a new understanding of god in the japanese...
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100 Understanding God in the Asian Context
❚Special Issue❚ Understanding God in the Asian Context
□ Catholic Theology and Thought, Vol. 77, Summer 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.21731/ctat.2016.77.100 ISSN(print) 1225-4924; ISSN(online) 1225-2564
A New Understanding of God in the Japanese Context*
1
Prof. Fr. Ichiro Mitsunobu, S.J.
〔Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan〕
1. Japanese Society and God 2. Modern Atheism 3. The Japanese Idea of God 4. What is Shinto? 5. Shinto as an Ethnic Religion 6. Christianity and the “Kami” 7. State Shinto 8. The History of the Control of Religion by Rulers 9. The Difference between Korea and Japan in Their History of
the Reception of Christianity 10. Eastern “Nothingness” and God: As a Concluding Thought
1. Japanese Society and God
Japan is a non-Christian society. The Christian population is only
about 1 percent. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs (2015), the
*1This research paper is commissioned, supported, and originally published by the Founda-tion of Theology and Thought, 2016.
101 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
total number of Japanese religious believers is 190,219,862. The break-
down is as follows: Shinto 92,168,614, Buddhist 87,126,192, Christian
1,951,381, and other various teachings 8,973,675. With these figures, the
total number of believers adds up to nearly twice the total population of
Japan!
According to a survey by the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research
Institute, those who “believe in religion” amounted to 39%, those who
“do not believe in religion” were 49%. Among those who said the “be-
lieve in religion” there was a higher percentage of women than men, more
elderly people that younger people. In answer to the question “What reli-
gion do you feel friendly toward?” 65% answered Buddhism. This ratio
was the highest.
However, religious behavior here means such practices as visiting the
family grave or going to a Shinto shrine at New Year’s. Those who said
they “do so often” exceeded half of the total. Also pulling a sacred lot or a
getting a lucky charm is very popular among Japanese people. In answer-
ing questions about the existence of the “spiritual power of ancestors”,
“life after death”, and “transmigration (reincarnation)”, about 40% said
“yes”. Of those who answered “yes” to this question there were more
young people than elderly, and the ratio of people who answered “yes”
exceeded 70% among women in their 30s. There was a notable contrast in
that the ratio of people believing in religion is increasing among the
elderly.
According to the Cabinet Office survey, in answer to the question “Do
you think that religion has become a cornerstone of emotional support for
attitudes and behavior in daily life for Japan’s youth?” 13.4% answered “I
think so” and 27.4% answered “I tend to think that is true rather than the
opposite”. In comparing the percentage of those who answer “I think so”
102 Understanding God in the Asian Context
with those in other countries, the United States has the highest at 80.5%,
South Korea follows with 62.9%, the United Kingdom with 52.4% and
France with 40.7%.
From what has been seen so far, the general trend seems to be that the
Japanese acknowledge “religion is desirable as a cornerstone of the human
mind”. But those who consider that it may be omitted are in the majority.
“As for myself, I do not need it because I can live according to other
values. I myself have no religion.”
Japan is blessed with nature and thus has had a rich aesthetic and
artistic cultural development. The Japanese might seem to have rich reli-
gious sentiment and respect for faith, at least superficially, but for many
Japanese religion, and the presence of God, is not a problem of autono-
mous conscious truth guiding one’s individual way of life. Religion and
faith are not an existential relationship of human beings with the “real
God”, but just useful functions in human society.
Since the situation in Japan is such, it is also rare to have philo-
sophical discussions about God and faith as in the West, except in some
study circles. Dostoevsky has Ivan Karamazov say, “If there is no God,
there is no civilization”. But modern civilization in Japan has become
highly developed without “God”. This civilization seems not to need any
“God”. Since the Meiji era, many Japanese intellectuals who have learned
from the wisdom of the West have not learned about the Christian founda-
tions of Western civilization and have exclusively incorporated Enlighten-
ment knowledge. Thus for them, religion has seemed like a superstition
which should be extinguished in the process of the proper development of
civilization.
Therefore, the “practical atheist”, rather than the “theoretical and ag-
gressive atheist”, is likely to account for the overwhelming majority of
103 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
people in Japanese society. The reason for this, however, is that the cir-
cumstances have also hindered the Japanese from getting access to oppor-
tunities and education so as to acquire knowledge of religion. Since Japa-
nese people lack a basic knowledge of religion, they are insensitive also to
the social harm brought about by the political influence of groups and
factions that have been affected by cults and shady religious thought.
Since people are unaware of such social harm, we often see a social path-
ology which cannot escape from a vicious circle.
The prominent Buddhist scholar, Hajime Nakamura, has the following
opinion about the religious consciousness of the Japanese. What is basic
for the Japanese is the realistic principle that they accept simply and
naively the environment or the objective conditions of the world as they
find it1. One feature of the mental attitude of certain Japanese people is
that they find the greatest significance not in the metaphysical, tran-
scendental dimension but in relationships among human beings and with-
in their secular lives. They have a secular trend that rejects recognition of
the absolute person in the distant frontiers of the phenomenon. Because of
these features, as we saw above, even while acknowledging the value of
religion, it is found that the general attitude of Japanese is that religion
could not be an existential subject of their own existence.
But would it really be so? While the mental structure of the Japanese
acknowledges the value of religion, it does not commit itself actively but
is fostered and formed naturally within the folk and has become the
natural feature of this nation. In this paper I will describe an historical
reason for this phenomenon which has received little conscious reflection.
1 Nakamura, Hajime, The Ways of Thinking of Eastern Peoples, Published by Print. Bureau, Japanese Govt., 1960 (中村元, 『東洋人の思惟方法, 春秋社』, 東京, 1948 年).
104 Understanding God in the Asian Context
2. Modern Atheism
Atheism has been perceived by the modern Catholic Church as an
urgent issue. In the words of the Second Vatican Council, “The root
reason for human dignity lies in man’s call to communion with God.
