Religion in Japan
Ryoichi ImaiKyushu University

1神道 The Shintoism• According to the ancient myths compiled to the 古事記 Kojiki andthe 日本書紀 Nihon-Shoki, Japan was created by the god and thegoddess (Izanagi and Izanami).
• The heaven was ruled by Amaterasu the goddess. She sent her
nephew Ninigi as the ruler of the Japanese islands.
• Ninigi marked his first steps to Japan at the peak of 高千穂峰 Mt.
Takachiho-no-mine in the Miyagi prefecture.
• Ninigi and his family was believed to be the ancestors of Japan’s
imperial family.
• The Shinto gods are almost the gods described by the chronicles
mythology.
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伊勢神宮 Great Shrine of Ise•The shrine is located in theMie prefecture, and is themost holy shrine in theJapanese Shintoism.
•In the shrine, believers
worship the goddess
Amaterasu, the ruler of theHeaven.
•PM Abe held a G7 summit
2016 meeting in the Ise cityand invited the western
leaders to the shrine.
•The main hall is the sacredplace where nobody isallowed to take photographs.

3宇佐八幡宮 Usa Hachiman shrine• The shrine was built in
the 8th century, and isranked at the top of all
the Hachiman shrines inJapan.
• Its shintaku (oracle) was
so strong to affect thedecisions in the imperial
court (Dokyo incident).
• The shrine was one of
the leaders of the Shinto
syncretism (immersionwith Buddhism).
• The center of theShugendo emerging in
the Kunisaki Peninsula.
4出雲大社 Great Shrine of Izumo•In the ancient time,
there was a country
ruled by King
Ohkuninushi in theSan-in region, thenorthern coast of thewestern Japan.
•The kingdom wasconquered by theYamato dynasty.
•The kingOhkuninush is now
worshiped as the godof marriage and goodharvest.

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Origin of Buddhism in Japan• Buddhism was brought from China through Korean peninsulain the 7th century.
• The Soga clan and Prince Shotoku established Buddhism asthe state religion.
• The Japanese envoys to the Tang Dynasty China brought
many Buddhist scriptures and monks to Japan.
• Prince Shotoku built the Horyuju temple (法隆寺) at Asuka(飛鳥) in Nara prefecture.
• In Nara era, Emperor Shomu built a Giant Buddha statue atthe Todaiji temple (東大寺).
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Buddha as the protector of the state• The absorption of Buddhist knowledge was carried over tothe Heian period.
• Saicho (最澄・伝教大師) and Kukai (空海・弘法大師), whowent to Tang Dynasty China during the reign of Emperor
Kanmu, studied esoteric Buddhism (密教) and founded theTendai (天台) and Shingon (真言) sects, respectively.
• In ancient times, the role of Buddhism was regarded as aprotective state, and it received state patronage, but the faith
did not spread among the people.

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Decadent-age theory, Amidism, and the Syncretism• In the late Heian period, the idea of 末法思想 Mappo (pessimism
due to decadent–age theory) spread.
• The belief in Amida (阿弥陀信仰), which taught that you would bereborn in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss (極楽浄土) in the nextlife, became popular.
• Fujiwara Yorimichi built the magnificent Byodoin Phoenix Hall (平等院鳳凰堂 ) based on the Amida beliefs.
• During the Insei (Cloister Rule) period, shrine worship based on
the syncretism of the Shinto and Buddhist (神仏習合) traditions
became popular.
• The Kumano Three Shrines (熊野三山) were visited very often bythe current and retired emperors.
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熊野那智大社
Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine• The shrine is located atthe southern coast of theWakayama prefecture.
• The shrine is one of thethree shrines (NachiTaisha, Hongu Taisha,and Hayatama Taisha)located at the goal of the
Kumano Pilgrimage Road.
• The shrine is a leading
temple of the ShintoBuddhism syncretism.

