Shinto

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RELIGIONNative roots and foreign influence

The history of religion in Japan is a longprocess of mutual influence between religioustraditions. In contrast to Europe, whereChristianity overwhelmed local pagantraditions, the indigenous religion Shinto hascontinued as a part of the lives of the peoplefrom the earliest days of an organizedJapanese state up to modern times.

When Buddhism was introduced to Japanin the 6th century, Shinto and Buddhist beliefsbegan to interact. This is the definingcharacteristic of Japanese religion. The moststriking example of this interaction is thetheory of honji suijaku, in which Shinto kamiwere seen as the incarnations of Buddhistdeities.

Confucianism and Taoism are two otherreligious “imports” that have played important

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The Aramatsuri no Miya sanctuary, Ise ShrineThe most important of all Shinto shrines, Ise is dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu, believed to be the ancestor of the Imperial family.

roles in Japanese society over a period ofmore than 1,000 years. Confucian preceptshad a major influence on Japanese ethicaland political philosophy in the formativeperiod of the Japanese state (the 6th to 9thcenturies), and again in the Edo period(1603–1867). Harder to trace than that ofConfucianism, the influence of religiousTaoism in Japan can be found in the use ofthe Chinese calendar and in popular beliefssuch as those concerning fortune-telling andauspicious directions.

goddess), Tsukuyomi no Mikoto (moon god),and Susanoo no Mikoto (god of storms). Thegreat-great-grandson of Amaterasu Omikamiis said to be Emperor Jimmu, the legendaryfirst sovereign of Japan.

The absence of official sacred scripturesin Shinto reflects the religion’s lack of moralcommandments. Instead, Shinto emphasizesritual purity and cleanliness in one’s dealingswith the kami.

Originating in India around the 5th century BC,Buddhism spread through China in the 1stand 2nd centuries AD, and finally reachedJapan via Korea in the mid-6th century whenthe king of Paekche sent a Buddha statueand copies of sutras to the Japanese emperor.Buddhism spread quickly among the upperclasses after the influential and pro-BuddhistSoga family crushed anti-Buddhist factions.Prince Shotoku (574–622), who gave imperialsupport to the building of major temples suchas Horyuji (in present day Nara Prefecture), isconsidered the true founder of Buddhism inJapan.

The Emperor Shomu (701–756) adoptedBuddhism as the official state religion andbuilt the temple Todaiji at Nara and its hugestatue of the Buddha. However, thecoexistence of Buddhism and Shintocontinued. Responsible for carrying out ritualsto promote national welfare, the six Narasects which dominated Buddhism at this timewere primarily academic in nature and hadlittle influence on the general population.Early in the Heian period (794–1185), theTendai sect was introduced into Japan by thepriest Saicho (767–822) and the Shingon sectwas introduced by Kukai (774–835), who isalso known as Kobo Daishi. These twoesoteric sects came to be the most importantBuddhist sects at the imperial court.

In the Kamakura period (1185–1333), two

The word Shinto, which is often translated as“the way of the gods,” is written with twoChinese characters. The first character, whichis pronounced kami when used alone, means“god,” “deity,” or “divine power,” and thesecond character means “way” or “path.” Withthe introduction of the paddy-field systemduring the Yayoi period (300 BC–AD 300), theagricultural rituals and festivals that laterbecame part of Shinto began to develop.

Although the word kami can be used torefer to a single god, it is also used as thecollective term for the myriad gods whichhave been the central objects of worship inJapan from as far back as the Yayoi period.The kami are part of all aspects of life andmanifest themselves in various forms. Thereare nature kami that reside in sacred stones,trees, mountains, and other naturalphenomena. There are clan kami, calledujigami, which were originally the tutelarydeities of specific clans, often being thedeified ancestor of the clan. There is the ta nokami, or god of the rice paddies, who isworshipped at rice-planting and harvestfestivals. And there are ikigami, who are livinghuman deities. The kami that most resemblegods in the Western sense are the heavenlydivinities who reside on the Takamagahara(High Celestial Plain). They are led byAmaterasu Omikami, the goddessworshipped at the Ise Shrine, the centralshrine of Shinto.

Partly in response to the arrival of highlystructured Buddhist doctrines in Japan in the6th century, pervasive but previouslyunorganized native beliefs and rituals weregradually systematized as Shinto. The desireto put the legitimacy of the imperial lineage ona firm mythological and religious foundationled to the compilation of the Kojiki (Record ofAncient Matters) and the Nihon shoki(Chronicles of Japan), in 712 and 720,respectively. In tracing the imperial line backto the mythical age of the gods, these bookstell how the kami Izanagi and Izanamiproduced the Japanese islands and thecentral gods Amaterasu Omikami (sun

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Buddhism

Shinto weddingThe Shinto-style marriage ceremony is still common.

period (1868–1912), this system collapsed ina wave of anti-Buddhist sentiment spurred bythe government’s desire to eliminate Buddhistinfluence from Shinto shrines and makeShinto the state religion. In response to thisand the changing social environment of themodern era, Buddhism has been striving toredefine its role in Japan.

Christianity in Japan can be clearly dividedinto three periods: the initial encounter withChristianity beginning in the mid-16th century;the reintroduction of Christianity, after morethan 200 years of national seclusion ended inthe mid-19th century; and the post-World WarII period.