From the very circumstance of his origin man is already invited to con-
verse with God. For man would not exist were he not created by God’s
love and constantly preserved by it; and he cannot live fully according to
truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and devotes himself to His
Creator. Still, many of our contemporaries have never recognized this
intimate and vital link with God, or have explicitly rejected it. Thus
atheism must be accounted among the most serious problems of this age,
and is deserving of closer examination”.2
The Council pointed out that atheism takes a variety of forms. The
basic form is a practical, rather than a philosophical, materialism defined
as a life in pursuit of worldly things only. Underlying this attitude is a
false atheistic humanism: “Those who profess atheism of this sort main-
tain that it gives man freedom to be an end unto himself, the sole artisan
and creator of his own history”.3 In addition, Marxist atheism, which pro-
jects salvation as economic and social liberation, has also gained strong
support: “Not to be overlooked among the forms of modern atheism is
that which anticipates the liberation of man especially through his eco-
nomic and social emancipation”.4 In any case, modern people tend to deny
any dependence on God and consider human autonomy as the most im-
portant value and the Japanese are not an exception in this matter, of
2 Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, from the Second Vatican Council, 19 [italics added]. 3 Ibid., 20. 4 Ibid.
105 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
course. However, I think they tend to be entirely ignorant of the idea of a
transcendental “God” and therefore are deeply influenced by an uncon-
scious practical atheism.
Gaudium et Spes defines the human within the context of traditional
concepts of God which are, however, words that are easily translated and
communicated into Japanese.
“Since this (human) dignity is rooted and perfected in God. For man
was made an intelligent and free member of society by God Who created
him, but even more important, he is called as a son to commune with God
and share in His happiness.”5
That human beings are the “image of God” according to the tradition
of the Bible and Christianity, is because they are considered to be stew-
ards of nature, preserving it, enjoying its products, preserving a proper
world population, borrowing the assistance of scientific progress to nur-
ture it, “serving” and “plowing” nature according to God’s will.
However, since the Industrial Revolution, there has been significant
progress in a variety of fields, such as in science and technology and the
social sciences, but even the destruction of nature due to that progress has
emerged, and human decisions that do not conform to truth and goodness
have led to “structures of sin” in the world.
Pope John Paul II spoke of an “anthropological fallacy”, which ad-
dresses the situation where humans forget that all things exist as God’s
creation, and human power always depends on the grace of God. This
“anthropological fallacy” has deeply penetrated Japan, and has had a
clearly negative effect on the society as a whole. Politicians in Japan have
not learned from the experience of the nuclear power plant accident in
Fukushima, not correcting the expansion of human greed to dominate the
5 Ibid., 21.
106 Understanding God in the Asian Context
natural environment, and they continue to be biased towards the military
and economic forces. The root for this lurks, in fact, in the religious views
and the idea of God that lie in the consciousness of the persons who are in
charge of state affairs and of the general public.
3. The Japanese Idea of God6
“God” is called “Kami” (神) in Japanese. However, the usage of this
particular logogram conveys a different meaning than that which was
conveyed by the original Chinese character “神”. The Chinese character
“神” means “Unknowable forces of nature” “Magical power” “Work of
the spirit which is not visible to the eye” “some outstanding and excellent
existence” and “above”, but does not mean “God”.
There are several theories on the etymology of character “Kami”:
“Kamugami” (Bird’s-eye view from heaven), “Kagami” (mirror), “Akami”
(Crystal-clear insight), “Kashikomi” (awe), “Kushibi” (noble spirit),
“Kami” (his spirit), “Kami” (above), and “Kamui” (people who are at the
top in the Ainu language). Motoori Norinaga (1730-1801) a scholar of the
18th century, said “Kami” is “some existence in not a way of the world,
but possessed of outstanding virtue and wisdom”.
The Ancient “Kami” idea has changed significantly in Japan before
and after the arrival of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism in the sixth
century.
6 Murakami, Shigeyoshi, Kami to Nihonjin―Nihon Shyukou-si Tanbou, University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, 1984 (村上重良, 『神と日本人―日本宗教史探訪』, 東京大学出版会, 東京, 1984). Cf. Murakami, Shigeyoshi, “Japanese Religion in the Modern Century”, University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, 1980.
107 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
Before the introduction of religions from the Asian Continent, “Kami”
was understood as an existence which was not visible to the eye, but
wielded power over humans. It was a formidable existence for human
beings, whom people should placate by making offerings or seeking ref-
uge, so as not to be harmed. “Kami” originally included the following
meanings:
1. Land God: existence of sovereignty over regions (mountains, hills,
roads, rivers, seas), wielding power over humans who are passing
through there. Generated from a primitive agrarian society.
2. Kami in heaven: existence dominating celestial world and descending
in trees and forests. It is the ancestor of rulers who govern the
terrestrial world. This usage occurs in the formation stage of the an-
cient nation.
3. Kami of ancestors
4. Such as thunder, tigers, wolves, snakes, rough and natural phenomena
and animals that wield power over humans
During the Heian period (794-1185) when Buddhism, Taoism and
Confucianism arrived, the “Kami” idea changed greatly.
1. The native Japanese “Kami” was interpreted as the incarnation of
Buddha or Bodhisattva of Buddhism.
2. The spirits of particular Human beings who suffered a violent death in
wars and upheavals came to be worshiped as a “Kami” (such as
Michizane Sugawara).
3. Some spiritual beings such as demons and foxes that threaten Humans
have been referred to as “Kami”.
108 Understanding God in the Asian Context
4. Due to the influence of Buddhist statues, statues of human figures have
been enshrined.
5. The whereabouts of “Kami” was formerly not known clearly and
seemed to descend to earth at the time of a festival. But this “Kami”
came to be enshrined in the shrines.
6. “Kami” is however not an existence who loves and protects Humans
and takes care of the Human inner world. It is still an eerie and
frightening existence for Humans, and gives a “curse” if defied by
Human beings.