9鎌倉仏教 Kamakura Buddhism• Towards the end of the twelfth century, young Buddhist
monks were creating a new Buddhism.
• During this period, Enryakuji Temple (延暦寺) of the Tendai
served as a Buddhist college.
• The young monks who studied at Enryakuji started newschools one after another.
• Most of the Buddhist sects practiced by modern Japanese
were founded in the Kamakura period.
• The state-protecting Buddhism was transformed into popularreligions by the founders of Kamakura Buddhism.
10The Jodo sects• It was the Jodo sect (浄土宗) and the Jodo Shinshu sect (浄土真宗) that popularized the Amida faith.
• Honen (法然), who founded the Jodo sect, built Chion-in temple(知恩院) in Kyoto.
• Shinran (親鸞), who learned from Honen, founded the Jodo
Shinshu sect.
• Jodo Shinshu was spread throughout Japan by Rennyo (蓮如) inthe late Muromachi period, and became the leading religion of therevolt of peasants.
• The Tokugawa shogunate feared the political power of Jodo
Shinshu and divided the head temple in Kyoto into the East
Honganji (東本願寺) and the West Honganji (西本願寺).
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禅宗 Zen Buddhism• Zen Buddhism was founded by Master Daruma (達磨大師) of ancient China.
• In the early Kamakura period, Eisai (栄西) and Dogen (道元) traveled to theSong dynasty China to study Zen Buddhism and founded the Rinzai (臨済宗)and Soto (曹洞宗) schools, respectively.
• The Rinzai school was exclusively under the patronage of the Kamakura andMuromachi shogunates, and founded a number of large temples in Kamakuraand Kyoto. The Rinzai sect mainly attracted the faith of the samurai.
• In contrast, Dogen built Eiheiji Temple (永平寺) in Echizen (越前、福井県) anddistanced himself from political power.
• However, Eiheiji was soon regarded as the most prestigious Zen Buddhisttemple in Japan.
• The popularity of Zen Buddhism in Europe and the United States was fueledby the zealous efforts of the Soto school to spread its teachings abroad.
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永平寺 Eiheiji Temple Fukui•The temple wasfounded by a famous
Zen Priest Dogen in
the early Kamakura era.
•The Soto Zen brought
by Priest Dogen from
China to Japan is thelargest Zen Buddhism
sect in Japan today.
•Eiheiji Temple,surrounded by a deep
forest, is one ofJapan's leading Zen
training centers.
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法華宗 Lotus Sutra Sects• Nichiren (日蓮), who studied under the Tendai school ofBuddhism, came to believe that the Lotus Sutra (法華経) was themost important Buddhist scripture and tried to spread it amongthe people.
• Nichiren severely criticized the politics of the Kamakura
shogunate and warned the people against the Mongol invasion asa form of punishment for their unbelief (不信心).
• Although his sect was severely suppressed, Nichiren Buddhism is
one of the most followed Buddhism in Japan today.
• Minobu-san Kuonji Temple (身延山久遠寺), which was founded byNichiren, is still one of the headquarters of the Nichiren secttoday.
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Minobu-san Fukuoka Temple
身延山福岡別院• A giant Nichiren statue
stands near the center ofFukuoka city.
• A Hokekyo priest, Nichiren,alarmed at people about theinvasion of Mongolia in the13th century.
• He was heavily persecuted by
the Kamakura bakufu forhaving confused people.
• Later his Buddhist believers
have formed the Nichiren-shu
日蓮宗, which is one of thelargest Buddhist sects inJapan.
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創価学会 the Soka Gakkai• The sect has been repeatedly split and confronted with eachother, and today it is divided into Nichirenshu (日蓮宗),
Nichiren Shoshu (日蓮正宗), and the Soka Gakkai (創価学会).
• The Soka Gakkai was an association of followers of Nichiren
Shoshu, and now is independent of the sect temples.
• The Soka Gakkai had a significant influence on Japanesepolitics through its political division, the Komei Party (公明党).

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The Return of Shintoism• Since Prince Shotoku, the imperial family has been adherents ofBuddhism, and funerals and other rituals have been held mainly inaccordance with Buddhism.
• Before the Meiji Restoration, the family temple was Sennyu-jiTemple (泉涌寺) in Kyoto.
• However, after the Meiji Restoration, when the emperor returned
to power as a politician, the religion of the imperial family wasmade Shinto.
• The imperial family was converted by force to Shintoism.
• The Meiji government banned Shinto-Buddhist syncretism andpromoted the separation of Buddhism from Shinto.
• (廃仏毀釈 haibutsu-kishaku) Much of the Buddhist heritage wasdestroyed by the abolition of Buddhism.
17Christianity• Christianity was brought to Japan by Portuguese and Spanish
missionaries during the Sengoku period.
• Christianity spread in Kyushu and other parts of Japan, especiallyin western Japan.
• Not only the common people but also the feudal lords wereconverted to Christianity (Kirishitan daimyo).
• However, sensing Spanish intentions to conquer Japan, Toyotomi
Hideyoshi banned Christianity and crucified the missionaries.
• The Edo shogunate restricts trade with Europe to the Netherlands
and designates Nagasaki as the only international port.
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Hidden Christians• (島原の乱、The Shimabara Rebellion) A major Christianuprising occurred in Kyushu in the early Edo period, but it
was quickly put down.
• (隠れキリシタン、Hidden Christians) Christian beliefs werestrictly forbidden, but in some parts of Nagasaki Prefecture,
Christian beliefs posing as Buddhists continued in secret.
• After the Meiji Restoration, the Christian faith was legalized.
• Today, there are a variety of Christians, including Roman
Catholics and Protestants.
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大浦天主堂 Ohura Cathedral Nagasaki•The church was built at theend of Edo era (1862), andis the oldest catholic church
in Japan, remaining today.
•A French Priest Putitjean
found the local hiddenChristians, who continued
praying for Jesus more than
250 years informally,pretending to be Buddhists.

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