Japanese Religion

Japanese Religion
Draft from Religions of the World: A Critical Introduction by Leslie Dorrough Smith and
Steven Ramey (Equinox Publishing, forthcoming)
Introduction
The islands of Japan comprise an archipelago along the east coast of the Asian continent. While
disagreements have existed over which islands are a part of Japan and which are not, many in
Japan see the cultural practices fostered on these islands as unique. The geographic separation
of this group of islands from the mainland may have helped to promote this sense of
distinction. At the same time, their interactions with other societies of mainland Asia,
particularly regions known today as China and South Korea, have contributed to the inclusion of
Buddhism and other religions as parts of Japanese culture. This history makes it reasonable to
treat Japanese Religions as a separate category among the religions of the world. As with
certain other chapters in this book, the regional identification is useful since many in Japan
participate in a number of practices draw from various religious traditions that are often
assumed to be separate, and yet, in the Japanese context, they are not.
Shinto is the label given to some of the practices on the islands of Japan, including the
veneration of ancestors as well as natural sites and phenomena. Some describe Shinto as the
early religion of the islands, while others point to its beginnings in particular texts recorded in
the 8th and 9th centuries CE and the designation of Shinto as the state religion in 1868 CE.
Buddhism is the other largest religion of the region. Its practitioners claim it offers various
approaches to attain enlightenment and release from this world, and it draws on the teachings
and assistance of Buddhas (enlightened beings), including the historical Buddha Siddharta
Gautama (who lived in Nepal/India in the 6th / 5th century BCE).
Siddharta taught that human life is suffering because humans misunderstand the nature
of the world. Most humans mistakenly see themselves as stable individuals and the things
around them as permanent and dependable, but Siddharta taught that everything is
impermanent, including the individual soul. The goal for humans, according to Siddharta, is to
gain release from the continual cycle of birth, death, and rebirth by attaining nirvana, or
enlightenment. Most Buddhist ideas, though, entered Japan from China, often brought (along
with other cultural elements) by various emissaries and monks. For example, Saicho in 807 CE
brought practices of Tiantai Buddhism into Japan, which developed into what we now call
Tendai Buddhism. In the context of Japan, the separation of Shinto and Buddhism into different
religions remains a matter of debate, as is their relation to local practices. Other traditions from
China, including Confucianism and Daoism, have also influenced ideas and practices in Japan.
This chapter highlights four possible representations of Japanese Religion. In the first, a
popular, romanticized view of Japanese religion emphasizes what are often seen as the
meditative and peaceful components of Japanese religion. A second representation emphasizes
the distinctions and tensions between foreign religions and indigenous traditions, differences
that some people in Japan continually contest in discussions of what they identify as Japanese.
In contrast, a third representation of Japanese religions highlights the ways Shinto and
Buddhism intersect and people participate in both in Japan, even though Shinto is often seen as
Draft for Religions of the World by Smith and Ramey
Japanese Religions - 2
indigenous and Buddhism as foreign. The fourth representation discusses the ways various
governments have constructed Japanese religions through different legal classifications. As in
any discussion of complex cultural phenomena, none of these representations alone provides a
complete description, and even the four combined together reveals only a part of the intricacy
of Japanese religions.
Timeline
563 BCE or 480 BCE
Birth of Siddharta Gautama (uncertain)
Ca. 6th century BCE

Life of Laozi (according to tradition)
Ca. 6th century BCE

Life of Kongzi
483 or 400 BCE

Death of Siddharta Gautama, recognized as the Buddha by many
8th century CE
Kojiki text recorded
775-835 CE
Life of Kukai, founder of Shingon Buddhism according to tradition
807 CE
Saicho brought the teachings associated with Tiantai to Japan in 807 CE
1191
Myaon Eisai, a Japanese Tendai monk, returns to Japan from China, bringing teachings
related to Zen to Japan
1224
Shinran, formerly a Tendai monk, wrote Kyogyoshinsho, which contained portions of Pure
Land sutras and his interpretations that became Jodo Shinsu (True Pure Land) Buddhism
1253
Nichiren, a Tendai monk, publicly declares the Lotus Sutra to be central scripture for Tendai
Buddhism, beginning what becomes known as Nichiren Buddhism
1571
Nobunaga led successful Seige of Mount Hiei and defeated Tendai monks allied with Azai and
Asakura clans, who were rivals of Nobunaga
1603
Beginning of Tokugawa period and leadership of Shogunate
1868
Meiji Restoration, restoring the emperor of Japan to full authority after defeat of Tokugawa
Shogunate, led to construction of Shinto as the state religion
1930
Soka Gakkai International, following ideas of Nichiren, founded in Japan
1945
Japan surrenders to end World War II, after the US dropped nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and
Nagasaki
1945-1952
Occupation of Japan by Allies (led by United States) that implemented one interpretation of
freedom of religion
1951
D.T. Suzuki begins teaching at Columbia University in the United States
Representation 1. Japanese Religion as Meditative and Peaceful

A beautiful mountain shrine and a Japanese rock garden are images that some people associate
with Japanese Religion, an image that highlights the serene, meditative quality of many
religions in Japan. This contrasts with other common stereotypes and images of contemporary
Japan, with bustling large cities full of consumer goods, ever-advancing technologies, and
hierarchical business structures where people express loyalty to their company. In many ways,
then, what Japanese Religion offers appears to be in stark contrast to many other aspects of
Japanese culture.
