Different
Approaches, Religions in Japan
There are various approaches to analyze Japanese religion. In my
presentation, I will examine Japanese religion using several approaches;
anthropological approaches, feminist approaches, sociological approaches and
historical
approaches.
Before
discussing Japanese religion, I will talk about the general idea of what
Japanese religion is. Unlike other world religions, there is no single
definition of Japanese religion. Japanese religion is understood as the
combination of multiple religious beliefs including Confucianism, Taoism Shinto,
Buddhism and Folk religion. Therefore, at first I will introduce Confucianism,
Taoism Shinto, Buddhism and Folk religion and their influence on Japanese
traditions. Second, I will examine Japanese religion by using different
approaches.
Confucianism
was created by Confucius in 551-479 BC in China. He emphasized a return to
virtue and an overall social harmony based upon proper relationships among
people in terms of their social roles. Two of the most important teachings of
hierarchical relationships are father-son and ruler-citizen (the father and
ruler should be benevolent, the son and citizen should be obedient (Earhart,
19). Han
Confucianism was brought from Korea to Japan about 404 AD.
Confucian ethical codes and political principles were understood
and utilized in Japan. Prince Shotoku (572-621) promulgated the famous Seventeen
Article Constitution in 604 AD. The main emphasis of the Seven Article
Constitution was on the duties of people towards their sovereign and the need
for harmony among inferiors and superiors. (Werrn, 7).
Even
now, we can see the influences from this teaching in Japanese society. ‘Jouge
Kankei’ which means the proper relationship between superiors and inferiors is
a good example of the influence of Confucianism. Japanese people are taught to
show high respect to elders, superiors as well as their own parents from their
childhoods. It seems to me that in contemporary Japan, ‘Jouge Kankei’ has
become more than a religious teaching and it is part of the culture in general.
The teaching for social institutions, political organization and the
systematization of moral precepts in Japan are also influenced by Confucianism,
For example, early Shinto did not have a clear conception of loyalty, filial
piety or virtues that were very important for Japanese people’s moral life.
Therefore, the very names for these were supplied by Confucianism and gave a
systematic teaching of morality and supplied the methods of instruction (Anesaki,
7). Before the introduction of Confucianism, there were no rules that could
quite organize Japanese society so well.
Although
Taoism never existed as a separate religious tradition in Japan, by the eighth
century a bureau of divination was patterned on a similar bureau at the Chinese
court. In general, the Chinese notions of interpreting work with nature and
harmonizing human life with nature came to be linked with the Japanese notions
about the Kami, nature, and rituals. For example, ideas of luck and fortune
telling are examples of the influence of Taoism (Earhart, 18). Most Japanese
people tend to choose a ‘good day’ from the calendar for their wedding.
Although no one teaches Japanese people that there is good luck and bad luck in
our lives, it is just an unwritten rule that everyone learns and applies. For
example, if I win the lottery, people will tell me that I have good ‘Un’,
which means good luck in Japanese. Another example is that many people say
encountering a black cat is a symbol of bad luck. Fortune tellers are very
popular and they seem to be accepted among various age groups of Japanese
people. Through my experiences, it seems that the palm reading by a fortune
teller is the most popular request.
Shinto (the ways of the gods) is the indigenous religion in Japan. It was
formed as a result of the outcomes of the lives of people and their temperament,
and it was closely connected with national traditions and social institutions.
It is thought that all humans are fundamentally good, and that evil spirits
cause all evil. The purpose of most Shinto rituals is to avoid evil spirits by
purification, offerings and prayers (Anesaki, 7).
The
kami are the objects of worship in Shinto. They are sacred spirits and can take
various forms such as natural elements like the sun, mountains, trees, rocks,
and the wind, or abstract things like fertility as well as ancestors, national
heroes and protectors of family clans (Kodansha, 29).After
the Meiji restoration, the Meiji rulers made Shinto their state religion and
used Japan's creation myths, showing a direct link between the Sun goddess and
the emperors family, to foster national feelings and to justify the emperor's
absolute position. Shinto priests became state officials and the government
funded important shrines. There were also efforts to separate and emancipate
Shinto from Buddhism completely. After World War II, Shinto was completely
separated from the state and was classified as a normal religion. Today, most of
the shrines belong to the Association of Shinto Shrines (Kodansha, 37).
I
found that a large percentage of Japanese people, who do not think
of themselves as Shintoists, participate in occasional rituals. For example,
many Japanese people tend to have traditional weddings at shrines and infants
are dedicated at the shrines. The Seven Five Three Festival (Shichi Go San
Matsuri), an autumnal rite, features the presentation of children of these ages
at the shrines. The coming of age ceremony (Seijin Shiki), held on January 15,
officially recognizes the adulthood of those who will reach the age of twenty
during the calendar year. The New Year (Shogatu) is the time when
many Japanese people make the year's first visit (Hatsumode) to a Shinto shrine,
and often to a Buddhist temple as well, to seek purification from the
defilements of the past year and good fortune for the coming year. This season
also features many other customs such as displays of symbolic decorations, the
preparation and consumption of special foods, game playing, kite flying,
calligraphy practice and fortune telling (Neill, pp.14-19). I think, however,
that the biggest ritual that is influenced by Shinto is the purification.
