the Japanese culture Shinto means “the way of life.” Shinto is an ancient belief that is still practiced in Japan. The Meiji Restoration in 1868 brought reorganized of Shinto. This made Shinto officially separate form Buddhism. There are still shrines and rituals that are done to this day. (BBC) Shintoism believes that everything should be
The third chapter is about Shintoism during the prehistory to 1794 and discusses how the tradition was passed down and how Shintoism was fused with Buddhism since Shintoism was too simple to compare with Chinese Confucianism. Chapter four discusses Shinto history from 1794 to 1801 and is about how many Shinto philosophers tried to rewrite Shintoism to separate it from Buddhism. To continue the thought chapter 5 starts from 1801 to 2002 theorizes the Shinto separation leads to an imperialist mentality such as kamikaze pilots and World War 2. The final chapter six speculates the future of Shintoism after WW2 and the Yasukuni controversy plus the tug of a war battle between essentialist and existentialist Shintoism and the issues with vocabulary that both types of Shinto has.
In April, 1549, Xavier, Saint Francis left the Indo-Portuguese capital of Malacca on his first voyage to Japan. The Voyage went relatively fast and he arrived at the Kagoshima harbor, on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Assumption. Xavier stepped off unto the shores of what he thought to be the Promised Land. Xavier landed with high hopes, nor were his expectations disappointed. Xavier, describe the people of Japan has having good manners, not malicious and men of honor. He also stated that they have one quality in which he cannot recall seeing in Christians; that is however poor their gentry might be they and the commoners however rich, give as much respect to a poor man in passing as if he were a rich person. He noticed the Japanese to be very courteous in their dealings with one another; they highly regard arms by carrying a sword and dirk from the age of fourteen onwards.
Moreover, the Japanese army tries to combine forces with traditional Confucian ideology through spreading propaganda that promotes "loyalty", "filial piety" and "chastity," key Confucian values. They also proclaim they are bringing back the Mencian “kingly way” of just and compassionate government and rule in order to solidify their power and discourage rebellion (Xiao, Field 73). Fourthly, Xiao Hong sees Christianity as a passive and superstitious religion. It has little to contribute to society.
Shinto is the traditional religion of Japan. It means “the way of the kami”. Shintoism is mainly focused on beliefs in, and worships of Kami. Kami are spiritual or divine beings. They are sometimes referred to as the ‘gods’ in Shinto. But rather than the powerful and supernatural beings seen in Western religion, Kami is more like a mystical and sacred spirit that exist in the creative forces of nature. Shintoism follows the belief of animism, which is the belief that natural, material objects possess souls. These sacred spirits, called Kami are able to take the form of different things in nature. Kami not only exists as spiritual beings, but also takes the form of plants and animals, mountains and seas, and all natural phenomena.
as well.8 The Meiji period was an important part of Japan's changing western ways. After World War II, Japan changed forever. With the Atomic bomb physically destroying their cities, and their defeat destroying their. imperialistic mentality, Japan was deeply wounded. Japan lost the respect of the world during the war and few people felt sorry for them....
Shintoism has no founder ,and the history behind the technicalities of the rise of Shinto are rather obscure. Experts don't agree as to when Shinto became a unified religion more than just a label to give to the different faiths of Japan. Before the arrival of Buddhism, Shinto referred to the many local cults of the prehistoric Japanese people. These people were animists; devoted to the worship of nature and spirits. These spirits were the Kami; found in living things, nonliving things and natural phenomena. The early Japanese created a spiritual world—and rituals and stories to accompany it—that seemingly gave them control of their lives. It wasn't considered a religion at those times, early Japanese people regarded their faith as a commonality as a part of the natural world. The realms of Earth and the supernatural were closely integrated into each other for them. (“Religions”)
The development and evolution of the different sects of Japanese Buddhism such as Zen Buddhism played an important role in the development of classical Japanese culture throughout the four major periods, which was shown in the way that the Nara period, the Heian era, the Kamakura period, and the Edo period were all shaped by the ascent and decline of different Buddhist sects. It is these transitions that make Japanese history a myriad, but fascinating web of interconnecting events that manages to confuse even the most veteran historians. At first, Buddhism was only a pastime of the elite class of landowners and daimyo that held no special significance to the common peoples. It was mainly another way for the central government to gain power and influence among the many local lords that it had to contend with on a regular basis. Although it is to be noted that most of these new converts to Buddhism did not abandon their earlier religions, but instead blended it together with several aspects of Shintoism, the original indigenous religion of Japan(“Japanese Buddhism”,1). This created several amalgamations of the two religions wherever and whenever they met(“Japanese Buddhism”,1). However, as Buddhism was introduced to the general population through the process of hierarchical diffusion, it quickly branched off and evolved from its original form as different sects that shaped contemporary Japanese culture (Kasahara, 302).