The quiet and contemplative nature of Japanese religion is present in the Shinto shrine,
commonly located in a natural setting. While some Shinto shrines can be busy (especially the
large shrines in big cities) a common Shinto shrine features a mountain or waterfall in
recognition of the kami residing there. Kami is a term used in Japan that cannot easily be
translated, as it refers to beings that extend beyond the common English words “god” or
“spirit”. Kami can be the power in a waterfall or other natural element, the force of the storm,
an ancestor of the Japanese, or someone who sacrificed their life for others, to provide a few
examples. Kami can be benevolent and help people, or kami can be dangerous like a storm.
Therefore, people in Japan have a variety of motivations to demonstrate devotion and respect
to the kami, such as giving thanks, requesting assistance, or placating a dangerous force.
One way of showing respect involves visiting the shrine of the kami. Since some kami
are related to natural elements, the shrine is not created where it is convenient for the devotee
(such as might be the case for a local church, temple, or mosque), but is sited to honor the kami
in the aspect of nature where they reside. A traditional gate, known as a Torii (examples of
these are common elements in Japanese botanical gardens in the United States), marks the
borders of the kami’s realm and their shrine, letting the visitor know that they are entering an
area that people understand to be sacred. Thus a visit to the shrine of a kami might involve a
hike up a mountainside or a trip out of the city to a natural setting. At the shrine, the visitor
might bow formally before the kami, ring a gong, give a coin as an offering, and clap their hands
twice. Various explanations exist for these actions, but generally these efforts are thought to
attract the attention of the kami. The goal is for the worshipper to show proper devotion and
respect so that the kami will provide them assistance. The devotee may include a petition as a
part of their visit or partake in a drink of water that is seen as purifying, but much of the visit
also often involves an appreciation of the beauty of the kami’s realm.
Zen Buddhism also represents Japanese serenity. Zen is an approach to reach
enlightenment (explained more fully in the Buddhism chapter, Representation 3), and
practitioners of Zen focus on meditative practices and emphasize individual experiences rather
than focusing on teachings based on texts or lectures. However, some Japanese stories about
the monk credited with bringing these practices from India to China (and, in some versions,
Japan) present an extreme version of meditation. Daruma (known as Boddhidharma in other
tellings) meditated without stop for nine years, staring at a cave wall. Depending on the version
of the story, his arms and legs withered and fell off, and he cut out his eyelids to prevent sleep
from interrupting his meditation. Such stories became the basis for a traditional good luck
figure in Japan, known as a Daruma doll, which is rounded on the bottom and weighted so it
will stand back up if knocked over, thus illustrating perseverance like Daruma.
Despite the extreme nature of the stories about Daruma, some people in Japan practice
Zen in the midst of a typical life of family and work. The prime setting for Zen practice is sitting
meditation (zazen). Those practicing Zen sit in a cross-legged position and focus on their
breathing in an effort to quiet their mind. This practice is generally silent and may be performed
regularly for an hour, or even multiple hours depending on the expertise of the practitioner. A
Zen retreat may include multiple sessions of zazen a day for a period of time. A second
common method for calming the mind is meditation on koans, which are unsolvable riddles
such as, “What was your original face before you were born?” These riddles are intended to
assist practitioners in breaking out of the overly-simplistic or dualistic thinking that
characterizes most human cognition. With the guidance of a master, the student focuses on
one koan after another until they have progressed towards enlightenment.
Beyond those two main avenues of practice, many other activities can become Zen
activities, as well. The rock garden, with neat lines raked in the gravel (which you can also view
in many botanical gardens in the United States), is not only a place for quiet contemplation or
even zazen, but also can be a meditative practice for whomever rakes the gravel to create the
consistent lines, so long as it helps them silence the constant chatter of the human mind. A
whole range of activities, from archery, calligraphy, and stick fighting, to making and drinking
tea in the Japanese Tea Ceremony, can become Zen practices. The main issue is whether the
practitioner concentrates on their breathing or the specific activity to help them move beyond
rational thought.
Shinto draws on practices and narratives of the kami that people see as traditional to
Japan, and thus harkens back to an earlier time. For its part, Zen Buddhism came into Japan
from China in the past millennium or so, yet it has come to represent a popular component of
Buddhism in Japan and has taken on the serene character of certain aspects of Japanese
culture. Both together create an image of a peaceful and spiritual Japan that contrasts with the
rush of modern existence.
Analysis of Japanese Religion as Meditative and Peaceful

The representation of Japanese religion as meditative and peaceful highlights particular
practices that are useful for practitioners who want a temporary retreat from the chaos of
everyday life. In some accounts, Zen meditative practices have helped people move beyond
extreme grief, distress, and anxiety. The selection of elements that are highlighted here,
however, promotes a particular image of Japanese religion that reflects very specific vantage
points that deserve our further attention.
From a functionalist perspective, it is useful to consider who tends to think about
Japanese religions in this way. One answer comes from a larger complex of ideas called
Orientalism, a term coined by scholar Edward Said in 1978, that describes how Westerners tend
to think about the people of non-Western cultures. Orientalist thinking tends to portray other
cultures as superstitious, backwards, and more primitive than their Western counterparts. This
generally negative view is often paired with a certain sort of awe that presumes that these
same non-Western cultures are also more mystical and exotic.
Said’s broader argument is that Europeans created these images of non-Western
cultures because it met their (European) needs; specifically, these representations created a
sharp distinction between the people of Europe and those of other places while identifying the
Europeans as superior. This helped, in part, to justify the atrocities of European colonialism.
