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    Exploring The Religions of Our World

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    Japanese religion is an amalgamation of Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Shinto, the indigenous tradition, emerged from Japan's prehistory and centered around kami, or spirits, which were believed to inhabit nature. Buddhism also became prominent starting in the Heian Period, with various sects like Zen Buddhism influencing Japanese religious practices like zazen meditation. Shrines and temples as well as natural places are considered sacred in Japan. Festivals like Obon honor ancestral spirits and important holidays follow the seasons.

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    Exploring The Religions of Our World

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    Japanese religion is an amalgamation of Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Shinto, the indigenous tradition, emerged from Japan's prehistory and centered around kami, or spirits, which were believed to inhabit nature. Buddhism also became prominent starting in the Heian Period, with various sects like Zen Buddhism influencing Japanese religious practices like zazen meditation. Shrines and temples as well as natural places are considered sacred in Japan. Festivals like Obon honor ancestral spirits and important holidays follow the seasons.

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    Japanese religion is an amalgamation of Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Shinto, the indigenous tradition, emerged from Japan's prehistory and centered around kami, or spirits, which were believed to inhabit nature. Buddhism also became prominent starting in the Heian Period, with various sects like Zen Buddhism influencing Japanese religious practices like zazen meditation. Shrines and temples as well as natural places are considered sacred in Japan. Festivals like Obon honor ancestral spirits and important holidays follow the seasons.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    15 views16 pages

    Exploring The Religions of Our World

    Uploaded by

    collinmanderson
    Japanese religion is an amalgamation of Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Shinto, the indigenous tradition, emerged from Japan's prehistory and centered around kami, or spirits, which were believed to inhabit nature. Buddhism also became prominent starting in the Heian Period, with various sects like Zen Buddhism influencing Japanese religious practices like zazen meditation. Shrines and temples as well as natural places are considered sacred in Japan. Festivals like Obon honor ancestral spirits and important holidays follow the seasons.

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    of 16

    Exploring the Religions

    of Our World
    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions

    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions


    The Basics
    Shinto (the indigenous religious tradition of
    Japan) emerged from Japans prehistory
    Japanese religion is an amalgamation of
    religions:
    Shinto

    Confucianism

    Buddhism

    Taoism

    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions


    Periods of Japanese Religious History
    Page 325

    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions


    History
    The basic myth of the creation of Japan and its people:
    kami (spirits) emerged just after the beginning of
    heaven and earth and created other kami
    both the mythological and historical emperors of
    Japan are from an unbroken line originating in the
    sun goddess
    the Japanese have long believed that they, their
    land, and their emperor, have divine origins, setting
    them apart from all the world

    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions


    History (continued)
    Chinese Influence:
    Japanese indigenous religion adopted the
    Confucian notion of li (proper behavior)
    aspects of Confucianism and Taoism were adopted
    and adapted into the indigenous religious
    expression
    Shinto was the name of the indigenous Japanese
    religion given by the Chinese

    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions


    History (continued)
    Forms of Buddhism in Japan:
    Heian Period (794-1185)
    Buddhism became the prominent religious
    tradition
    Tendai Buddhism and Shingon Buddhism were
    introduced to Japan

    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions


    History (continued)
    Many sects of Buddhism
    flourished during the
    Kamakura Shogunate
    (1185-1333):
    Tendai Buddhism
    Focused on the Lotus Sutra
    which taught that
    Enlightenment was universal

    Vajrayana Buddhism
    Taught Enlightenment is possible
    in this lifetime; elaborate rituals;
    secret Transmission of insight;
    instructive scriptures

    Pure Land Buddhism


    Taught that all had the
    opportunity to be reborn in
    blissful Pure Land by showing
    great devotion to Amida Buddha

    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions


    History (continued)
    and two schools of Zen Buddhism:

    Rinzai Zen
    Believed a person could gain
    immediate Enlightenment;
    emphasis on the use of the koan

    Soto Zen
    Believed Enlightenment was
    a gradual process;
    emphasized seated
    meditation (zazen)

    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions


    History (continued)
    Two notable koans:

    What was your face like


    before your parents
    were born?
    hen a tree falls in a forest
    Where no one is present,
    does it make a sound?

    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions


    Sacred Stories and Sacred Scriptures
    Shinto has no official sacred texts.
    These are considered authoritative and significant for both the
    religious and historical heritage of the Japanese people:

    The Kojiki
    Record of Ancient Matters
    (a compilation of the oral myths
    and legends of the Japanese
    people)

    Nihonshoki
    Chronicles of Japan
    (the history of Japan
    beginning with the
    Japanese creation myth)

    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions


    Beliefs and Practices

    Kami

    are not gods but rather it has to do with


    whatever is sacred, such as the natural
    world (mountains, rivers, trees, rocks)
    can be human beings, the emperor,
    great warriors, poets, scholars, and wise
    ancestors
    focus on aid and protection
    are both creative as well as destructive
    are prayed to in local or national
    shrines, in homes or in nature

    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions


    Beliefs and Practices (continued)
    Important things emphasized in Japanese living:
    The
    The
    extended
    extended
    family/clan
    family/clan

    Harmony
    Harmony
    Loyalty
    Loyalty

    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions


    Sacred Time
    Matsuri is the name for Japanese festivals:

    Hina Matsuri

    Omisoka

    The Year-End Festival


    (day of preparation for
    New Years Day)

    Kodomo no Hi
    Childrens Day
    (public holiday with
    tradition of kite flying)

    Obon

    (three day festival


    celebrating the
    return home of
    ancestral spirits
    for a short time)

    Girls Day
    (celebrated by
    dressing dolls in
    traditional costumes)

    Shogatsu
    The New Year
    (three day celebration)

    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions


    Sacred Places and Sacred Spaces
    There is no place that is not sacred on the land of Japan
    because all of Japan has a divine origin.
    Some special places:

    Shrines
    (home, local,
    and national)

    The Natural World


    (mountains, rivers,
    trees, boulders)

    Temples
    Ise
    (shrine for the
    imperial family
    in ancient Japan)

    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions


    Japanese Religions through a Catholic Lens
    Similarity:
    Sacred time is defined as the extraordinary within
    the ordinary --- a taste of the infinite in the finite
    Differences:
    Rather than using the four seasons of nature to help
    designate sacred time while Christians use Easter as
    the central event of the Christian year
    The liturgical year is based on significant events in
    the life of Christ and his Church rather than the
    four seasons of nature

    Chapter 8 Japanese Religions


    Vocabulary

    Shinto
    kami
    shogunate
    zazen
    koan

    Soka Gakkai

    kamidana

    butsudan
    samuri warriors
    harajiri

    kimono
    tori
    kami body
    feast days

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