Japanese “new religions” is not one of the easiest concepts to understand. In fact, it can cause much confusion. One of the hardest parts in understanding this is determining what the new religions are. Modern Japan is very diverse in the sense they allow their group of people to be apart of any religion they choose. This is also what makes Japan, the unique country that they are. The diversity of religions in Japan originated from the indigenous religions such as Shinto and Buddhism. Although most cultures follow and practice one religion, in Japan most of the people are apart of two religions. Those religions include Buddhism and Shinto. Before Buddhism was established in Japan, Shinto was the only religion that was practiced. …show more content…
As previously mentioned, “Buddhism, Shinto, and “new” religions are practiced in every part of Japan, as well as in overseas communities.” (A Concise Introduction to Religion, p.545) Buddhism and Shinto work together, influencing one another, making it difficult to understand one religion without having an understanding of the other. It is important to understand, that religion doesn’t play a big role in every day life in Japan. Following more modern rituals is something that Japanese people have become a custom too. So, “The average person typically follows the religious rituals at ceremonies like birth, weddings, and funerals, may visit a shrine or temple on New Year and participates at local festivals (matsuri), most of which have a religious background.” (Religion in Japan) One of the festivals that takes place every spring is classified as “The Rousing Drum.” The festival can be viewed as, “a steam vent designed to release the pressure created by class and economic differences.” (A Concise Introduction to …show more content…
This may be confusing and even controversial for someone who is not from Japan and from a different religion. Luckily, there are a few ways to understand this concept, “One way to understand the diversity of religion in Japan is to imagine religious life as a marketplace in which consumers decide which shops to patronize on the basis of cost and product availability.” (A Concise Introduction to Religion, p.550) Also, “Variables of time, place, and occasion also enter into consumers’ calculations: thus a religious “product” appropriate for the end of summer—for example, the ritual prescribed to protect the ripening rice crop from insects, typhoons, or fire—is not the same ritual to protect one’s business from financial trouble or one’s soul from the flames of hell.” (A Concise Introduction to World Religions,
Image and Text.” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 33.2 (2006): 297-317. Jstor. 12 Oct 2011.
Shinto: The Way Home written by Thomas Kasulis is a book designed to inform the reader of Shinto traditions and history, but how does his work stand on its own as a scholarly source. Kasulis uses simple organization strategies to control the flow of the work the simplest method is the separation of the book into six chapters as well as a two prefaces one from the editor and one from the author. The first chapter discusses Shintoism in the terms of a western audience while the second chapter confers the connection with normal Japanese culture with Shinto traditions. The third, fourth, and the fifth chapter canvases the history of Shinto traditions in chronological order from prehistory to 2002. Chapter 6 explains Issues with Shinto in a modern
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.
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”)
I did not know that much about this culture until this paper. The Japanese people are very polite and respectful. The Japanese take education very serious and nature. Their langue is a lot different they have different styles of speaking even for different social status there is a certain way of thinking. In Japan there is a mixture of the Buddha religion and the Shinto. Both beliefs have the same influence on the Japan culture. Buddhism was brought o Japan in the early 6th century from China. There are five precepts that they go by which are no killing, no stealing, no lying, no sexual misconduct, and no use of intoxication.
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...
Shimazono, Susumu. 2005. "State Shinto and the Religious Structure of Modern Japan." Journal Of The American Academy Of Religion 73, no. 4: 1077-1098. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 23, 2012).
Eastern religions have originated from the east side of the Earth from countries such as: China, Japan, and India. The Eastern religions have different histories some of which include a founder like Buddha in Buddhism and others without a founder like Shinto. Most of the Eastern religions have similar belief systems which must be applied into their way of life. According to the authors of World Religions, “These religions profess living in harmony with nature and seeking a balance between the spiritual world and reality.” In addition to balance and harmony, these religions also share the belief in the use of meditation, treating nature as sacred, and most importantly a polytheistic universe.
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.
Fourteenth century Japan was a time of peace for many people. Buddhism had just become a major part of Japanese culture due to the Shogun Yoshimitsu. He became ruler in 1367 at the sapling age of ten (Waley 21). Yoshimitsu needed to distinguish himself from his ancestors and he did this by being devoted to Buddhism, specifically the Zen Sect (21). “Zen Buddhism and the life and teaching of Shinran are popularly identified as typical Japanese Buddhism.” (Takeda 27) However Buddhism, in Japan, is different and unique from Buddhism in other countries because it is considered the “funeral religion” (27). This is mainly influenced by ancient Japanese beliefs of the onryo.
Christianity at the end of the late medieval period in Japan was in decline. Though Jesuit missionaries in Japan studied Confucianism and Buddhism to more effectively proselytize, popularity dwindled for a variety of reasons. Scholars have written extensively on the history of Japan during this era, how Christianity influenced the Japanese people, and how they practiced their religion during and after the “Statement on the Expulsion of the bateren” closed churches, expelled missionaries, and banned Christian practices. Scholars disagree over the reasons why Christianity rapidly went from one most popular religions in Japan to near obscurity, but generally attribute it to cultural dissonance, miscommunication, and officials’ fears of delegitimization
The Cold War was a big race that started after World War II between the United States and the Soviet Union . There were two powers fighting to become the dominant power. The Cold War was really complicated because of Democracy and Communism. The United States, after World War II was trying to boost the democratic idea to the world. The other dominion benefited from World War II and the Soviet Union, tried to spread communist idea throughout Europe and the rest of the world.
Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, survives even to this day and lies at the basis of Japanese society. Shinto played and continues to play not only an enormous role in general Japanese society, but also regarding the roles of women both in general society and the society within traditional Shintoism.
Japan is made up of 98.5% Japanese, 0.5% Korean, 0.4% Chinese and 0.6% other ethnicity. It does not seem that the small percentage of non-Japanese cultures have had much of an impact on the Japanese culture. Around 99% of the population speak Japanese and less than 1% of the population speaks Korean. Japan does not display ethnic, religious and class divisions in their social structure. Even 90% of the population consider themselves as middle class.
Japan is a fascinating multifaceted culture, on one hand it is filled with many traditions dating back thousands of years and yet is a society with continually changing fads,