Along with these images was sometimes a critique of European culture as having lost a
“spiritual” component that other, more “primitive” cultures maintained. While praising the
other cultures on the surface, this was a double-edged sword, for many non-Westerners were
portrayed as one-dimensional caricatures whose real lives could never match the stereotypes
Europeans held about them, particularly the idealized image of the “spiritual East.” Thus,
Europeans often used representations such as these to critique other contemporary cultures
while also positioning themselves as a colonial presence that could save / reform these lost
practices or corrupted societies.
The idealized image of Japanese religions presented above fits this model, and such
language and imagery continues today. In some cases, people in Asia and other regions of the
world have adopted this Orientalist language, as well. By contrasting the spiritual East to the
material West, they have tried to encourage people in North America or Europe to adopt some
of the practices of Asia with a missionary zeal. One famous example of a figure who embraced
this thinking is D. T. Suzuki, a Japanese writer and monk who taught Zen Buddhism in North
America in the mid-20th century (see the case study about him in the Buddhism chapter). Suzuki
packaged Zen meditative practices in a way that promoted the idea of a serene Japanese
culture. Through his presentation, he downplayed other elements of Japanese Buddhism that
would be less desirable to Western audiences, such as the common Buddhist metaphysical
notion that humans do not have an eternal soul. Such elements would be presumably less
appealing to people in North America than the idealized image of peaceful Japan.
Suzuki’s version of Zen, however, fails to fully acknowledge the complexities within Zen
practice. For instance, samurai warriors often preferred Zen as it combined martial practices
like stick fighting and archery alongside the meditative component described above. Even in the
practices of zazen and koans, things may hardly be peaceful. Beyond the physical stamina
required to maintain the proper posture through long periods of meditation, the master does
not always employ a gentle form of correction. In zazen, the master can use a stick to slap the
practitioner on the shoulder to wake them up, either in a literal or a metaphysical sense. Some
practitioners report that the master might yell at the student or strike them when they report
on their koan meditations. Such harsh responses can be explained as a part of the effort to help
the student move beyond the mental blocks that hinder their progress. Even if they are not
performed with malice or frustration, they do not match the peaceful image of a rock garden
and zazen.
As the discussion of the responses of the masters illustrates, Zen practices commonly
happen in hierarchical communities, with people who have taken monastic vows (both male
and female) who live in submission to other monks who hold varying levels of authority. Those
on the lower rungs of the community often perform most of the menial tasks necessary for the
community to function efficiently, while those with more experience make more decisions,
supervise, and teach. Naturally, such hierarchies ideally reflect the greater knowledge and
advancement of the senior members of the community, but they do not conform to the
idealized, individualistic image presented above. There are also several other types of Japanese
religions than those mentioned here. Many different schools of Buddhism exist in Japan, and
not all of them fit this serene and peaceful imagery well at all. For example, Fudo Myodo, a
fierce protector figure associated with Buddhism, is popular with some Japanese groups.
Devotees commonly depict Fudo Myodo with a drawn sword and surrounded by flames, ready
to protect the teachings of Buddhism and his followers from threatening, malevolent forces.
The way that Shinto shrines are often represented is also limited, resembling a targeted
tourist ad more than a description of Japanese Religion. Shrines exist in localities throughout
Japan, not necessarily with a picturesque waterfall or mountain on the grounds. Some shrines
are much more popular, both as tourist sites and as places for prayers, rituals, and expressions
of devotion. Shrines can become quite busy, particularly during festivals, as people participate
in the activities honoring the kami or the ancestors. Some shrines also sell amulets, often called
Omamori, which devotees can take with them to extend the protection and blessing of the
kami to their home, car, or workplace. To promote their economic interests, some shrines will
cater to particular audiences to make amulets that that group of people will find attractive or
desirable to purchase.
Other shrines are militaristic or are centers for nationalistic forms of devotion. For
example, the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo houses kami related to the fallen protectors of Japan
(that is, military figures and war heroes). Included among the kami housed at Yasukuni are
common people who sacrificed their lives for the Japanese nation along with several military
leaders who were convicted of war crimes after World War II. The inclusion of these figures,
and the atrocities the Japanese military committed during their occupation of various parts of
Asia leading up to World War II, makes the shrine controversial. Such Shinto shrines differ
considerably from the image created in certain Orientalist constructions of Japan, which also
tend to erase these times of militant nationalism.
Case Study: Samurai

A famous figure in Japan that has been featured regularly in both literature and popular cultural
is the samurai warrior. Samurai were significant figures in medieval and early modern Japan,
often serving the military leaders known as shoguns. Samurai warriors are simultaneously
presented as fierce, skilled fighters who also symbolize discipline, loyalty, and restraint. They
are linked with a variety of religions that people associate with Japan, and through these
competing representations, samurai both complicate and reinforce the idea that Japanese
religion is peaceful and meditative.
One significant attribute associated with the samurai is loyalty to whomever was their
lord in the feudal system. Such notions of loyalty reflect ideals related to Confucianism, a set of
beliefs and practices that developed in China and emphasized mutual responsibilities and ritual
expectations between people in hierarchical relationships (for more about Confucianism, see
the Chinese Religions chapter). Samurai also commonly expressed devotion to the land of Japan
and different kami there, engaging with Shinto priests. As noted above, they also adopted Zen
Buddhist practices to calm their minds and sharpen their martial skills.