It is amazing to see how many Japanese people take the purification
seriously. Going to the Shrine and having purifications at least one time a year
seems to be part of the Japanese people’s way of life.
Buddhism
originated in India in the six century. It consists of the teaching of the
Buddha, Gautama Siddhartha, and its theories are that human life is full of
suffering due to worldly desires, illness, death and the loss of loved ones. By
getting rid of desires and attachments, we can achieve the state of
enlightenment (Nirvana) and escape suffering and the circle of reincarnations (Kodansya,
47).
Buddhism
was imported to Japan in 538 AD or 552 AD in form of a present from the king of
the friendly Korean kingdom of Kudara (Paikche). The ruling nobles welcomed the
teaching of Buddhism while the common people did not understand its complex
theories. After a few conflicts with the native religion Shinto, the two
religions were soon able to coexist harmoniously
and even complemented each other. Therefore, still now, there are no
conflicts for most people whether we go to a temple or a shrine as long as we
participate in religious rituals (Kodansya, 48).
During
the Heian period, two new Buddhist sects were founded. The Tendai sect and the
Shingon sect were imported from China in 805 AD and 806 A.D. They were gradually
interpreted in a Japanese way so that they could fit into Japanese society, and
later they developed into further branches. In 1175, the Judo sect (Pure Land
sect) was founded which allowed beliefs to be spread to different social classes
of people because its theories were very simple and based on the principle that
everybody can achieve salvation by strongly believing in the Buddha Amida.
The
Zen sect was introduced from China in 1191 and is one of the most popular
branches of Buddhism in contemporary Japan. Its complicated theories were
popular, particularly among the members of the military class. According to Zen
teachings, one can achieve self-enlightenment through meditation and
self-discipline (Kodansya, 40)
Folk
religion can be described as the religious beliefs and practices that occur
outside of institutionalized religion. It can be the oral tradition that was
handed down in families and carried by villages in seasonal observance and
villages festivals (Earhart, 20). I found that it is hard to define what the
folk religion is. From the Japanese point of view, a good example of folk
religion is the local festivals. Hori
who is well known for the study of Japanese folk religion states that, “Folk
religion means a group of rites and beliefs which have been deeply felt by the
common people, and supported and transmitted by them from generation”(Hori,
2).
Many
rituals of folk religion are connected with growing rice. Before the seeding,
there are several praying services for good crops, ceremonies for transplanting,
praying for rain, for stopping storms or long rains, for driving away injurious
birds and noxious insects, the offering of the new harvest and harvest
festivals (Hori, 21). As he discuses in his book, due to Japanese history, many
local festivals are related to growing rice. I found that there are different
types of festivals related to growing festivals based on the locations. For
example, how my
friend’s family celebrates the harvest festivals is quite different from how
my grandmother celebrates.
As
I demonstrated above, Japanese religions are combination of multiple religions (Earhart,
4). For example, their influences allow Japanese people to go to temple, which
is the Buddhist influence yet they go to shrines, which is the Shinto influence.
I found a good quote describing Japanese people and religion.
“Shinto
is the root embedded in the soil of the people’s character and national
traditions; Confucianism is seen in the stem and branches of legal institutions,
ethical codes, and educational
systems; Buddhism made the follower of religious sentiment bloom and gave the
fruit of spiritual life”(Anesaki 8)
There are various approaches to study
Japanese religion. For my presentation, I will apply anthropological approaches,
feminist approaches, sociological approaches and historical approaches. I will
also discuss the strengths and the weakness of each approach as well as
investigations of the author’s methods and their choices of sources.
Earhart
uses multiple approaches that include anthropological and historical approaches.
This is because he examines Japanese religion from
Japanese
contexts. For example, he explains the meaning of religious practices for
Japanese people. Meanwhile, he emphasizes the importance of using religious
history to understand Japanese religion.
For
example, Earhrt
states that:
“The
saying that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its part is very appropriate
to the study of Japanese religion. We must view it as a unified whole because
the individual strands did not exist in isolation, either in the course of
history or in the dynamics of religious life. Thorough Japanese history each
strands was influenced by one or more of the others”(Earhart, 3).
I
think that this illustrates one of the principal characteristics of
anthropological approaches. David who discusses anthropological approaches in
our assigned reading introduces the idea of holism which is the idea that
“[s]ocial practices must be investigated in context and seen as essentially
connected to others within the society in question. Anthropology must consider
religion and agricultural practices. kinship and politics, music and medicine
together”(David, 22). I found that Earhart connects his topics one to another
rather than examining each topic separately.
When Earhart discusses the kami, which are the spirits and deities of
nature and the sprit of ancestors (Earhart, 12), he analyzes them with the
context of Kojiki whish is the oldest recorded document of Japanese mythology.
Earhart tries to understand the meaning of kami from the Kojiki
because
he believes that it helps us recognize early Japanese religious notions that
have had a lasting influence. He states that:
“Although
the Kojiki reflects some borrowing from China, it establishes the origin and
distinctiveness of the Japanese tradition. The story depicts the creation of the
world and the appearance of the mythological deities who created the Japanese
islands and the Japanese people”(Earhart, 14).
