There are three main religions generally acknowledged and celebrated in Japan: Shinto, Buddhism, and Christianity. Since as early as the sixth century AD, Shinto and Buddhism have co-existed in relative peace, despite criticism of a few period scholars. Christianity, other hand, faced periods of resistance and persecution. Today, these three religions manage to coexist in relative peace. Shinto and Buddhist rituals continue to appear in life milestones, while Christianity has more of an influence on popular culture.
Japan’s Religious History
Shinto is Japan’s oldest religion, having arisen out of political strife in the fifth century AD. At this point in history, Japan consisted of regional hegemonies (Totman 49), but by the 6th century, the hegemony in the Yamato Basin of the Kinai region had control of most of Japan (Totman 53). As a political move, the Kinai leaders inducted the ancestral gods, or ujigami, of their conquered opponents into their own collection of deities (Totman 53), establishing the Shinto pantheon. The most significant examples of this would be Susano-o, the ujikami of the Izumo of western Honshu, being re-written as the younger brother of Amaterasu, the goddess from which the Kinai hegemony originate (Totman 57). The importance of these adopted deities and the reverence they received is evident in how, after invading Kyushu, Shomu’s commanding general went to the Usa Hachiman to pray for pardon for having entered so rudely (Totman 73). Later, as if that weren’t enough, a Hachiman shrine was erected within the Todaiji Buddhist temple (Totman 75). Later, in the eighth century, the Yamato regime leitimiazed its rule by compiling the Kojiki, a mythological account of the Shinto gods, that united all court subjects under the lineage of Amaterasu (Totman 63). Since then, Shinto has been considered the imperial faith, and the imperial family is symbolically responsible for certain Shinto rituals.
Buddhism travelled from Korea into Japan in the sixth century and became an integrated part of daily life by the 7th century (Totman 41). From the start of the religion’s history in Japan, Buddhism and Shinto were used side by side. The Asuka period ruler Tenmu supported both Buddhism and Shinto (Totman 61), and in the midst of a disease epidemic in the 730’s, the Nara ruler Shomu planned both Buddhist and Shinto religious action (Totman 64). In fact, as Totman points out, “by the mid-seventh century Kinai rulers were actively and persistently fostering both Buddhist and Shinto practice without regard to factional changes” (Totman 72). The Buddhist and Shinto faiths were being used simultaneously within the court. Even as late as the Muromachi period complementary connections were being made. Shinto priest Yoshida Kanetomo explained that “Japan produced the seed, China produced the branches and leaves, India produced the flowers and fruit…Buddhism and Shinto are only secondary products of Shinto” (Totman 192). While Yoshida regarded Shinto in the highest as the root of all spirituality, he acknowledged that Buddhism, too, offered necessary traits. Fascinatingly enough, the two religions were also known to influence each other. For example, the Shugendo sect integrated an appreciation and worship of sacred mountains that was very much similar to kami worship (Totman 116).
Since its introduction, the Buddhist faith splintered off into numerous interpretations and sects. In 9th century, during the early Heian period, Japan was introduced Tendai and Shingon, two sects of Buddhism that significantly differed in their practices (Totman 117). While Tendai Buddhism taught that enlightenment could eventually be reached through the study of Buddhist texts, Shingon teachings claimed that it could be obtained in a single lifetime through certain rituals (Totman 118). Shingon, therefore, caught on within the court, which was already familiar with the rituals of Shinto and kami worship (Totman 118).
The popularity of Amidist sutras and Amida Buddhism also caught on during the early Heian period. Under these teachings it was believed that the lessons necessary to achieve enlightenment were too far in the past to be mastered. Therefore, Buddha Amida promised to save all beings, regardless of their religious practices (Totman 119).
Zen Buddhism did not really take hold in Kyoto until the 13th century (Totman 106), and was most popular with the samurai class (The Met). The Zen path to enlightenment relied on meditation and personal introspection, placing emphasis on the individual’s ability to seek their own, pre-existing enlightenment (The Met).
Christianity was first brought to Japan in 1549 when St. Francis Xavier landed in Kagoshima. Over his two year stay in Japan, Xavier managed to converts over one thousand Japanese subjects. After his departure, the number of Christians reached 30,000 in 1570. When anti-Western Tokugawa policies banned Christianity, over 5,000 Christians were martyred, forcing followers to practice in secret until the Meiji restoration in 1865.