Their code of conduct, known as bushido, can also be traced to ideas associated with
Confucianism, Shinto, and Buddhism. While sometimes described as older by multiple
centuries, it was not until the 16th century that descriptions of bushido frequently appeared,
and there is evidence that different versions and historical changes existed in this code. The
specific virtues associated with bushido varied, but often included ideals such as compassion,
loyalty, honesty, frugality, harmony, and self-control. It is possible to associate particular virtues
with particular religions (harmony with Daoism, loyalty with Confucianism, compassion with
Buddhism, among others). In some versions of bushido, samurai were expected to inspect and
maintain their weapons in a ritualized fashion, which harkens to Confucian ideas of ritual
practice to maintain ordered relationships. Such actions can also be seen as a type of efficiency
and a sign of loyalty to the lord in the sense that they were ever ready to defend their leader,
yet the ritualized fashion of the practice gave it an element of devotion or extreme
commitment. This fits with specific Neo-Confucian ideas that emphasize individuals (and their
families) adopting Confucian ideals first in an effort to strengthen society, as opposed to
depending on the ruler to implement these elements. The samurai was also noted for an
extreme sense of honor and duty, including (in some versions of bushido) the concept of
ritualized suicide in cases of dishonor.
Both the samurai and bushido have been represented in different ways, depending in
part on which religious and/or cultural traditions the representation associated with the
samurai. The teachings associated with Buddhism and the practice of Zen led some samurai to
express restraint in relation to violence and work to avoid casualties among noncombatants. In
some cases, samurai appear to have renounced violence to become Buddhist monks. But for
most samurai, violence was a necessary aspect of their protection and service to their lord.
Thus, the decision to represent samurai as fierce or measured in their violence depends on the
emphases that the person making the representation wants to highlight. While the teachings of
Confucianism emphasized social hierarchy, which is expressed as devotion to the samurai’s
lord, the samurai also held a high position in the broader social hierarchy and, in some
interpretations of bushido, could physically punish those lower in the hierarchy who did not
show them the proper ritual respect. Thus, Confucian ideals could lead to both order and
violence, depending on how specific descriptions of the samurai choose to represent them.
The ideal of the samurai and the bushido concept has continued since the abolition of
samurai in the nineteenth century, although in different forms. It is possible to connect aspects
of Japanese business culture, including the sense of loyalty to the corporation, to the bushido
code and the cultural example of the samurai. Some also see bushido as an aspect of their
Japanese heritage and employ it in their contemporary lives, though how they interpret it
depends on which components of bushido seem particularly relevant to them. For example,
some Japanese people apply bushido to sports, particularly highlighting hard work and fair play.
Outside of Japan, the concept has also become something of a pop culture reference point in
books and media targeted towards Western men, as the bushido code is presented as an
example of chivalrous, protector masculinity. If the samurai and bushido reflect Japanese
religions, as some attest, then the pervasive appeal of the samurai role model demonstrates
the broader cultural influence of Japanese religions beyond what we commonly define as
religious practices.
Representation 2. Japanese Religions as Indigenous and Foreign Traditions

Another way to describe the religions of Japan is to trace their roots to indigenous Japanese
traditions as well as traditions from China. Shinto incorporates a set of practices that developed
on the islands of Japan that connect to natural elements, other forces, and ancestors of the
Japanese people. Because of this enduring connection to the islands, some people refer to
Shinto as indigenous, meaning that it is the original practice of that locale. Through interactions
with Chinese cultures over many centuries, three religions connected to China also influenced
practices in Japan: Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. At times, some people in Japan have
attempted to purify Japanese religions from these “foreign” practices as a means to promote
Japanese nationalism. These labels also raise questions about what counts as “Japanese.” In
other words, how long does something have to be in Japan to no longer be considered
“foreign”?
The narratives, practices, and ideas that people identify as Shinto emphasize nature,
purity, and respect for the kami and include narratives of creation. One narrative of the islands,
recorded in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki (texts from the eighth and ninth centuries CE) tells how
two deities, Izanagi and Izanami, created the islands, which are not only viewed as the first
creation, but also the center of the world. In heaven, Izanagi and Izanami together stirred the
primordial waters with a spear and created the first island (which became part of Japan) from
the matter dripping off the end of the spear. They then procreated to produce the other islands
of Japan. After this act, Izanagi and Izanami also produced multiple children, in addition to the
islands, who became other deities / kami. During the birth of one of these kami (commonly
associated with fire), Izanami was burned to death, prompting Izanagi to attempt to bring her
back from the underworld. After journeying to find her, Izanagi was confronted with several
horrors: his wife had already eaten the food from the underworld and thus could not escape;
moreover, he was mortified by her appearance as a dead person. He ran away, sealing off
access to the underworld and thus separating the living from the dead. He then took a
ceremonial bath to restore his purity, during which he produced additional kami, but this time
asexually.
These narratives present the islands as creations of Izanagi and Izanami, and many
practitioners of Shinto reference their story. Some people assert that particular natural
elements on those islands are kami, as are the forces of nature surrounding the islands. The
term Shinto can be translated as the “way of the kami,” and many groups have developed
ritualized ways of interacting with them. Priests who serve as ritual specialists maintain many of
the shrines and facilitate such interactions. Often, the kami of a shrine is not represented in a
statue or anthropomorphic image, as is common in many religions (Buddhism, Hinduism,
Daoism, especially), but is represented by an object, sometimes a mirror or a particular
streamer or strip of paper. Seeing the image / object of the kami and interacting with it is not
the objective of a visit to a shrine. In fact, this item is often kept closed within the shrine and is
generally unavailable to visitors.
Visitors to a shrine often express devotion to the unseen kami, leave written prayers for
assistance or blessing, and undertake a ritual cleansing with water provided in the shrine. This
act reinforces the importance of purification, a common emphasis in Shinto practice.