It
is easy to discuss what kami are and the role of kami; however, Earhart examines
the Kojiki trying to understand kami from the Japanese recorded document, which
reflects the Japanese historical tradition and people. I found that this
approach also makes me think that he takes an anthropological approach.
Earhart also emphasizes the importance of religious history to understand
Japanese religion. His books are in chorological ordered starting from the
prehistoric heritage to present. For example, he makes categories such as the
formation of Japanese religion, the development and elaboration of Japanese
religion and formalism and renew in Japanese religion. In each category, the
historical events or different religions that are introduced to Japan were
discussed in chorological order. Also, Earhart states that:
“In
order to understand Japanese religion, we must comprehend it within its own
context, in its own historical setting, and though its own activities. The
materials in this book are selected and organized to aid this understanding and
at the same time to cover aspects of Japanese religion as possible: the content
of the various traditions the basic
characteristics of the religious heritage as a whole, the changes and
ambiguities through the passage of time”(Earhart, 3)
Another
example that illustrates the importance of understanding Japanese history is:
“During
the first four decades of the twentieth century, Japan’s energies were heavily
concentrated on the strengthening of nationalism and militarism; and religion,
especially Shinto, was used to further these aims. However, proper historical
perspective is crucial if we are to understand Shinto. We must see shrine Shinto
as a modern development within a tradition with a long history”(Earhart, 158).
He
often emphasizes religious history. In this case, he explains that if we want to
understand Shinto, we should avoid the temptation to see the whole history of
Shinto in terms of its modern nationalistic form. The history of Shinto includes
not only nationalism and militarism, but also religious life of the shrine. In
the other words, we have to examine numerous aspects of Shinto throughout
history in order for us to understand Shinto.
To
conclude Earhart’s approaches, I found that he constructs his books in the
order that he fist introduces the topic, explains it and discusses it from the
Japanese point of view using chronological order. He also intensively uses Japanese authors books to support
his books and it seems to me that he is trying to understand what and how
Japanese people view Japanese religion.
The
strength of using an anthropological approach is that it accepts the differences
as they are without criticizing. This approach also respects people who are in
the culture. I found that Earhart’s anthropological approach examines Japanese
religion from Japanese people’s perspectives. For example, when Earhart
explains rituals, he discusses meanings, histories and the importance of ritual
for Japanese people. He does not however, add his own opinions into it or
compare it to his beliefs or his society. I think that this is because as
Earhart said, in order for him to discuss Japanese religion, he had to
understand his bias and how it affects his understanding of the world.
On
the other hand, anthropology approaches raise some questions. For example, if we
analyze every culture from the own point of view, do we have any way to evaluate
whether cultural practices are potentially harmful? For example, there is a
question that if a culture treats women poorly, do we have to accept it because
that is their culture.
The strength of using historical approaches that I found from Earhart’s books is that we can find the relationship between former events and current events. For example, because Earhart organizes his book chronologically, as we read we can easily understand and make a connection between how Christianity was introduced, accepted, flourished and prohibited throughout history.
The
weakness of using historical approaches can be that sometimes people can dismiss
some information. For example, if I am writing about the introduction of
Christianity in Japan focusing too much on what happened in a particular year, I
may be dismissing the information about religious history of Christianity in
Japan as a whole and what was happening in the society in general. Another
weakness of this approach that Clive discusses in her article is that the
historical approach can focus too much on leaders and great events and ignore
the situation of normal life, everyday activities and normal people (Clive, 91).
I think that this is the problem. If we examine an event from one way, we can
dismiss many other aspects of the event.
Davis
uses the sociological approach for his book. This is because he uses
quantitative research and focuses on the relationship between Japanese religion
and society. In his introduction, he states that:
“Wile
this book is about Japanese religion, my goal is to frame the discussion in such
a way that when readers put the book down, they will have a deeper knowledge of
Japanese society and culture in general, and possibly even deeper insight into
the nature of religion itself. The book deals with the relationship between
Japanese religion, culture, and values on the one hand, and society, social
change, and economic development on the other”(Davis, 1)
While
he emphasizes the importance of his method, he criticizes the anthropological
approach. He thinks that if anthropology is the process of trying to get a story
out of a snapshot, it usually does not work. He believes that the synchrony and
diachrony of the snapshot must be woven together, not just rhetorically, but as
a fundamental strategy for understanding and explaining what the snapshot is all
about (Davis, 2). I think I can see his point. For example, there is the issue
about who the insider and the outsider are. Because I am Japanese person, is it
appropriate to say that I know Japanese religion? How about the scholars who
study Japanese religion? They also know about Japanese religion. Davis’s main
point is that we are all insiders not only people who are in a particular
culture. Davis states that:
“Native
has direct access to the meanings of his or her own culture, whereas the
scholar, as an outsider, can only infer or speculate about these meanings
indirectly. The natives, however, presumably have not read Shutz or any other
phenomenological sociologists and therefore do not realize that their own
cultural insights are also interpretations, i.e., meaning they (or other members
of the tribe) have created after stopping and thinking. This is to say, at some
point in time someone has removed himself, or herself from the immediate flow of
events and has creatively for the tribe. While one must always listen
respectfully to what natives have to say-after all, it is their story that we
are trying to tell-their interpretive structures are not necessarily the only,
or the best explanations available (Davis, 7)
It
is true that using only stories from people who are in the culture can be
unbalanced. Perhaps, it is appropriate to say that there are different types of
insiders. For example, since I am Japanese person who grew up in Japan, I can be
an insider with experiences in terms of Japanese religion, but also the scholar
who studies Japanese religion can be an insider with academic knowledge.