7. The spirits of the dead are, for a certain period, understood to wield
power without losing their individuality. Such spirits were called
“Kami”. Spirits, such as Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Ieyasu Tokugawa and
Masashige Kusunoki who died for his loyalty to the Emperor were
worshiped as outstanding persons. This idea led to the Yasukuni
Shrine, which enshrines the officers and soldiers who died in wars
after the Meiji era.
8. In this way, the view has been fostered that God and man are combined,
that is, the idea that God and man is a continuous existence. By plac-
ing God and Humans on the same plane, without seeing the transcen-
dent presence of God, Japanese society has become a conducive place
for the secularization of religion and for making the secular world
religious. Even after the Meiji era, this process continued and provides
the religious basis for the Tennou (Emperor) system (Tennou = living
god).
109 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
4. What is Shinto?
The uniquely Japanese ethnic religion of “Shinto” is based on, and
formed by, the primitive concept of “God” as outlined above. Shinto has,
from ancient times, a very rich diversity. In general, scholars of the Sci-
ence of Religion divide Shinto into five categories. ① Jinja-Shinto (Nat-
ural religion from the original ancient times), ② Imperial Shinto (the
court rituals of the Tennou), ③ School Shinto (Research schools), ④
Sect Shinto (sects of Shinto dating from the early modern period), ⑤
Shintoistic folk beliefs (Tenri-kyou, Kurozumi-kyou, Konkou-kyou etc.).
In the 6th century, before the arrival of Buddhism into Japan, primi-
tive Shinto was the indigenous form of animism or nature worship (Nat-
uralism). Shinto was connected to agricultural needs and the maintenance
of prosperity of the communities. The object of worship was particular
mountains, rocks, lakes or trees which were seen as sacred. In certain
sanctuaries, worship of the spirit of the dead or ceremonies to invite God
to come down from the sky were performed. At that time, the priests
chanted a congratulatory address (Norito), and after the ceremony a feast
(Naorai) was performed. The key focuses of this kind of religiosity were
prayers for reproduction, growth, fertility, and an abundant harvest
(Musubi).
In the 4th century, the Yamato-Court ruled the whole country. So
primitive Shinto all over the country was re-organized and unified under
the ancient imperial system. This institutionalization of the rituals of the
Imperial Family, which came to be called Imperial Shinto, resulted in
Shinto’s major shrines coming under the direct control of the court. In Ise,
where there was a forward base for the domination of east Japan by the
Yamato Court in the 5th century, an important Shrine (Ise-Jingu) was built.
110 Understanding God in the Asian Context
It enshrined Amaterasu-Oomikami, who was the ancestral god of the
Imperial Family, as the supreme deity of the country. Thus, Shinto and
politics were tied to each other on the national scale, and a theocracy
(Matsurigoto) was established.
However, with the introduction of Buddhism during the 6th and 7th
centuries, the state religion was replaced by Buddhism. Buddhism success
was not just because of its universality and seeming superiority of coming
from a more advanced culture on the continent, but because the Yamato
Imperial family saw its efficacy in promoting and upholding their dignity
and prestige as rulers over the whole country
But, before long, this unified system of religion under Buddhism by
the ancient imperial state became nominal. Buddhism absorbed Shinto,
and a syncretism of Buddhism and Shintoism happened everywhere.
Buddhism, in other words, quickly lost its religious purity.
By the 12th and 13th centuries, Buddhism was indigenized as Jodo,
Nichiren, and Zen. Given their focus on memorial services for the dead
and faith in worldly profit, these new forms of Buddhism can be con-
sidered more than just hybrids but original religions. Their influence
would have been in the background, informing both the sense of crisis and
exaltation of nationalism inspired by the annexation of Mongolia. How-
ever, at a deeper level, we must ask what was the political power which
controlled Buddhism.
5. Shinto as an Ethnic Religion
Ancient Shinto, before becoming a world religion, was a folk or “nat-
ural religion” which, born in the consciousness of peasants, originally had
111 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
elements of animism and shamanism. In contrast, there is another type of
religion called “Sosho-religion” (創唱宗教) which is a religion proposed
by a person or a group. People are relieved by believing and following
some revelation by a human being.7
Christianity is a typical example of Sosho-religion. This type of reli-
gion, which draws on an interactive relationship between God and human
beings is imbued with powerful religious dynamism, is frequently perse-
cuted. For example, Christianity in Japan in the 17th Century was heavily
persecuted. Tenrikyo, Kurozumikyo and Konkokyo among others are, like
Shinto, rooted in ancient Japanese indigenous manners and customs but
are classified as Sosho-religions because they were founded by charismat-
ic leaders or gurus. These religions emerged in the late Edo period (circa
1800) when the social and political control of the Tokugawa Bakufu
(Shogunate) was weak and in turmoil. However, they were repressed
when the Meiji government began to assert control over the religious
sphere and promote State Shinto.
In contrast, Shinto is both a natural religion and an ethnic religion.
Ethnic religion occurs within the same social group defined by race and
language and in a relatively isolated sphere (ethnos). The ritual core of the
religion is praying for the prosperity and well-being of the ethnos. With
Shinto, both social and religious identity overlap.
In ancient Japan, until Buddhism arrived, primitive Shinto was not
subsumed in any other So-sho religion. Thus, Jinja (shrine) Shinto de-
veloped as an agricultural ritual to pray for the fertility of the rice harvest.
Even today, Jinja Shinto retains essential elements of its primitive, natural
roots.
7 Ama, Toshimaro, Why Are the Japanese Non-Religious?, Japanese Spirituality: Being Non-Religious in a Religious Culture, UPA, Tokyo, 2004 (阿満利麿,『日本人なぜ無宗教なのか』, ちくま新書 85, 東京, 1996 年).
112 Understanding God in the Asian Context
To sum up, religions have always been controlled by political power
in Japan. One significant exception to this situation occurred towards the
end of the Edo period when the power of the Bakufu was weak and a
number of Shinto-based new religions emerged: including, Kurozumikyo,
Tenrikyo, and Konkokyo. Nevertheless, with the establishment of the
Meiji Government this religious freedom only lasted a short time.