Purification inhibits dangerous spirits from harming the petitioner or the community. Priests
also conduct rituals that involve acts of purification that use water, salt, paper, wooden
trinkets, and occasionally fire to remove impurities and negative forces from the petitioners
and surrounding areas.
Most people do not visit a shrine on a regular basis for individual devotion or communal
worship. Life cycle rituals, though, are an important exception. These are especially important
to Shinto practice, including the first visit of a newborn to the local shrine, particular
commemorations of a child’s growth towards adulthood, and marriage. Festivals are also a
reason that one might visit a shrine, though the primary purpose of the festival is often
described as entertaining the kami. Shrines conduct annual festivals that may include opening
the inner shrine, placing the symbol of the resident kami in a palanquin (a large box that is open
on the sides that sits atop two poles which make it possible to pick up and transport) and
parading the symbol of the kami around the neighborhood. These rituals occur in addition to
regular food offerings, acts of purification, and prayers. Other festivals that are important in
some shrines relate to agricultural activities, such as rice planting and harvest.
Three other schools of thought and practice -- Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism --
relate to legendary figures in ancient China. Kongzi (Confucius in Latinized form), who lived in
6th century BCE during a period of unrest known as the Warring States Period, viewed prior
periods of Chinese culture as an ideal to be reestablished. He taught that people could restore
peaceful society by emphasizing proper social relationships. People in superior positions (ruler,
husband, father, etc.) should act with humaneness and concern for the welfare of those under
their supervision (subjects, wives, children, etc.), and those in inferior positions should respond
with loyalty to the appropriate leadership of their superiors. In Kongzi’s thought, if the ruler
acts appropriately, the subjects will respond appropriately. Proper etiquette and ritualized
interactions promote this ordering of social relationships, including bowing before parents and
serving their needs first as well as extensive rituals of mourning after the death of a person’s
father. As in much of East Asia, Confucian rituals of respect for parents and rulers are common
in Japan. Some communities in Japan have adopted particular philosophical ideas from
Confucian thought broadly, including the importance of the individual cultivation of moral
households, hierarchized relationships, and the importance of reciprocity and concern for the
wellbeing of all. While there are many ways that these ideals could be applied, some have used
them to both reinforce and challenge patriarchal and authoritarian practices.
Daoism is often traceable to a similar time as the origin of the Confucian school of
thought, recognizing a man known as Laozi as its founder. Laozi is considered the author of
Daoism’s central text, the Daodejing. The ideal role model in Daoism is the sage who leaves the
hustle and bustle of society to live in harmony with the natural world, and through that
harmony, gains greater powers. In textual accounts, this power is often undefined and hard for
others to notice, meaning the sage can get people to act without them recognizing his power.
In some narratives about sages, they have supernatural abilities to control elements of their
environment or perform superhuman feats. Over time, a variety of monastic communities
developed, typically in mountainous areas, that became centers for Daoist study and practice.
Some of these centers have also become associated with martial arts, teaching the practitioner
to act in harmony with the natural abilities of the human body to increase their physical power.
Tai chi is a meditative activity related to Daoism that reflects martial arts practices that helps
the person attune themselves to the natural world. Over time, Daoist practice and thought in
China also developed a pantheon of divine beings who were served and honored by priests in
temples.
Specific Daoist ideas influenced parts of Japanese society at the same time that the
emphasis on harmony with nature, and particularly mountains, reflects Shinto ideas. While
Shinto ideas did not necessarily derive from Daoism, Shinto and Daoist ideas probably
reinforced each other. Shugendo is one set of practices and ideas in Japan that more clearly
reflects Daoism. Shugendo is an ascetic movement that focuses on developing power in the
individual through practices of meditation in extreme environments, primarily in the mountains
of Japan. This practice resembles Daoist practitioners who go to the mountains to harmonize
with the natural world and attain powers through that harmony. Because of the blending of
Daoist, Buddhist, and Shinto ideas in Shugendo, Shugendo practitioners have identified their
practices differently depending on the circumstances. When faced with persecution in the late
nineteenth century, for instance, some practitioners of Shugendo began to strategically identify
with particular Buddhist schools that were not experiencing oppression.
While influencing the development of a variety of cultural practices, neither
Confucianism nor Daoism have a major institutional presence in Japan. Shrines associated with
either are uncommon, and as a result, ritual specialists in Daoism or Confucianism are not
commonplace. Buddhism, though, has a significant institutional presence in the country,
particularly in the form of Mahayana Buddhism. A Mahayana teaching that is prominent in
Japan is the idea that nirvana (enlightenment) already exists within all people; they simply need
to discover it in themselves. This thinking does not require monastic vows, however, as is
assumed in some understandings of Buddhism (see Buddhism chapter). People can continue to
live in the everyday world (rather than a monastic community) and achieve enlightenment
through the aid of bodhisattvas, a type of divine being in Buddhism noteworthy for their
compassionate decision to delay their own nirvana in order to help all sentient beings reach this
state of enlightenment.
Multiple schools of Buddhism have been popular in Japan, including Tendai, Pure Land,
Shingon, and Zen. The powerful in Japan have often patronized different schools of Buddhism
and suppressed others as their needs and interests changed; such patronization and
suppression served to promote and recruit supporters of a political power and to suppress the
influence of rivals and the groups who supported them. One of the most prominent schools is
Tendai, which developed from the Chinese movement known as Tiantai. Many monks in Japan
trained first as Tendai monks, including several who studied at Tiantai Mountain in China.