Davis’s interest is how religion has
passively enabled Japanese society to industrialize and spend less time
discussing the direct impact of religious ideas on social and economic change
(Davis, 9). Therefore in his book, he speculates on Japanese religion from big
frame choosing topics such as the structure of religious groups, the dynamics of
social conflict, the dynamics of social and economic change, secularization and
national identity.
The Northcott article that is
assigned reading explains the principal characteristics of sociological
approaches. One of their characteristics is “ the patterns of social
organization including politics, economic production and exchange system and
bureaucracy” (Northcott, 201). I think this illustrates what Davis was
explaining in Chapter 4 called the Weber thesis and the economic development of
Japan. For example, he makes diagram of traditional society, the development and
accommodation and the post- confusions industrial society. Davis compares them
in terms of society, religion and economy. From these diagrams, we can view how
the importance among them has changed as economy has changed.
I found that the strength of using a
sociological approach is that it allows us to examine the relationship between
society and religion. For example, with this approach, we can speculate how
Japanese religions affect various
types of social and economic systems that were used throughout Japanese history.
The weakness of this is that if the
author is using a theory from some famous sociologists who speak from the
context of Christianity, it does not work out well when we are examining a topic
that is outside of the context of Christianity. For example, I found that Davis
seems to dismiss Japanese voices and points of view. He explains and discusses
the topic by using only Western sociologists but not using Japanese
sociologists. I found that his book shows how Western people understand the
relationship between Japanese religion and society not how Japanese people
understand the relationship between Japanese religion and society.
Okano uses a feminist approach to discuss
women’s image and place in Japanese Buddhism. She focuses on Buddhism as the
most influential factor shaping the image and role of women and supporting
sexism in Japanese society. She does not however, emphasize only the oppression
of Japanese women. One of the reasons is that from her point of view, sexual
discrimination cannot be measured simply by the extent to which women are
excluded from various spheres of life; more often, discrimination is hidden and,
therefore, difficult to assess (Okano, 15). Another reason is that she views the
issue of sexism in Japanese society not only due to patriarchy but also due to
the focus on harmonization in Japanese society. According to
Okano,
there is a tendency that we accept and try to harmonize both the good and the
bad rater than seek to make clear the difference (Okano, 27).
Okano analyzes how women are portrayed in the
context of Buddhism in her book. She compares the difference between the
principles of Buddhist teaching and people’s interpretations. For example,
although Buddha’s entity is sexless and anyone who achieved enlightenment
could be buddha, some Buddhism sects such as the Jodo shin sect interpret it
differently and make a statement that the husband is the lord and the wife is
the servant (Okano, 16). Okano analyzes how and why those interpretations are
created and how they are accepted to the society.
I found that one of the statements
that Morgan makes in her article reflects the Okano’s point of view:
“Feminism, like religion, addresses the meaning of human identity and
wholeness at the very deepest levels, drawing upon a wide range of
interdisciplinary insights from anthropology, theology, sociology, and
philosophy”(Morgan, 42). Okano does not make statements that women need to
have more power in the society. Moreover, although it is important for Japanese
society to have harmony, she encourages people especially women to be aware and
think about inequality.
The strength of using a feminist
approach is that it helps women to be aware of their place in society. In this
case, I found that examining Buddhism from feminist approach helps us to realize
how much Buddhism affects to the place of
women. The feminist approach is effective because it can articulate the problem.
In the case of Japan from Okano’s view, the problem is that Japanese culture
often emphasizes harmony, we tend not to discuss or make social change regarding
the treatment of women in Japan. On the other hand, the weakness of the feminist
approach is that if we only look at society from women’s point of view
ignoring men’s point of view, it is not really examining the whole society. I
think that it is very important for us to have both stories and to try to solve
the problems together.
As I demonstrated above, there are
numerous ways to understand Japanese religion. In my opinion, the best way to
understand Japanese religion is to apply as many approaches as possible so that
we can examine it from different perspectives. I also believe that it is vital
for us to realize that each approach has strengths and weaknesses. By
understating strengths and weaknesses, we know what kind of information and
topic are covered and not covered by different approaches
Davis
Winston, Japanese Religion and Society. New York, 1992.
Earhart
Byron H, Religion of
Japan. San Francisco, 1984.
Earhart
Byron H, Religion in The Japanese Experience. Belmont, 1974.
Fujimura-Fanselow
Kumiko, Japanese women: New Feminist Perspectibes on the Past, Present, and
Future. New York, 1995.
Kodansya
edited by Hori Ishirou, Japanese Religion.
Tokyo, 1972.
Warren
W Smith, Jr., Confucianism in Modern Japan
– A study of conservatism in Japanese intellectual history. Tokyo, 1959.