6. Christianity and the “Kami”
Christianity was introduced into Japan by Francis Xavier in the 16th
century. The Society of Jesus, the first missionary organization in Japan,
wanted to found a university in the capital city (Kyoto) in order to dialog
with the Buddhism. Xavier’s dream was realized some 350 years later
with the establishment of Sophia University.
In the beginning the missionaries adopted the name, Dainichi, as the
name they used for the Christian God. Dainichi carries a sense of univer-
sal intrinsic divinity and is used in the Shingon sect of Buddhism. No-
ticing the differences, however, the missionaries began to employ other
terms including using the Latin, “Deus” “Lord of Heaven” (天主) and
“Heavenly King” (天帝). An important lexical distinction is made in a
Japanese-Portuguese Dictionary from 1603 in which the Japanese ances-
tral designation of Kami for “God” is to be distinguished from the Chris-
tian God because Kami is the “Divinity that the Japanese heathen honor”
(Japanese- Portuguese Dictionary, 1603).
After the Meiji era, Protestant missionaries, following the traditional
Chinese translation, adopted names for the Christian God which included,
“heaven” (天), “Lord of High order” (上帝), “true God” (真神) and “Weng
113 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
of Heaven” (天翁). However, in 1880 the word Kami (神) was officially
adopted, with a one vote majority, by their Bible Translation Committee.
The Catholic Church, on the other hand, continued to use the designation,
“Lord of Heaven”, until 1959.
The introduction of Christianity had an ambiguous impact on the
political rulers of that time. Nobunaga Oda was originally not a person
who had devotion to a deity, but he acknowledged Christianity and had a
relationship with missionaries in order to use the Christians to counteract
the Buddhists who were a hindrance to his domination over Japan. How-
ever, Nobunaga’s biggest interest was the foreign trade which was associ-
ated with the missionaries. Missionaries built parishes and schools from
Kyushu over the Kinki region under the patronage of Nobunaga, and
spread their teaching freely, conveying the cultural goods of the West.
Moreover, Hideyoshi, the successor of Nobunaga, had contact with
missionaries and showed interest in Western culture at the beginning of
his reign. He had many Christian vassals including, Yukinaga Konishi,
Yoshitaka Kuroda, Ukon Takayama and Joan Naito. But he changed after
the Shimadzu (Kyushu) conquest in 1587, because he happened to know
that Nagasaki had built a fort and a moat around the town, and seemed to
be completely under the control of the church. Hideyoshi increasingly be-
came wary of the spread of Christianity and final issued an edict banning
the religion in 1587.
The need for trade, however, meant that the ban was not uniformly
enforced. Thus, early in the reign of Ieyasu Tokugawa, who came to
power after Hideyoshi, missionaries were tolerated because of the benefits
of trade with Portugal and Spain. He did not, nevertheless, cancel
Hideyoshi’s Anti-Christian Edicts. Prior to the siege of the Osaka Castle
(1684-1685), Ieyasu, fearful of the impact of alignment of opposition
114 Understanding God in the Asian Context
forces with the Catholic Imperial powers on Tokugawa dominance, soon
re-enforced Hideyoshi’s edicts when he promulgated the “Christian ban”
and the “deportation of the missionaries”.
These edicts and related events caused severe persecution which
continued for 250 years up to end of the Edo period, and into the begin-
ning of the Meiji government. The Tokugawa Shogunate issued a decree
of seclusion from 1633, and ended diplomatic relations with Catholic
countries. In order to crack down on Christians, the government set up a
Buddhist parishioner system across the country, made all citizens register.
In addition, the Shogunate created a spy system to monitor the people
and the “Fumie” test to see whether Christians would step on holy icons
or not. Using these techniques and various others, the Church was virtu-
ally destroyed during the third Shogunate of Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-
1651).
Christianity exercised a subtle, but important, influence on the polit-
ical consciousness of the Shoguns Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu. In
their ambition to rule the whole country, they showed a self-omnipotent
consciousness which had not been seen in traditional Japanese Shinto but
was, perhaps, influenced by the Christian notion of God as almighty and
absolute. Hideyoshi insisted on “God’s country of Japan” in order to
counter Christianity, and the he himself, who had become a God for the
sake of national domination, was trying to implement sacred politics.
Hideyoshi recognized Christianity, a world religion, as a threat to his rule
yet, at the same time, adopted the universality of Christianity for the sake
of his own political vision.
And after the Edo Shogunate fell, the modern imperial state of Meiji-
Japan accepted, for its ruler, the emperor who, as a sacred and inviolable
person was a living God. The Christian doctrine of the incarnation of God
115 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
may have had some influence on this development. Perversely, the policy
of the Shogunate to control religions meant not just a thorough persecu-
tion of Christianity and complete control over Buddhism and Shinto but
also, on the other hand, that Buddhism and Shinto became de facto state
religions.
7. State Shinto8
Until the mid-19th century, Shinto was an ancient, community ritual.
However, at the end of the Edo period, Shinto was resurrected to become
the religious ideology for the political system of the Meiji Restoration.
That was the idea of reverence for the Emperor, the ideology that led to
the time of political unrest from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji
Restoration. On this base, State Shinto was formed by artificially linking
primitive Shinto and the Imperial Household Shinto. Thus, through the
revival of the ancient religious authority of the Emperor and the political
goals of overthrowing the shogunate dominance, the Meiji ideology came
together.
State Shinto was enacted by standardizing and making permanent the
relationship between Shinto, as an ethnic religion from ancient times, and
the combination of politics and religion, that is, by joining Emperor
worship with militarism. The State created the fiction that Japanese should
return to the primitive ethnic Shinto to unify the nation, and so State
Shinto became a religious representation of power of the modern imperial
state.
8 Cf. Murakami, Shigeyoshi, Kokka Sinto, Iwanami-shinsyo C155, Tokyo, 1970 (村上重良, 『国家神道』, 岩波新書C155, 東京, 1970年); Shimzono, Susumu, Kokka Shinto to Nihonjin, Iwanami-Shinsyo, 1259, 2010 (島薗進, 『国家神道と日本人』, 岩波新書 1259, 東京, 2010年).