Because Tiantai reflected an openness to various practices, several of these Tendai monks
studying in China brought new schools and practices, including Zen, to the Japanese people.
Tendai communities often emphasize a particular text, known as the Lotus Sutra, that
they claim is a sermon of Siddharta (the Buddha) that was hidden away “in the realm of the
dragons” for centuries until humanity was ready to hear the message. Many Buddhists in China
and Japan have interpreted that text in multiple ways, allowing significant space for a range of
practices to emerge. For example, one 13th century Japanese monk trained in Tendai, known as
Nichiren, determined that the Lotus Sutra contained all knowledge and that chanting the Lotus
Sutra, or even just a phrase praising the Lotus Sutra (“Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,“ or “Praise to
the Teachings of the Lotus Sutra” in Japanese) can provide mental or even physical healing for
people and improve their lives. He also asserted that if the Japanese people followed this
practice, it would restore order and prosperity to the people of the islands of Japan. Followers
of Nichiren often consider him the Buddha for our time, drawing on the concept that Buddhas
periodically appear in the world to rescue humans from their own ignorance and folly.
Nichiren’s teachings have generated a contemporary international movement, Soka Gakai
International. Soka Gakai emphasizes personal development through recitation of the mantra
praising the Lotus Sutra, as well as study and acts of compassion towards others (disaster relief,
global peace advocacy, etc.).
Another prominent school in Japan is Pure Land Buddhism, which also developed in
China (and which is discussed more fully in the first representation of the Chinese Religion
chapter). In Pure Land, the figure Amida Butsu (also commonly known as Amitabha in China) is
an enlightened being who helps everyone reach enlightenment. Amida created the Pure Land
to assist people to reach nirvana; it is said that even the singing of the birds turns people
towards enlightenment. Pure Land Buddhists teach that Amida takes people who call on him
there when they die. Therefore, within Pure Land, a major component of practice is devotion to
Amida and continual chanting of “Namo Amida Butsu” (“Praise to Amida Buddha”). The most
popular form of Pure Land in Japan is known as Jodo Shinsu, which is sometimes called “True
Pure Land.” This movement began with a monk, initially trained in Tendai, who began to teach
people to trust in Amida to provide their enlightenment. According to practitioners, that trust
best develops through hearing the chanting of the name of Amida (among other practices) and
results in reaching nirvana soon after death.
Another school of Buddhism in Japan is known as Shingon. Shingon developed out of a
set of practices known as Tantra (which became popular in India after the development of
Mahayana). In Tantra, the goal is to overcome notions of duality (a division of the cosmos into
two opposing elements) such as matter and spirit or divine and human. Some see Tantric
practices forming a third branch of Buddhism, known as Vajrayana, which includes Shingon and
Tibetan Buddhism. The founder of Shingon, known as Kukai, came from China and established a
center at Mount Koya, Japan. In Shingon, people who undergo initiation learn meditative
practices that help them overcome assumptions of their separation from others. One practice
involves meditating on mandalas, which are images of the cosmos symbolically presented in a
two-dimensional form. A mandala often marks 9 directions and includes a variety of Buddhas.
The practitioner meditates on the mandala, placing themselves in the image of the cosmos. In
this process, they recognize their relation to the cosmos, thus ending their misperception of
themselves as separate. Some of these practices, though, can be reserved for people who take
additional stages of initiation, including monastic vows in the community.
The examples presented in this representation illustrate ways that the religions of Japan
reflect the interaction of Chinese and Japanese cultural practices, which are sometimes
interconnected to the point that it is difficult to know when one influence begins and another
ends. While Shinto and Buddhism dominate the institutional practices in Japanese religions,
ideas and practices associated with Confucianism and Daoism have also held considerable
influence.
Analysis of Japanese Religions as Indigenous and Foreign Traditions

While this representation focuses on the role that older or even ancient ideas play in Japanese
religions, it uses modern labels (Chinese, Japanese, Foreign, Indigenous) that would not have
existed in the past. The boundaries of both Japan and China today are not the same as the
boundaries of cultural or political entities at the time of Laozi, Kongzi, and Siddharta, for
example, but the assumptions of this representation ignore these complex historical shifts. The
result is that this representation treats whatever began in Japan as unchanging across time,
erasing the variety of practices and ideas that differ across the islands; it also treats China in a
similarly monolithic fashion. These ideas of an unchanging connection between past and
present are promoted primarily by Japanese nationalists who claim that their nation is superior
by emphasizing what they say are its ancient, pure, and enduring qualities. One element of
complexity that this representation does recognize, however, is the issue of “foreignness.” Due
to the longstanding idea that anything deemed foreign would harm the integrity of Japanese
culture, this representation subtly critiques ongoing debates among nationalists about
Japanese cultural purity.
One party in this debate are those who equate Shinto with the indigenous practices of
Japan. In fact, Shinto’s history is much more recent, at least in a political sense; while elements
we could call Shinto have existed for several thousand years, it became the state religion in
1868 to justify the restoration of the emperor to power, and only then did this current
description as a distinct, consistent religion become widespread. The Kojiki and Nihon Shoki
(the texts containing the stories of the gods who created Japan) were central to the idea of a
single indigenous religion, as they promote a unified Japan at the center of creation. Other
ideas that developed in Japan become either absorbed into Shinto (such as local sites being
later identified as Shinto shrines to kami) or marginalized for the sake of national unity.