There
are various approaches to analyze Japanese religion. In my presentation, I will
examine Japanese religion using several approaches; anthropological approaches,
feminist approaches, sociological approaches and historical approaches.
Before
discussing Japanese religion, I will talk about the general idea of what
Japanese religion is. Unlike other world religions, there is no single
definition of Japanese religion. Japanese religion is understood as the
combination of multiple religious beliefs including Confucianism, Taoism Shinto,
Buddhism and Folk religion. Therefore, at first I will introduce Confucianism,
Taoism Shinto, Buddhism and Folk religion and their influence on Japanese
traditions. Second, I will examine Japanese religion by using different
approaches.
Confucianism
was created by Confucius in 551-479 BC in China. He emphasized a return to
virtue and an overall social harmony based upon proper relationships among
people in terms of their social roles. Two of the most important teachings of
hierarchical relationships are father-son and ruler-citizen (the father and
ruler should be benevolent, the son and citizen should be obedient (Earhart,
19). Han
Confucianism was brought from Korea to Japan about 404 AD.
Confucian ethical codes and political principles were
understood
and utilized in Japan. Prince Shotoku (572-621) promulgated the famous Seventeen
Article Constitution in 604 AD. The main emphasis of the Seven Article
Constitution was on the duties of people towards their sovereign and the need
for harmony among inferiors and superiors. (Werrn, 7).
Even
now, we can see the influences from this teaching in Japanese society. ‘Jouge
Kankei’ which means the proper relationship between superiors and inferiors is
a good example of the influence of Confucianism. Japanese people are taught to
show high respect to elders, superiors as well as their own parents from their
childhoods. It seems to me that in contemporary Japan, ‘Jouge Kankei’ has
become more than a religious teaching and it is part of the culture in general.
The teaching for social institutions, political organization and the
systematization of moral precepts in Japan are also influenced by Confucianism,
For example, early Shinto did not have a clear conception of loyalty, filial
piety or virtues that were very important for Japanese people’s moral life.
Therefore, the very names for these were supplied by Confucianism and gave a
systematic teaching of morality and supplied the methods of instruction (Anesaki,
7). Before the introduction of Confucianism, there were no rules that could
quite organize Japanese society so well.
Although
Taoism never existed as a separate religious tradition in Japan, by the eighth
century a bureau of divination was patterned on a similar bureau at the Chinese
court. In general, the Chinese notions of interpreting work with nature and
harmonizing human life with nature came to be linked with the Japanese notions
about the Kami, nature, and rituals. For example, ideas of luck and fortune
telling are examples of the influence of Taoism (Earhart, 18). Most Japanese
people tend to choose a ‘good day’ from the calendar for their wedding.
Although no one teaches Japanese people that there is good luck and bad luck in
our lives, it is just an unwritten rule that everyone learns and applies. For
example, if I win the lottery, people will tell me that I have good ‘Un’,
which means good luck in Japanese. Another example is that many people say
encountering a black cat is a symbol of bad luck. Fortune tellers are very
popular and they seem to be accepted among various age groups of Japanese
people. Through my experiences, it seems that the palm reading by a fortune
teller is the most popular request.
Shinto (the ways of the gods) is the indigenous religion in Japan. It was
formed as a result of the outcomes of the lives of people and their temperament,
and it was closely connected with national traditions and social institutions.
It is thought that all humans are fundamentally good, and that evil spirits
cause all evil. The purpose of most Shinto rituals is to avoid evil spirits by
purification, offerings and prayers (Anesaki, 7).
The
kami are the objects of worship in Shinto. They are sacred spirits and can take
various forms such as natural elements like the sun, mountains, trees, rocks,
and the wind, or abstract things like fertility as well as ancestors, national
heroes and protectors of family clans (Kodansha, 29).
After
the Meiji restoration, the Meiji rulers made Shinto their state religion and
used Japan's creation myths, showing a direct link between the Sun goddess and
the emperors family, to foster national feelings and to justify the emperor's
absolute position. Shinto priests became state officials and the government
funded important shrines. There were also efforts to separate and emancipate
Shinto from Buddhism completely. After World War II, Shinto was completely
separated from the state and was classified as a normal religion. Today, most of
the shrines belong to the Association of Shinto Shrines (Kodansha, 37).
I
found that a large percentage of Japanese people, who do not think
of themselves as Shintoists, participate in occasional rituals. For example,
many Japanese people tend to have traditional weddings at shrines and infants
are dedicated at the shrines. The Seven Five Three Festival (Shichi Go San
Matsuri), an autumnal rite, features the presentation of children of these ages
at the shrines. The coming of age ceremony (Seijin Shiki), held on January 15,
officially recognizes the adulthood of those who will reach the age of twenty
during the calendar year. The New Year (Shogatu) is the time
when
many Japanese people make the year's first visit (Hatsumode) to a Shinto shrine,
and often to a Buddhist temple as well, to seek purification from the
defilements of the past year and good fortune for the coming year. This season
also features many other customs such as displays of symbolic decorations, the
preparation and consumption of special foods, game playing, kite flying,
calligraphy practice and fortune telling (Neill, pp.14-19). I think, however,
that the biggest ritual that is influenced by Shinto is the purification.