116 Understanding God in the Asian Context
A powerful impetus to the policy of making Shinto the state religion
was the westernization policy of the Meiji government. In Meiji Japan,
with the opening of the country, cultural goods of the West entered in
large quantities, but in the government a sense of crisis spread that Chris-
tianity might again expand. Such a sense of crisis urged the Meiji govern-
ment to re-enforce State Shinto. The promulgation of the Constitution of
the Empire of Japan (1889) and the “Imperial Rescript on Education”
(1890) were some of the more obvious ways which re-inforced State
Shinto. The Constitution included a statement that “the Emperor is sacred,
shalt not invade his authority” (Article 3). The “Imperial Rescript on
Education” (1890) was the basic philosophy to inculcate a national sense
of the Emperor’s central role, and was intended to connect education dir-
ectly to the national religion. That is, these promulgations, which acted in
ways akin to Sacred Scripture, ordered the people to dedicate everything
to the State in the face of an emergency such as war. These tools enabled
a process of intense religious indoctrination promoting an all-encom-
passing devotion to the Emperor.
This policy to make Shinto the state religion was soon associated with
the policy of the military state. Born through the victories of the Sino-
Japanese War (1894-1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), a
sacred mission-consciousness of “God’s country Japan” which re-en-
forced an ideology of Japanese superiority and destiny to rule the whole
world. Under such an illusion Japan rapidly moved to become an aggres-
sor nation. The Yasukuni Shrine, which was built to accompany the rapid
increase of the war dead, was an important military and state Shinto facil-
ity for promoting and justifying the waging of war.9 Such shrines would
9 Murakami, Shigeyoshi, Irei to syoukon—Yasukuni no shisou, Iwanami-shinsyo, Tokyo, 1974 (村上重良, 『慰霊と招魂―靖国の思想』, 岩波新書, C156, 東京, 1974年).
117 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
come to be built in the invaded areas. In 1919, Amaterasuoomikami and
the Emperor Meiji were enshrined in Jinju, Korea and a further 69 Shrines
were established around the country.
In this way, State Shinto became a religious/political system that arti-
ficially reproduced the Japanese ethnic religion. In ethnic religions, cer-
tain groups carry out collective rituals such as ancient Shinto which over-
laps with social groups. Participation in a religious group is naturally for-
mative and also compulsory. State Shinto revived the characteristics of
these ancient natural religions, expanded them on the national scale, and
demanded of the people an unconditional loyalty to the nation. Unpreced-
ented in the history of the world, the Meiji government was a toxic
mixture of political power and nationalistic religion.
State Shinto forced on a community, lacking inner conviction and
freedom of belief, the necessity of participating in collective rituals. The
Meiji government, in deference to Western countries which assumed the
principle of religious freedom, incorporated in the Constitution of the
Empire of Japan the following sentence. “Japanese subjects shall, within
limits not prejudicial to peace and order, and not antagonistic to their
duties as subjects, enjoy freedom of religious belief” (Article 28). As a
result, religions other than State Shinto were placed under the control of
the government. Christianity was also placed under the supervision of the
ministry of education and local governments.
Of course, the freedom of religion and the separation of religion and
state proclaimed by the Meiji government was a sham. State Shinto had a
cover story on the one hand that it was not a religion, but a “super/religion”
guaranteed by the principle of the separation of ritual and religion. But on
the other hand, it contained a contradiction that it was the national religion
in fact because it required people to worship the Emperor as a religious
118 Understanding God in the Asian Context
absolute. In the field of education, education about religions was banned
in public schools, but the State Shinto ideology of the “Imperial Rescript
on Education” (1890) was injected fully into the mind of students. School
education that should advocate modernity and rationality coexisted with
the ancient irrationality of Shinto ritualism, and students were ruled from
both sides by the national ideology
Shinto has been poor on the development of doctrine, and consequent-
ly vacuous as a system of thought. For this reason, the government’s
public stance that State Shinto is not a religion but a social ritual func-
tioned very effectively politically. The government, according to its par-
ticular political needs, had force and authority to implement their own
policies by incorporating an arbitrary content into its national ideology. In
this way, State Shinto was transformed from the reverence of Kami and
the ancestors of the original Shinto to an ideology to support Japanese
politics. In practice, this meant a family/national view putting the Em-
peror in the center of internal affairs, and a religious association based on
xenophobic ideas towards foreign countries. The military aggression of
the Japanese fascist period was a manifestation of the essence of State
Shinto.
This dominance of State Shinto lasted for 80 years, from the late 19th
century to 1945. As a result, first of all it hampered the voluntary and
creative self-development of religions. Thereby the interest of the public
towards religion was lowered, an indifferent attitude and paucity of know-
ledge become common, along with an institutionalized underestimation of
religion and its social role in the entire Japanese society. The largest
religious force, namely, the various denominations of Buddhism was re-
duced being a personal novelty in a secular society. In addition, the dom-
inance of State Shinto has continued to inhibit the growth of the social
119 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
consciousness of the Japanese people about such things as democratic
politics, religious freedom, and human rights. State Shinto which is, in
principle antithetical to democracy, has so penetrated the Japanese mind-
set that its impact is even felt today. For example, the significant right-
ward tilt of the current government of Japan includes a trend towards the
rehabilitation of national Shintoism and its shrines.
Why was State Shinto accepted for so long by the people of Japan?
The short answer is that State Shinto was both necessary and the benefi-
ciary of the lack of religious and political power in Japan for a long period
of history.
Japan is an island nation which enables the natural and formative
development of race and language combined with patriotism. Therefore,
even in times of change, shifts in power were not comprehensive and
established power was able to preserve its dominance. The centrality of
the Emperor system is important and continues to survive as a type of
religious authority.
In addition to the already noted traditional religious ideas of the
Japanese people, there is a poor understanding of the sense of God’s
transcendence and hence an ambiguous sense of the boundary between the
sacred and the secular. Rational judgments about the distinction and
limitations which need to exist between politics and religion have, so far,
not developed in Japan.