On the other side of this debate are those who note that people brought practices from
China to Japan over a long period of time, and once in Japan they further developed and
changed in response to Japanese culture. This breaks down a simplistic dichotomy between
things presumed to be “foreign” and “Japanese.” Nichiren, for example, interpreted what we
term Tendai Buddhism (which itself was an interpretation of a Chinese movement) in ways that
would support Japanese nationalism in the 13th century; Tendai followers today have continued
to teach and develop related ideas. To see this Buddhism as “foreign” ignores the complexity of
the influences between the Japanese context and ideas that came from outside of Japan. The
point to emphasize is that while conversations about cultural purity are often not objectively
provable, purity arguments that discuss authenticity and foreignness have been used by
modern people to support their many interests.
Arguments about authenticity and purity also influence how people (and the preceding
representation) tend to describe these various traditions. When there is a focus on the purity of
a particular culture (as traced through a specific religion), there is also often a focus on the
origins of that religion, as if tracing the religions back to their beginnings can reveal some
untouched or essential element of the culture. For this reason, many describe religions by first
talking about their origin stories. Those starting points, in the case of Confucianism, Daoism,
and Buddhism, all center on a founding figure.
This a problematic way of thinking about a culture’s history, however, for a variety of
reasons. In each of those cases, the specifics about the founding figure are contested because
historical records are incomplete. More importantly, though, starting with these founding
figures ignores the variety of ideas and practices that preceded them and influenced them, just
as it also overlooks extremely influential interpretations of that tradition that developed later.
Kongzi recognizes some of his predecessors in what he described as the prior Golden Age, but
we do not know about the others. Similarly, we do not know about who or what influenced
figures like Laozi and Siddharta outside of the limited context that traditional narratives
provide. Many discussions of founders also turns into a discussion of texts, such as the
Daodejing in this example. However, the development of later texts affiliated with Daoism that
promoted different ideas are often more important to many practitioners today, if they see
texts as important at all.
One reason for this focus stems from European notions of religion, which presumed that
all proper religions had an historical founder who was connected in some way to a text, and this
is one reason why Europeans frequently searched other cultures for these elements as they
came into contact with the people of different cultures. In addition, the European colonizers
wanted a local “authority” beyond what the people told them, since many Europeans
questioned the trustworthiness of the peoples of Asia (as part of their assumption that
Europeans were ethically superior). For this purpose, the Europeans learned the written
languages of the texts themselves and studied them with traditional scholars in these cultures.
This decision by European colonizers to study with Japanese textual scholars reinforced the idea
to both insiders and outsiders not only that the text was an important source of authority, but
also that the scholars were the ones with the knowledge to determine what the text said and
how it should be applied. At the same time, Europeans also designated themselves as the
protectors of those texts, often taking them to European libraries for preservation and study.
This representation also oversimplifies the relationship between religion and culture.
Practices identified with the religions of Japan that people often trace to China include
asceticism, meditation, chanting, acts of worship, and devotion, as well as prayers for help and
visits to shrines for rituals. This representation, though, leaves out other elements that monks
and diplomats brought to the islands of Japan from what we now call China, such as tea,
printing technologies, written script, and various forms of art. Many of these elements
commonly identified as cultural are not frequently identified as religious, despite the fact that
they have played a significant role in practices we traditionally call religion, such as textual
devotion and interpretation (printing and script); tea drinking employed in ritual and meditative
practices (to be shortly discussed); and art forms used for devotional acts.
Finally, it is important to consider how focusing on the relationship between indigenous
Japanese religion and its imports from China is an incomplete representation of Japanese
religion. In several important cases, other religions that clearly did not start in Japan have still
had influence on the law and culture. For example, Christianity’s presence in Japan has been
controversial. Across history, Christian missionaries have been allowed in Japan, and then
outlawed, and then permitted again, as political leaders followed different strategies to limit
foreign, especially European, influence in the country. Thus, Christianity is a factor in the
religions of Japan and, even more specifically, in debates over the role of foreign religions. It is
difficult to gauge the relative influence of each of these traditions by focusing on stereotypically
Asian religions, for while Daoism seems “more Japanese” to many, the subtlety of its influence
is at times overshadowed by the very public Christian minority in Japan today.
Case Study: Japanese Tea Ceremony

The Tea Ceremony in Japan is a significant cultural symbol that illustrates some of the
complexity involved in discerning the difference between various cultural elements that we
might identify as Chinese and/or Japanese. Both practitioners and outside observers identify
components of the Tea Ceremony with religious elements, blending aspects of the religious
traditions described above, but it also sits at the blurred boundary between what the preceding
representation assumes is a relatively clear line between religion and culture.
The Tea Ceremony itself is an often elaborate ritual preparation of tea for guests that is
intended to display the host’s skills as a connoisseur of tea and its service; this involves not just
the surroundings and the shared beverage, but the aesthetic experiences surrounding the tea
and its consumption (from the vessels that go into its preparation to the bowls from which it is
drunk). The Tea Ceremony is primarily a practice of the elite, as it requires time to learn the
intricacies of the ritual. Various schools of the tea ceremony exist that differ in some of the
philosophy and particular elements of the ritualized activities, and people have strong
preferences for specific forms if they are closely attuned to tea ceremony culture. Being
involved to this degree is often a sign of social status and at times might be a requirement to be
considered a good prospective wife, just as training in the arts (e.g., learning to play the piano)
was once a sign of women’s marriageability within European societies.
The traditional Tea Ceremony takes hours to perform and involves a meal in addition to
the ritualized consumption of tea. Some people commonly associate the ceremony with a Zen
sensibility, in that every movement is carefully defined and performed in an intentional way,
like the person completely absorbed in zazen or archery as a meditative practice. For example,
the hand-made tea bowls that hosts commonly use can become objects of contemplation and
reflection. Yet, many people also identify elements of other religious traditions in this ritual.