It is amazing to see how many Japanese people take the purification
seriously. Going to the Shrine and having purifications at least one time a year
seems to be part of the Japanese people’s way of life.
Buddhism
originated in India in the six century. It consists of the teaching of the
Buddha, Gautama Siddhartha, and its theories are that human life is full of
suffering due to worldly desires, illness, death and the loss of loved ones. By
getting rid of desires and attachments, we can achieve the state of
enlightenment (Nirvana) and escape suffering and the circle of reincarnations (Kodansya,
47).
Buddhism
was imported to Japan in 538 AD or 552 AD in form of a present from the king of
the friendly Korean kingdom of Kudara (Paikche). The ruling nobles welcomed the
teaching of Buddhism while the common people did not understand its complex
theories. After a few conflicts with the native religion Shinto, the two
religions were soon able to coexist
harmoniously
and even complemented each other. Therefore, still now, there are no
conflicts for most people whether we go to a temple or a shrine as long as we
participate in religious rituals (Kodansya, 48).
During
the Heian period, two new Buddhist sects were founded. The Tendai sect and the
Shingon sect were imported from China in 805 AD and 806 A.D. They were gradually
interpreted in a Japanese way so that they could fit into Japanese society, and
later they developed into further branches. In 1175, the Judo sect (Pure Land
sect) was founded which allowed beliefs to be spread to different social classes
of people because its theories were very simple and based on the principle that
everybody can achieve salvation by strongly believing in the Buddha Amida.
The
Zen sect was introduced from China in 1191 and is one of the most popular
branches of Buddhism in contemporary Japan. Its complicated theories were
popular, particularly among the members of the military class. According to Zen
teachings, one can achieve self-enlightenment through meditation and
self-discipline (Kodansya, 40)
Folk
religion can be described as the religious beliefs and practices that occur
outside of institutionalized religion. It can be the oral tradition that was
handed down in families and carried by villages in seasonal observance and
villages festivals (Earhart, 20). I found that it is hard to define what the
folk religion is. From the Japanese point of view, a good example of folk
religion is the local festivals. Hori
who is well known for the study of Japanese folk religion states that, “Folk
religion means a group of rites and beliefs which have been deeply felt by the
common people, and supported and transmitted by them from generation”(Hori,
2).
Many
rituals of folk religion are connected with growing rice. Before the seeding,
there are several praying services for good crops, ceremonies for transplanting,
praying for rain, for stopping storms or long rains, for driving away injurious
birds and noxious insects, the offering of the new harvest and
harvest
festivals (Hori, 21). As he discuses in his book, due to Japanese history, many
local festivals are related to growing rice. I found that there are different
types of festivals related to growing festivals based on the locations. For
example, how my
friend’s family celebrates the harvest festivals is quite different from how
my grandmother celebrates.
As
I demonstrated above, Japanese religions are combination of multiple religions (Earhart,
4). For example, their influences allow Japanese people to go to temple, which
is the Buddhist influence yet they go to shrines, which is the Shinto influence.
I found a good quote describing Japanese people and religion.
“Shinto
is the root embedded in the soil of the people’s character and national
traditions; Confucianism is seen in the stem and branches of legal institutions,
ethical codes, and educational
systems; Buddhism made the follower of religious sentiment bloom and gave the
fruit of spiritual life”(Anesaki 8)
There are various approaches to study
Japanese religion. For my presentation, I will apply anthropological approaches,
feminist approaches, sociological approaches and historical approaches. I will
also discuss the strengths and the weakness of each approach as well as
investigations of the author’s methods and their choices of sources.
Earhart
uses multiple approaches that include anthropological and historical approaches.
This is because he examines Japanese religion from
Japanese
contexts. For example, he explains the meaning of religious practices for
Japanese people. Meanwhile, he emphasizes the importance of using religious
history to understand Japanese religion.
For
example, Earhrt
states that:
“The
saying that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its part is very appropriate
to the study of Japanese religion. We must view it as a unified whole because
the individual strands did not exist in isolation, either in the course of
history or in the dynamics of religious life. Thorough Japanese history each
strands was influenced by one or more of the others”(Earhart, 3).
I
think that this illustrates one of the principal characteristics of
anthropological approaches. David who discusses anthropological approaches in
our assigned reading introduces the idea of holism which is the idea that
“[s]ocial practices must be investigated in context and seen as essentially
connected to others within the society in question. Anthropology must consider
religion and agricultural practices. kinship and politics, music and medicine
together”(David, 22). I found that Earhart connects his topics one to another
rather than examining each topic separately.
When Earhart discusses the kami, which are the spirits and deities of
nature and the sprit of ancestors (Earhart, 12), he analyzes them with the
context of Kojiki whish is the oldest recorded document of Japanese mythology.
Earhart tries to understand the meaning of kami from the Kojiki
because
he believes that it helps us recognize early Japanese religious notions that
have had a lasting influence. He states that:
“Although
the Kojiki reflects some borrowing from China, it establishes the origin and
distinctiveness of the Japanese tradition. The story depicts the creation of the
world and the appearance of the mythological deities who created the Japanese
islands and the Japanese people”(Earhart, 14).