Coexistence
Shinto ritual is most often used in life milestones, such as omiyamairi—baby’s first shrine visit—, weddings, and purification during yakudoshi—ages at which adults are especially vulnerable (The Illustrated Guide to Japan 154). Although Shinto is an ancient religion, Shinto weddings are a recent tradition, with the first one having taken place in 1900 (TIGJ 149). For the ceremony, the bride wears a shiromuku, a traditionally white kimono that holds the same symbolism of purity as the white wedding gown of the West. Some questionable sites also say that the white of the shiromuku is supposed to symbolize the bride’s willingness to be “dyed” by her groom, that is, to adapt to his lifestyle. The amount of truth in this is unclear. For the wedding reception, the bride wears a colorful uchikake over her shiromuku. This, too, seems to have symbolic importance, like the “dying” of the bride. At the center of the Shinto wedding ceremony is the san-san-kudo, where the groom and bride take three sips of sake from three cups, then share it with family members, symbolizing the uniting of families.
A synthesis of Shinto and Buddhism appears in New Years traditions such as susu harai and joya no kane (TIGJ 21). Susu harai is the cleaning of the house, reminiscent of the strict ritual purification of Shinto, while joya no kane is the midnight ringing of a Buddhist temple bell 108 times. New Years celebrants also conduct hatsumonde, which is a visit to either a temple or a shrine.
Several Shinto matsuri, or festivals, also occur throughout the year. Some examples of interesting regional matsuri include the Tanabata in Sendai…
…the Nebuta in Aomori…
…and the Yanaizu Hadaka mairi in Yanaizu-cho, where men in nothing but a loin cloth climb a rope to a shrine gong.
Since Shinto regarded death as extremely polluting, funerals were neglected. As a result, Buddhism took responsibility for funeral rites under the ideology of familial piety (Yagi 43). The ritual includes the burning of incense, a practical tradition that carried over from ancient times, when incense was used to clear the air (Yagi 46). After the body is cremated, the deceased can be honored at the butsudan, the Buddhist altar containing the deceased given name and kaimyo, or posthumous name, painted on a piece of wood called an ihai (Yagi 50). Memorial services are held on the seventh and forty-ninth days after death, for it is believed that on these days it s determined whether the deceased goes to paradise or hell (Yagi 44).
As mentioned in the history section, there are a fair number of different Buddhist sects. All these sects followed different ideologies at one point, but in the twentieth century, their differences became generally less prnounced. In Masuji Ibuse’s novel Black Rain, the main character Shigematsu Shizuma retells through his diary how he was made responsible for blessing the dead victims of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima (Ibuse 132). Shizuma’s manager tells him, “[I]f you don’t fancy the Shin sect, Zen will do, or Nichiren—anything you like” (Ibuse 132). Through the manager, it is evident that even in mid-twentieth century Japan there was diversity within the Buddhist faith, but that all the sects ultimately served the same purpose.
There are several Christian “trends” that have become extremely popular in Japan. For example, who hasn’t heard of Christmas in Japan? There is no real religious meaning behind the Christmas that is celebrated by the general Japanese public, and many of its traditions have no basis in the Western Christian faith. Such traditions include light displays…
…Santa Claus…
…and Christmas cake (TIGJ 20).
Western-style weddings are also very popular in Japan. Brides wear the typical white dress, the ceremony is held in a chapel, often with a reading from 1st Corinthians chapter 13, sometimes conducted in English or Japanese-English mixture. At the reception, there is a multi-tiered cake, and the bride will participate in a bu-ke tosu, or bouquet toss. Basically, Japanese-Western weddings follow the Western model, with slight modifications.
Still, for actual Christians, there are some conflicts in worship, especially for Protestants at Buddhist funerals. Opposed to the burning of incense, Protestants will instead offer a chrysanthemum at the end of the funeral (Yagi 47), a practiced called kenka (Yagi 51). Japanese Roman Catholics do now encounter such problems, for they can usually show their respect at a Buddhist funeral by making the sign of the cross so that they “are immediately understood to be Christian and to be showing the highest reverence in their own way” (Yagi 53).
Conclusion
Japanese religion is heavily based on ritual, and its cultural importance lies not in personal faith but communal custom. Rooted in both old and new traditions, religious events are a way for the Japanese to gather and express their unity on both the communal and national level.
Works Cited
Harding, Paul. "Western Style Weddings in Japan. seiyaku.com. n.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2010.
Ibuse, Masuji. Black Rain. Tokyo, Japan: Kondansha International Ltd., 1969.
Saint Francus Xavier's World. Technical Unit of the Department of Design and Development of School Texts. Web. 9 May 2010.
The Illustrated Guide to Japan: Daily Life and Society. Japan: JTB, Inc., 2003.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Zen Buddhism. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/zen/hd_zen.htm.
Totman, Conrad. A History of Japan. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2005.
Yagi, Dickson Kazuo. "Protestant Perspectives on Ancestor Worship In Japanese Buddhism: The Funeral and the Buddhist Altar." Buddhist-Christian Studies 15 1995: 43-59. JSTOR. 9 May 2010.