These circumstances are related to the ideas of feudal loyalty and an-
cestor worship based on Confucianism, and are preserved in the national
mindset through the maintenance of patriarchal family morality.
Historically, the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church traditions,
which supposedly promote monotheism, have fully compromised, rather
than been in conflict with, State Shinto. In principle, anti Shinto was
120 Understanding God in the Asian Context
prominent amongst protestants. However, there was a huge gap between
this theory and its practice.
8. The History of the Control of Religion by Rulers
Since ancient times, Japan’s rulers have controlled religions very
cleverly. Rulers, on one hand, have used religion for the maintenance of
their own power. On the other hand, they have persecuted religion, pro-
moted idol worship and suppressed freedom.
In the capital city of Nara (710-784), Buddhism was utilized to the
maximum so as to show off the dignity and authority of the Yamato-state.
In the Edo era (1603-1868), Buddhism was used as a tool of control
through the establishment of the “parish system”. From the emergence of
Meiji, State Shinto has used education to penetrate every aspect of nation-
al life. Christianity was persecuted harshly precisely because throughout
its history there has been a sensitivity to power morphing into idolatry.
Furthermore, contemporary people are subjected to an endless barrage
of anti-religious messaging: including, “religion is worthless” and “In this
world there are a lots of things much more beautiful, fun, and delicious
than religion”.
Another result of the neutralization of Christianity is its non-politi-
cization, concentration on personal religious experience and limiting sal-
vation in heaven and the afterlife. The ruling elite’s greatest fear is the
combination of religious with social unrest and agitation of change.
Therefore, the elite tolerate religion as long as an otherworldly perspec-
tive is maintained and preached. On the side of religion, there is the
temptation to limit its vision of reform to the area of “spiritual” only.
121 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
Jesus, for one, was not deceived by this ploy. Although he did not aim to
directly overthrow the political power of his time, the crucified one had a
clear insight about the essence of the system that would crush him: the
absolute deception of the power which absolutizes the human ego rather
than God.
9. The Difference between Korea and Japan in Their History of the Reception of Christianity10
The history of Japanese religions, as seen above, shows a special con-
trast to Korea where Christianity is presently prospering.
According to the “Population Census Statistics” (2005), 53.1% of the
total population of the Republic of Korea “have a religion”. This statistic
breaks down as follows: Buddhists 43%, Protestant 34.5% and Catholic
20.6%. Put another way, approximately 25% of the total population is
Christian.
Korean Catholics have come from the soil of martyrdom’s blood. One
reason may be due to the fact that the policy of the Paris Foreign Mission-
aries of the 19th century were conservative, and preached a message which
put the Church in direct opposition to the Joseon Dynasty and its ideology
of neo-Confucianism. Initially, at least, this rigidity resulted in a clash
10 Cf. Bishop Peter Kang U-il, Fukuin to ajia-bunka, kankoku katorikku kyoukai no rekishi to kadai, Soubun-shya, Tokyo, 2013 (姜 禹一, 『福音とアジア文化―韓国カトリック教会の
歴史と課題』, 創文社, 東京, 2013 年); Suzuki, Takahiro, What Made Korea Become a Christian Country?, PowerMeUp Publishing, 2013 (鈴木崇巨, 『韓国はなぜキリスト教国になったか』, 春秋社会, 東京, 2010 年); Suh, Jeong Min (서정민), Kankoku katorikkushi gairon, Kanyou-Shyuppan, Osaka, 2015 (徐正敏, 『韓国カトリック史概論』, かんよう出
版, 大阪, 2015 年).
122 Understanding God in the Asian Context
over the validity and practice of reverencing ancestors and whether the
memorial tablets were imbued with the spirit of one’s ancestors.
The history of Christian growth in Korea and the history of the inva-
sion by Japan overlap each other. However, those who tied themselves to
nationalism and supported the movement of independence were mainly
Protestant Christians. It could be said that Korean Protestants have grown
along with the nation in its sufferings under the old Joseon dynasty and
the subsequent Japanese colonial domination. Catholics, on the other hand,
with the exception of some important individuals such as An Jung-geun,
were generally not collectively involved in the independence movement.
At this juncture in history, the Catholic Church was contributing much to
the development of social enlightenment, educational and social activities.
However, its main emphasis was on the preservation and development of
its faith communities. Understandably so, given the huge trauma of its
recent history, and the Byeongin persecution (1866) in particular.
The reason for the callousness toward the independence issue may be
in large part because the leaders of the church at that time were western
priests. Their European Catholic centrism diluted their understanding of
traditional values and the status of Korea.
In the list of the leaders for the “3∙1 independence movement” (1919)
there are Protestants, but no names of Catholics.
During the 1930s the Catholic Church, taking its lead from the Vati-
can, tacitly approved Shinto shrine worship as “a national ritual” The
Vatican chose to compromise with the Japanese Government in respect to
State Shinto in order to protect the existence of the Catholic Church in
Japan, especially after the trouble caused by “the denial of worship in
Yasukuni Shrine of the students of Sophia University” (1932).
123 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
It could be said that the Catholic Church in Korea took a position to
adapt to the imperial power of Japan.
After liberation in 1945, the Christian Churches in Korea endured
great suffering as war divided the motherland. Catholics and Protestants
followed a similar path in their anti-communist stance.
However, in the wake of Vatican II and the oppression of the military
dictatorship, the Catholic Church began to strengthen its involvement in
the modern world. The church has increased its prominence in many so-
cial movements including the push for democratization and social justice,
the environment, and the reunification (reconciliation) movement. In the
course of the democratization movement of the 1980s, the Catholic
Church stood on the side of the vulnerable and marginalized people in
cooperation with progressive Protestant groups who promoted “Minjung =
people’s theology”, a local variant which is close to “liberation theology”.
