Japanese Buddhism
Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice – “Funeral Buddhism”
– “Community Buddhism”
– Pilgrimage
“Community Buddhism”
Annual festivals at local temples– Often relating to local history or the temple’s
history• Takeda Shingen festival, Yamanashi• Taima festival at Taimadera
– Local commemorations of common tradition• eg. O-bon festival
Pilgrimage
Acting out the Buddhist path Aimed at spiritual reassurance Most famous; the Shikoku pilgrimage Most often undertaken by the elderly Other pilgrimages:
– related to Kannon, for example
The Shikoku Pilgrimage
The Shikoku Pilgrimage
Practice over doctrine
Practice matters most; always has Many schools/sects of Buddhism
– Differences in practice small
Most people have a formal affiliation with a temple (those statistics), but– Often they don’t know which temple or– What sect it belongs to
Goals of Japanese Buddhism
Care for ancestors A good life after death This-worldly benefits
– Health– Safety– Prosperity
Japanese Conceptionsof the Netherworld
Reincarnation and the six realms– Gods– Humans– Asuras– Animals/beasts– Hungry ghosts– Hell dwellers
Post-death rituals aimed at ensuring the departed moves on
Rise of Japanese Buddhism
Entered Japan ca. 1st-3rd centuries CE from the Asian mainland– Not a unified state, no writing system– As today, Buddhism well mixed with
• Daoism
• Yin-yang belief
• Geomancy (directional taboos)
• Confucianism
“Formal Introduction” of Japanese Buddhism
Mid 500s, letter from a Korean king to a Japanese emperor
The emperor embraced it but his courtiers resisted it– They feared their prestige would be reduced
First Buddhist institutions
ca. 600-1000 CE Mainly monasteries Patronized by aristocrats Served official functions
– Most important: state protection
Common people little served by these official institutions
Medieval Buddhism
True or false:Zen is the most popular kind of Buddhism in Japan
False. Zen comes in at number two Most popular: Pure Land
– Begins to develop about the year 1000– Focuses on Amida and posthumous birth into
his Pure Land (Pure Land = heaven)
Medieval Buddhism II
Zen comes to Japan from China about the year 1200
Embraced by the warriors who ruled Japan at the time
However, many warriors held on to older family beliefs and did not embrace Zen
Older schools also thrive, supported by landholdings donated over the years
Buddhism in Modern Japan
Buddhist temples separated from shrines (to kami, Japanese deities)
Buddhism suppressed for a time in the interest of national identity– Stripped of their landholdings– Temple destruction in some areas– Ultimately a failure
New Religions
Two types:– Those begun by charismatic
leaders claiming special visions and insights•Tenri-kyō, Agon-shū
– Popular lay movements that grew out of older Buddhist institutions•Risshō Kōsei-kai, Soka Gakkai
Agon-shū Leader: Kiriyama Seiyū
Agon-shū Hoshi matsuri — goma ritual
Conclusion
In Japan, the distant goal of awakening (enlightenment) was and is relatively not important
Buddhism in its Japanese form seeks– This-worldly benefits– Salvation in the next life
Visits to temple mostly occasional: a death in the family, festival, pilgrimage, in times of need