Japan has a history that dates back thousands of years. Researchers believe the Japanese people descended from many groups that migrated to the islands from other parts of Asia, including China and Korea. As early as 4500 B.C., the Japanese islands
Compare And Analysis The Japanese Buddhism And Indo Buddhism Buddhism is a religion and philosophy founded by Siddhartha Gautama in northeast India during the period from the late 6th century to the early 4th century BC. Spreading from India to Central and Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, Buddhism has played an influential role in the spiritual, cultural, and social life of much of the Eastern world. It is the prevailing religious force in most of Asia (India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Tibet). ‘Buddhism’ is reformulated and re-expressed in different cultures and at different times, adopting and redefining aspects of the cultures in which it has taken root. Today, there are about 300 million followers. (Yamplosky) The Indian religion Buddhism, founded in the sixth century BC, is one of the common features of Asian civilization, and Buddhist institutions and believers are found all over East, South, and Southeast Asia. While Buddhism is now just a minority belief in the country of it’s founding, it remains a significant religious and cultural force in Japan today. Buddhism started in India and made its way to China and Korea. From there, it ended up in Japan. Buddhism went through several different periods before it became Japan's national religion. In indo Buddhism, the temple is the main sanctuary, in which services, both public and private, are performed but Japanese Buddhism is mainly hub of individual activities and services. Similarly to Japanese Buddhism, in Indo Buddhism the monastery is a complex of buildings, located usually in a spot chosen for its beauty and seclusion. Its function is to house the activities of the monks. Images are important features of temples, monasteries, and shrines in both Indo a...
The religion of the Japanese people is called Shinto. Shinto translates to Way of the Spirits. Some say that it is more than a religion, it is a way of life for the Japanese people. It is closely paralleled by the Japanese cultures and way of life (Hirai, 2007). Shinto has been a way of practicing faith and living a pure life in Japan for over 2,000 years. Shinto is in every aspect of the Japanese life. For example: ethics, politics, social structure, artistic life, sporting life, and of course spiritual life (Religion, 2017). Nowadays, the people of Japan mix some Shinto and Buddhism in their lives as far as their spiritual beings are concerned. Shinto is a very free religion. There is no God, no commandments, no founder, and no scriptures. Rather than worshiping a God, Shinto followers worship kami, or spiritual energy (Hansen 2007).
Japan has been a home for Shinto and Buddhist religions for centuries. The Christian missionaries during the 16th, 19th and 20th centuries worked hard to evangelize the Japanese nation but could not get desired success. There efforts in past failed partly due to sanctions imposed by the local rulers. The Jesuits missionaries traveled with Spanish and Portuguese traders to many areas of America and Asia-Pacific and established their churches and religious missions. They were funded, sponsored and trained by their respective governments in order to spread Christianity. At several places they preached the Christian faith by force but the aboriginal population did not accept it wholeheartedly. Initially the Jesuits targeted the elite class of the country and a large number was converted. The rulers also forced their subject to embrace the same faith. About 300,000 Japanese were converted in the first phase. Later on, Christianity was prohibited as the rulers started seeing them as a threat to their authority. Following a change of regime, the ban was lifted and missionaries were again allowed to enter Japan. Like many Native American tribes, the Japanese also resisted the new religion. As a result, presently Christians form only 1% of the total population in Japan. This paper is focused on how the Christian religion was introduced in Japan, the evolution of evangelism, establishment of churches, the restrictions and hurdles faced by the missionaries and priest of the new religion and the response of Japanese nation towards an alien faith. All these queries are answered in detail given as follows.
Myths and Legends of Japan Japan has many myths believed to be true by the Japanese culture. Such as: "You can tell a person's character from their blood type". The Japanese creation myth starts off with brother and sister gods Izanagi and Izanani. They dipped a spear into the churning sea and when they pulled it out the drops that fell on the water surface became the islands of Japan. Next, the sun goddess Amaterasu, was created and was soon sent to heaven to rule over the world.
Japan is a large island off to the east of China it is a great country that has a rich culture. The Japanese religion is based off of two main beliefs, the belief in Shinto and Buddhism many Japanese people believe consider themselves both. The Japanese people were known to be around as early as 4,500 B.C. They have constructed their government style to a constitutional monarchy where they do in fact have an emperor, but he has limited power within the country. The main power of the country is held by the Prime Minister of Japan. Japan is made up of many islands that extend along the Pacific coast of Asia. The land area is made up of a lot of forest and mountainous area that cannot be used for agricultural, industrial or residential use. Japan also has one of the largest and growing economies in the world. They are growing every day and it is all because the people of Japan work very hard in order for their economy to flourish as it has.
The Japanese culture is quite harmonious, respectful, and hardworking. Their culture is made up highly of being respectful of others, family, and nature. They value their elders, history, tradition, religion, family, government, nature, education, and work.