It
is easy to discuss what kami are and the role of kami; however, Earhart examines
the Kojiki trying to understand kami from the Japanese recorded document, which
reflects the Japanese historical tradition and people. I found that this
approach also makes me think that he takes an anthropological approach.
Earhart also emphasizes the importance of religious history to understand
Japanese religion. His books are in chorological ordered starting from the
prehistoric heritage to present. For example, he makes categories such as the
formation of Japanese religion, the development and elaboration of Japanese
religion and formalism and renew in Japanese religion. In each category, the
historical events or different religions that are introduced to Japan were
discussed in chorological order. Also, Earhart states that:
“In
order to understand Japanese religion, we must comprehend it within its own
context, in its own historical setting, and though its own activities. The
materials in this book are selected and organized to aid this understanding and
at the same time to cover aspects of Japanese religion as possible: the content
of the various traditions the
basic
characteristics of the religious heritage as a whole, the changes and
ambiguities through the passage of time”(Earhart, 3)
Another
example that illustrates the importance of understanding Japanese history is:
“During
the first four decades of the twentieth century, Japan’s energies were heavily
concentrated on the strengthening of nationalism and militarism; and religion,
especially Shinto, was used to further these aims. However, proper historical
perspective is crucial if we are to understand Shinto. We must see shrine Shinto
as a modern development within a tradition with a long history”(Earhart, 158).
He
often emphasizes religious history. In this case, he explains that if we want to
understand Shinto, we should avoid the temptation to see the whole history of
Shinto in terms of its modern nationalistic form. The history of Shinto includes
not only nationalism and militarism, but also religious life of the shrine. In
the other words, we have to examine numerous aspects of Shinto throughout
history in order for us to understand Shinto.
To
conclude Earhart’s approaches, I found that he constructs his books in the
order that he fist introduces the topic, explains it and discusses it from the
Japanese point of view using chronological order. He also intensively uses Japanese authors books to support
his books and it seems to me that he is trying to understand what and how
Japanese people view Japanese religion.
The
strength of using an anthropological approach is that it accepts the differences
as they are without criticizing. This approach also respects people who are in
the culture. I found that Earhart’s anthropological approach examines Japanese
religion from Japanese people’s perspectives. For example, when Earhart
explains rituals, he discusses meanings, histories and the importance of ritual
for Japanese people. He does not however, add his own opinions into it or
compare it to his beliefs or his society. I think that this is because as
Earhart said, in order for him to discuss Japanese religion, he had to
understand his bias and how it affects his understanding of the world.
On
the other hand, anthropology approaches raise some questions. For example, if we
analyze every culture from the own point of view, do we have any way to evaluate
whether cultural practices are potentially harmful? For example, there is a
question that if a culture treats women poorly, do we have to accept it because
that is their culture.
The
strength of using historical approaches that I found from Earhart’s books is
that we can find the relationship between former events and current events. For
example, because Earhart organizes his book chronologically, as we read we can
easily understand and make a connection between how Christianity was introduced,
accepted, flourished and prohibited throughout history.
The
weakness of using historical approaches can be that sometimes people can dismiss
some information. For example, if I am writing about the introduction of
Christianity in Japan focusing too much on what happened in a particular year, I
may be dismissing the information about religious history of Christianity in
Japan as a whole and what was happening in the society in general. Another
weakness of this approach that Clive discusses in her article is that the
historical approach can focus too much on leaders and great events and ignore
the situation of normal life, everyday activities and normal people (Clive, 91).
I think that this is the problem. If we examine an event from one way, we can
dismiss many other aspects of the event.
Davis
uses the sociological approach for his book. This is because he uses
quantitative research and focuses on the relationship between Japanese religion
and society. In his introduction, he states that:
“Wile
this book is about Japanese religion, my goal is to frame the discussion in such
a way that when readers put the book down, they will have a deeper knowledge of
Japanese society and culture in general, and possibly even deeper insight into
the nature of religion itself. The book deals with the relationship between
Japanese religion, culture, and values on the one hand, and society, social
change, and economic development on the other”(Davis, 1)
While
he emphasizes the importance of his method, he criticizes the anthropological
approach. He thinks that if anthropology is the process of trying to get a story
out of a snapshot, it usually does not work. He believes
that
the synchrony and diachrony of the snapshot must be woven together, not just
rhetorically, but as a fundamental strategy for understanding and explaining
what the snapshot is all about (Davis, 2). I think I can see his point. For
example, there is the issue about who the insider and the outsider are. Because
I am Japanese person, is it appropriate to say that I know Japanese religion?
How about the scholars who study Japanese religion? They also know about
Japanese religion. Davis’s main point is that we are all insiders not only
people who are in a particular culture. Davis states that:
“Native
has direct access to the meanings of his or her own culture, whereas the
scholar, as an outsider, can only infer or speculate about these meanings
indirectly. The natives, however, presumably have not read Shutz or any other
phenomenological sociologists and therefore do not realize that their own
cultural insights are also interpretations, i.e., meaning they (or other members
of the tribe) have created after stopping and thinking. This is to say, at some
point in time someone has removed himself, or herself from the immediate flow of
events and has creatively for the tribe. While one must always listen
respectfully to what natives have to say-after all, it is their story that we
are trying to tell-their interpretive structures are not necessarily the only,
or the best explanations available (Davis, 7)
It
is true that using only stories from people who are in the culture can be
unbalanced. Perhaps, it is appropriate to say that there are different types of
insiders. For example, since I am Japanese person who grew up in Japan, I can be
an insider with experiences in terms of Japanese religion, but also the
scholar
who studies Japanese religion can be an insider with academic knowledge.