From the leadership of Bishop Daniel Tji Hak Soun (지학순) and
Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan (김수환) and continuing into the present
moment with the witness of Pope Francis on his pastoral visit in 2014, the
Catholic Church has been active in promoting a fairer, more harmonious,
Korean society. Ironically, on the one hand, a large part of the Protestant
Churches has gone stagnant because they have been indifferent to social
justice as they sought to promote individual salvation. Certainly, the
Catholic Church has benefited from the moral trust garnered through its
public engagement in social justice issues. Korean Catholics numbered
113,496 believers in 1940, but by 2014 their number has increased to 5.57
million.
In general, it has been common in both Korea and Japan to posit an
intimate connection between the political histories of each country and the
growth of Christianity. However, the attitude of the church to the respect-
124 Understanding God in the Asian Context
ive political system has been very different and has produced a big differ-
ence in the status quo of both Churches.
A common phenomenon in both Japan and Korea is for Christianity
and other religions to have been tied, in a deep relationship, with the
dominant, feudal political power. However, the Confucian centrism of the
Joseon dynasty which took over the Buddhist centrism of the Koryo
dynasty was considerably different from the relationship of the Japanese
political power with Shinto and Buddhism. The Confucianism of the
Joseon dynasty was not void of content as was Japanese Shinto. Confu-
cianism in the Joseon dynasty was the absolute standard of spiritual
values, governance ethics, and the values of the nation itself; in a very real
sense acting as a religion. However, Joseon Confucianism, as opposed to
Shinto, did not produce the same dictatorial and tyrannical political power.
Confucianism was a dynamic and contested system in which various
schools of thought developed different factions and there was much
conflict and fighting. The politics of the kings were strictly regulated by
laws, decisions by predecessors, etiquette, ethics and Confucian philoso-
phy; therefore, an arbitrary dictatorship did not emerge.
Also schools of thought and political parties, though in an autocratic
regime, played a role such as today’s ruling and opposition parties. “Re-
porting to the Emperor” (上疏) was also submitted to the government by
scholars (Sunbee) who lived all over the country.
In the Confucian nation, it can be said that it aspired to a certain ideal
state of a political system by the distribution and mutual checks and
balances of power. And it seems to have become the soil for the demo-
cratic movement of the later eras in Korea. On this point, the history of
Japan is very different. Political power completely controlled religions
and made them into political tools in the fullest sense.
125 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
10. Eastern “Nothingness” and God: As a Concluding Thought
A missionary to Japan, Fr. Joseph Roggendorf SJ11, said that what the
church in Japan could contribute to the Catholic Church throughout the
world was the following: “The Catholic faith of the Japanese has its own
form. It is deeply sensitive, not controversial and has such a nature as to
perceive divine things simply, to be immersed in prayer, breaking away
the ego completely.” Fr. Roggendorf said that such a deep spirituality and
sensitivity to religious reality could be readily felt in both the monasteries
and the homes of Japanese Catholics.
Fr. Jean Laucaigne, who was active with the hidden Christians in
Nagasaki, reported about a young Christian from Urakami at the perse-
cutions by the authorities in 1867. He noted the “self-oblivion, gratitude
and courage” and described the characteristic of the Japanese Catholics as
“putting oneself in prayer” (Il se metait en prière).
Many philosophers and scholars of religion, such as Kitaro Nishida
and Keiji Nishitani from the Kyoto School of the Philosophy of Religion,
positively evaluate these religious attitudes as characteristic of Japanese
Catholics such as. These scholars are deeply affected by Zen Buddhism,
which emphasizes the encounter with absolute “Nothingness” (無) through
the transcendence of human being from the world to inner existence.12
11 Joseph Roggendorf S.J., Gendai-shichou to katorisshizumu, Soubun-shya, Tokyo, 1958 (J∙ロゲンドルフ, 『現代思潮とカトリシズム』, 創文社, 東京, 1958年). 12 Cf. Nishida, Kitarou, A Study of Good, Greenwood; Reprint edition, 1988 (西田幾多郎,『善の研究』), 弘文堂, 東京, 1911 年); David A. Dilworth (transl.), “The Logic of the Place of Nothingness and the Religious Worldview”, in Nishida Kitaro, Last Writings, Honolulu (The University of Hawaii Press), 1987, pp. 47-123 (니시다 기타로, 김승철 역, 『장소적 논리와 종교적 세계관』, 난잔종교문화연구소연구총서 1, 정우서적, 『場所的論理と宗教的世界観』, 哲学論文集第七, 1945 年, 岩波文庫, 349). Nishitani Keiji, Religion and
126 Understanding God in the Asian Context
According to them, through the practice of self-denial we encounter God
as “Absolute Nothingness” who exists in the depth of our ego. In other
words, the locus of self-realization is “Nothingness” (無), the true realiza-
tion of the self is in “the self-identity of absolute contradictories” (矛盾的
自己同一); and true religiosity is in the awareness of the “Absolute
Nothingness” (絶対無). Herein can be found the key characteristics of
Japanese religiosity.
According to the Kyoto School, the religiosity of “Absolute Nothing-
ness” has a deep relevance with the spiritual tradition of the West. That is,
the connection with the “Negative theology”, such as the “hidden upcom-
ing God” of Nicholas of Cusa. “Negative theology” acknowledges the
transcendental being which is referred to as “Nothingness” because this
God exists in a completely different realm. The confession of the “Noth-
ingness” is the expression of the “powerlessness of human beings” before
the transcendence of God’s richness. To live in that “Nothingness” is true
Christian spirituality, just as Meister Eckhart lived his communion with
God through “Letting-go of the vain self”.
Such a religiosity combines naturally with the unique mental attitude
of the Japanese. That is, the attitude of kneeling in front of the mystery
which transcends the dimension of Being. Letting-go of existence (=stand
outside) of God as “Absolute Nothingness” is a dedication of oneself
without selfish ego, in other words, true love or “agape”. The encounter
between God and humans ultimately occurs in the locus where God
becomes Nothingness and man also becomes Nothingness.
Nothingness (Japanese: Shūkyō to wa Nanika; the original title translates literally as “What is Religion?”), University of California Press, 1983 (西谷啓治, 『宗教とは何か』, 創文社, 東京, 1960 年).