Introduction and PersecutionThe Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrivedin Kagoshima in July, 1549. Jesuit missionaryactivities were centered in Kyushu, thesouthernmost of the four major Japaneseislands, and by 1579 six daimyo (regionalmilitary lords) had been converted and therewere an estimated 100,000 Christians. Theefforts of the Jesuits were treated benignly bymilitary leader Oda Nobunaga and alsoinitially by military ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi.Probably in reaction to their growing influencein Kyushu, however, Hideyoshi later turnedagainst the Christians and had 26 crucified atNagasaki in 1597. After he became the defacto ruler of Japan, in 1600, TokugawaIeyasu initially tolerated the missionaries but,in 1614, the Tokugawa governmentproscribed Christianity and expelled themissionaries from Japan. At this point therewere more than 300,000 Japanese Christians.It is estimated that about 3,000 wereexecuted, and a great number renouncedtheir faith as a result of persecution. Manyothers concealed their beliefs and continuedto practice Christianity in secret.

ReintroductionAfter Japan had abandoned its policy ofseclusion, foreign missionaries returned in

major developments occurred in JapaneseBuddhism. First, the Zen school wasestablished in Japan by Eisai (1141–1215),founder of the Rinzai sect, and later modifiedby Dogen (1200–1253), founder of the Sotosect. Zen found a receptive audience in thewarrior elite of the time because of itsdirectness and its emphasis on self-disciplineand meditation. Zen practice utilizes sittingmeditation, called zazen, and irrational riddles,called koan, as means to reach enlightenment(satori). The primary difference between thetwo sects is that Rinzai Zen places muchmore importance on koan practice than SotoZen.

The other important development was therapid growth of popular Buddhist sects amongthe common people. These included the PureLand sects, which taught that the chanting ofBuddha Amida’s name is the best way toachieve rebirth in Amida’s Western Paradise,and also the Nichiren sect, which emphasizedthe chanting of the title of the Lotus Sutra.

In the Edo period (1603–1867), theTokugawa shogunate requested that everyperson be affiliated with a Buddhist temple aspart of its effort to control the population andwipe out Christianity. This insured a largebase of temple members, but it did notcontribute to the vitality of Buddhism as aliving religion. At the beginning of the Meiji

Christianity

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Buddhist memorial serviceA Buddhist ceremony is held to pray for the repose of the soul.

Agency for Cultural Affairs statistics for 2014show the combined membership of bothreligions at approximately 179.2 million, about1.4 times the total population of Japan. In thereligious feelings of most Japanese, Shintoand Buddhism peacefully coexist rather thanconflict. For the average person, however,religious affiliation does not translate intoregular worship or attendance. Most peoplevisit shrines and temples as part of annualevents and special rituals marking lifepassages.

Such annual events include shrine andtemple festivals, the first shrine or temple visitof the new year (hatsumode), and a visit tothe family grave during the Bon Festival.Rituals commemorating the stages in anindividual’s life include the first shrine visit of anewborn baby (miyamairi), the Shichi-go-sanFestival shrine visit of three- and five-year-oldboys and three- and seven-year-old girls, aShinto wedding ceremony, and a Buddhistfuneral.

New ReligionsThe most conspicuous development inreligion in Japan in the 20th century was thespread of a number of new religions. Theteachings of these new religions draw on awide range of previous traditions, includingaspects of Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism,Taoism, folk religion, and shamanism. Thefounders of new religions are often revered asliving deities (ikigami).

One of the attractions of the new religionsis said to be the sense of community theygive to people who lack the mental andspiritual support historically provided by theextended family, the local community, and thetraditional religions.

1859, although they were not able toevangelize openly until 1873. During thisperiod over 30,000 “hidden” Christians cameforward; they belonged to groups that hadworshipped clandestinely during the morethan 200 years of persecution.

Both Catholic and Protestant missionarieswere active from this time, and although thenumber of converts was relatively small,Christians were influential in education andthe trade union movement. Increasingnationalism and the promotion of Shintoshrine attendance as a patriotic duty madethe 1930s a difficult time for many Christians.

After World War IIChristian activity in the immediate postwarperiod had the support of Occupationauthorities but only minor gains were made.In 2014, Christians, numbering 1.95 millionindividuals, made up 1.0 percent of thepopulation.

Despite the increasing popularity ofsuperficially Christian wedding ceremonies,Christianity as a religion is probably stillregarded as foreign by many Japanese. Asknowledge of and interest in Christianity hasgrown over the years, people are certainly notunfamiliar with the religion. This familiarity,however, has not translated into a largeincrease in the number of believers. Onepossible reason for the lack of growth is thatthe emphasis on exclusive belief in theChristian God requires a strong commitmentin rejecting the more relaxed polytheism ofShinto and Japanese Buddhism.

Mainstream Shinto and BuddhismUrbanization has cut many Japanese off fromtheir family ties to a specific Buddhist templeand Shinto shrine. Still, many people considerthemselves both Shintoist and Buddhist. The

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Religion in Japan Today

A Buddhist priest performs ascetic trainingA priest in a straw hat sits in meditation as he begs for alms. (Photo courtesy of AFLO)

The dangerous aspects of the strongcontrol that some new religions exercise overtheir adherents has come under greaterscrutiny since the sarin gas attack on theTokyo subway in March 1995. Killing 13people and injuring more than 6,000, theattack was carried out by the religious cultAum Shinrikyo.

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Shinto Buddhism Christianity Other

Shrines, temples, churches, other organizations

88,472 85,128 9, 294 36,181

Clergy (priests, ministers, etc)

81,106 367,302 35,390 202,069

Members 92,168,614 87,126,192 1,951,381 8,973,675

KamidanaA miniature shrine for worshiping the gods within the home.

Religious Institutions in Japan

As of December 31, 2014

Note: These statistics are based on estimates provided by the various religious organizations. There can be considerable fluctuation between years.

Source: Agency for Cultural Affairs, July 2013.