Davis’s interest is how religion has
passively enabled Japanese society to industrialize and spend less time
discussing the direct impact of religious ideas on social and economic change
(Davis, 9). Therefore in his book, he speculates on Japanese religion from big
frame choosing topics such as the structure of religious groups, the dynamics of
social conflict, the dynamics of social and economic change, secularization and
national identity.
The Northcott article that is
assigned reading explains the principal characteristics of sociological
approaches. One of their characteristics is
“
the patterns of social organization including politics, economic production and
exchange system and bureaucracy” (Northcott, 201). I think this illustrates
what Davis was explaining in Chapter 4 called the Weber thesis and the economic
development of Japan. For example, he makes diagram of traditional society, the
development and accommodation and the post- confusions industrial society. Davis
compares them in terms of society, religion and economy. From these diagrams, we
can view how the importance among them has changed as economy has changed.
I found that the strength of using a
sociological approach is that it allows us to examine the relationship between
society and religion. For example, with this approach, we can speculate how
Japanese religions affect
various
types of social and economic systems that were used throughout Japanese history.
The weakness of this is that if the
author is using a theory from some famous sociologists who speak from the
context of Christianity, it does not work out well when we are examining a topic
that is outside of the context of Christianity. For example, I found that Davis
seems to dismiss Japanese voices and points of view. He explains and discusses
the topic by using only Western sociologists but not using Japanese
sociologists. I found that his book shows how Western people understand the
relationship between Japanese religion and society not how Japanese people
understand the relationship between Japanese religion and society.
Okano uses a feminist approach to discuss
women’s image and place in Japanese Buddhism. She focuses on Buddhism as the
most influential factor shaping the image and role of women and supporting
sexism in Japanese society. She does not however, emphasize only the oppression
of Japanese women. One of the reasons is that from her point of view, sexual
discrimination cannot be measured simply by the extent to which women are
excluded from various spheres of life; more often, discrimination is hidden and,
therefore, difficult to assess (Okano, 15). Another reason is that she views the
issue of sexism in Japanese society not only due to patriarchy but also due to
the focus on harmonization in Japanese society. According to
Okano,
there is a tendency that we accept and try to harmonize both the good and the
bad rater than seek to make clear the difference (Okano, 27).
Okano analyzes how women are portrayed in the
context of Buddhism in her book. She compares the difference between the
principles of Buddhist teaching and people’s interpretations. For example,
although Buddha’s entity is sexless and anyone who achieved enlightenment
could be buddha, some Buddhism sects such as the Jodo shin sect interpret it
differently and make a statement that the husband is the lord and the wife is
the servant (Okano, 16). Okano analyzes how and why those interpretations are
created and how they are accepted to the society.
I found that one of the statements
that Morgan makes in her article reflects the Okano’s point of view:
“Feminism, like religion, addresses the meaning of human identity and
wholeness at the very deepest levels, drawing upon a wide range of
interdisciplinary insights from anthropology, theology, sociology, and
philosophy”(Morgan, 42). Okano does not make statements that women need to
have more power in the society. Moreover, although it is important for Japanese
society to have harmony, she encourages people especially women to be aware and
think about inequality.
The strength of using a feminist
approach is that it helps women to be aware of their place in society. In this
case, I found that examining Buddhism from feminist approach helps us to realize
how much Buddhism affects to the
place
of women. The feminist approach is effective because it can articulate the
problem. In the case of Japan from Okano’s view, the problem is that Japanese
culture often emphasizes harmony, we tend not to discuss or make social change
regarding the treatment of women in Japan. On the other hand, the weakness of
the feminist approach is that if we only look at society from women’s point of
view ignoring men’s point of view, it is not really examining the whole
society. I think that it is very important for us to have both stories and to
try to solve the problems together.
As I demonstrated above, there are
numerous ways to understand Japanese religion. In my opinion, the best way to
understand Japanese religion is to apply as many approaches as possible so that
we can examine it from different perspectives. I also believe that it is vital
for us to realize that each approach has strengths and weaknesses. By
understating strengths and weaknesses, we know what kind of information and
topic are covered and not covered by different approaches.
Davis
Winston, Japanese Religion and Society. New York, 1992.
Earhart
Byron H, Religion of
Japan. San Francisco, 1984.
Earhart
Byron H, Religion in The Japanese Experience. Belmont, 1974.
Fujimura-Fanselow
Kumiko, Japanese women: New Feminist Perspectibes on the Past, Present, and
Future. New York, 1995.
Kodansya
edited by Hori Ishirou, Japanese Religion.
Tokyo, 1972.
Warren
W Smith, Jr., Confucianism in Modern Japan
– A study of conservatism in Japanese intellectual history. Tokyo, 1959.