127 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
This innate spirit of deep prayer may seen as a precious heritage
cultivated on the Japanese soil. However, if such quiet inner contempla-
tion remains simple passivity such as mere acceptance of the status quo or
resignation to the present social situation, no new development would
occur. Using such a gentle inward nature of the people, the political rulers
of Japan have used religion constantly as a tool for their own political
purposes by the suppression and deflection of freedom. In this regard, the
Church of Japan could learn much from the recent history of the Catholic
Church in Korea.
This latter Church did not close its eyes to the situation of political
suffering, but rose up against injustice, in so doing helped to win democ-
racy for the people. This Church began to develop its own theology which
found its locus in promoting solidarity with vulnerable and marginalized
people. They have cultivated “Minjung (people) theology” by following
the path of Jesus’ teaching to, “Love your enemies, pray for those who
persecute you”. In the face of the darkness of sin and evil, the Church
challenged resentment, violence and the desire for revenge with a mes-
sage of hope based on active reconciliation and concrete forgiveness. In
other words, the Korean people were enabled to break the chain of
revenge and learn how to journey towards God in the spirit of “Han” (恨),
the original and basic mindset of the Korean people that transcends con-
flicts through internal struggle and seeks to save both perpetrators as well
as victims.
To that end, it now seems a very important issue for Japanese society
that its people realize the crippling effect of the unconscious tie of the
influence of State Shinto, which plunders our passion for religion. When
the Japanese become aware of the unhealthy relationship between religion
and political power which has dominated its history then, and only then,
128 Understanding God in the Asian Context
will people be able to transform the powerlessness of religion so that the
true image of the God of Jesus Christ may truly flourish.
129 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
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想』, 岩波新書, C156, 東京, 1974年); Kokka Sinto, Iwanami-shinsyo C155,
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郎, 『善の研究』, 弘文堂, 東京, 1911年); David A. Dilworth (transl.), “The
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Kitaro, Last Writings, Honolulu (The University of Hawaii Press), 1987, pp.
47-123 (니시다 기타로, 김승철 옮김, “장소적 논리와 종교적 세계관”, 난
잔종교문화연구소연구총서1, 정우서적, 『場所的論理と宗教的世界観』,
哲学論文集第七, 1945年, 岩波文庫, 349).
Nishitani, Keiji, Religion and Nothingness (Japanese: Shūkyō to wa Nanika; the
original title translates literally as “What is Religion?”), University of Califor-
nia Press, 1983 (西谷啓治, 『宗教とは何か』, 創文社, 東京, 1960年).
Peter U-il Kang (Bishop), Fukuin to ajia-bunka, kankoku katorikku kyoukai no
rekishi to kadai, Soubun-shya, Tokyo 2013 (姜 禹一, 『福音とアジア文化―
韓国カトリック教会の歴史と課題』, 創文社, 東京, 2013年).
Roggendorf, Joseph S.J., Gendai-shichou to katorisshizumu, Soubun-shya, Tokyo,
1958 (J・ロゲンドルフ, 『現代思潮とカトリシズム』, 創文社, 東京, 1958年).
130 Understanding God in the Asian Context
Shimzono, Susumu, Kokka Shinto to Nihon-jin, Iwanami-Shinsyo 1259, 2010 (島
薗進, 『国家神道と日本人』, 岩波新書, 1259, 東京, 2010年).
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Received: 29 April 2016 Reviewed and Edited: 30 May 2016 Finalized for Publication: 11 June 2016
131 Ichiro Mitsunobu / A New Understanding of God […]
❚Abstract❚
□
The Republic of Korea has become a major Christian nation today. But
in neighboring Japan, Christians are still quite a minority. Japanese people
are indifferent to religion in general. They also see that religion has
become a cause of war and terrorism in the modern world and think it is
good that there is no religion to bring about such conflicts in Japan. The
conventional explanation for this has been that the Japanese prefer a
gentle spirituality based on East Asian passivity derived from Buddhism
or from Shinto as a natural religion. However, not many are aware that at
the root of the neglect of religion among the Japanese, there is also a
historical factor concerning the relationship between politics and religion.
Rulers of Japan were very deft in handling religion, undermining religions
and using them for their own political goals. In order to promote a true
understanding of God and acceptance of Christianity in the Japanese con-
text, we cannot overlook this fact.
▶ Key Words: Japan, Shinto, Korea, Religion, Christianity.
132 Understanding God in the Asian Context
❚국문 초록❚
□
일본 맥락에서의 새로운 하느님 이해
이치로 미쓰노부 신부
〔일본 상지대학교 신학대학 학장〕
대한민국은 오늘날 주요 그리스도교 국가가 되었다. 그러나 이웃
한 일본에서는, 그리스도교인은 여전히 소수다. 일본인들은 일반적
으로 종교에 대해 무관심하다. 일본인들은 또한 종교가 현대 세계에
서 전쟁과 테러리즘의 원인이 되었다고 보기 때문에, 그러한 갈등을
일본에 가져오는 종교는 차라리 없는 것이 낫다고 생각한다. 이에
대한 관례적인 설명은 일본인들은 온화한 영성을 선호한다는 것이었
다. 그러한 영성은 동아시아적 수동성에 기반한 것으로, 불교나 신
도(神道: 조상과 자연을 섬기는 일본 종교)에서 유래된 것이다. 그러
나 종교에 대한 무심함의 근저에는 정치와 종교 간의 관계성에 대한
일본의 역사적 요인이 자리하고 있다는 사실을 인지하는 사람들은
많지 않다. 일본의 지배자들은 종교를 다루는 데 있어서 매우 능숙
했다. 그들은 그들만의 정치적 목적을 위해서 종교를 약화시키거나
이용했다. 일본 맥락에서 하느님을 제대로 이해하고 그리스도교의
수용을 파악하기 위해서는, 우리는 이러한 사실을 간과할 수 없는
것이다.
▶ 주제어: 일본, 신도(神道), 한국, 종교, 그리스도교.