The notion of purity commonly associated with Shinto aligns with the concern in the Tea
Ceremony for the cleanliness of the site as well as the role of water in tea-making. Elements of
nature are to be brought into the Tea Ceremony in a harmonious way, including a flower
arrangement and a scroll decorating the wall with a poem appropriate for the season. All of
these elements should work in harmony to create a peaceful and natural aesthetic, which some
people identify as reflecting Daoist influence. In relation to Confucianism, the ritualized
activities reinforce the relative positions of the different participants, such as the host, the main
guest, and other guests. Each participant bows to the appropriate person at the appropriate
time and maintains their proper place in the ritual (which also reflects idealized roles in the
larger society).
Despite these parallels, the ritual defies easy categorization. Some claim that the
ceremony is not overtly religious, since the aforementioned ceremonial elements are also
traditionally associated with Japanese culture. Additionally, those things often understood as
stereotypically religious (or religious according to the World Religions Paradigm; see
Introduction), such as beliefs, supernatural beings, texts, and founders, do not have an obvious
role in the ceremony. More subtle categorizing questions emerge when we consider that most
of the prominent elements of the ritual (the hand-made bowls, the calligraphy on the scroll,
and the tea) are exports from Chinese culture, and yet it is no longer identified as foreign.
While the length of time that the ceremony has been going on in Japan may make a
conversation about its foreignness seem absurd, remember the above conversation that even
very old religious traditions are sometimes labeled “foreign” depending on the interests of
various groups who wish to use that label. As with most other cultural phenomena, the
decision to categorize the Tea Ceremony as something religious and Japanese is often just as
much about the person or groups doing the classifying as it is about any quality of the event
itself.
Representation 3: Japanese Religion as a Combination of Buddhism and Shinto

A common way to discuss Japanese religion is to emphasize the interaction between Japan’s
two main religious traditions: Buddhism and Shinto. Shinto is considered the religion of Japan,
tied to the culture of the islands, and it is institutionalized through shrines and the presence of
Shinto priests. Buddhism came from outside of the islands, becoming an integral part of
Japanese society, and it often is identified with temples and monastic groups. What is
particularly interesting is the way that many in Japan today do not identify exclusively with one
or the other but participate in both Buddhist and Shinto rituals, a distinction that makes the
category Japanese religion (in the singular) even more appropriate than a forced separation of
the two.
This dual identification is somewhat different from the complexity of identification in
China, where many people incorporate a range of practices and figures under the designation
“worship of the gods.” Temples in China today often identify with a particular religion,
depending on which ritual specialists and codes operate within the temple. At the same time,
Chinese temples have a range of Buddhist, Daoist, and folk images featured in the same temple.
In Japan, however, temples and shrines are usually more distinct. A specific Shinto shrine
seldom includes images of bodhisattvas, and a Buddhist temple or monastery incorporates
primarily Buddhist figures, though a small shrine to a guardian kami may be included in the
grounds. That separation does not prevent monks, priests, and many laypeople from honoring
both kami and bodhisattvas, but that expression of honor typically includes visiting separate
shrines.
While some people become particularly committed to one movement or school, for
many people this variety of practices does not generate exclusive commitments. People will
visit shrines and temples without necessarily worrying about which school or larger tradition
the temple and shrine follows. For some, their visit to a temple or shrine can be motivated by
any number of reasons: an interest to view the flowers blooming on the grounds; the serenity
of the site; or the power of the bodhisattva or kami housed there. These practices have become
so Japanese that many see them together as a part of Japanese culture rather than features of
separate religions.
On the individual level, other practices often cross the boundaries that some people
assume separate Shinto and Buddhism. Some Japanese homes will have two shrines, one that
houses the kami related to the family and the other honoring the ancestors according to
Buddhist traditions. People also participate in multiple festivals associated with these
traditions. The most common practice across Japan, which the vast majority follow, is visiting
temples or shrines during the New Year’s festival. Often associated with Shinto shrines, some
visit at midnight on January 1 to have their first temple visit. Others visit during the first three
days of the year to request blessings at the shrine for the new year. Shinto shrines also host a
variety of celebrations and performances, while Buddhist temples often strike a bell 108 times
(the number of human temptations in certain Buddhist understandings) at the start of the new
year. Many of the same participants will commemorate their ancestors on Obon, an event
where participants tend to graves and light lanterns to direct the spirits of the deceased as they
return to this world. Obon draws on a story related to the historical Buddha, where one of his
disciples had a vision that his own mother was suffering in the realm of the Ghosts (one of six
realms, including the human realm, where beings can go in their next cycle of reincarnation).
The disciple asked the Buddha how to help his mother gain release from this realm. Following
the suggestion of the Buddha, he made offerings to a group of monks and then began to dance
out of joy, realizing that his mother was now released. Some participants perform a dance for
Obon to celebrate the ancestors.
Similarly, ritualized practices marking the stages of life (or life cycle rituals) traditionally
shift between Shinto shrines for certain occasions and rituals with Buddhist priests for others.
Most life cycle rituals, though, take place at a Shinto shrine. Shinto rituals recognize bringing a
newborn baby into the community, coming-of-age rituals, and weddings. However, the same
family often commemorates a death with a funeral presided over by a Buddhist priest, and they
conduct commemorations of the ancestors on Obon. Thus, many in Japan consider Buddhist
practices to be appropriate when dealing with an issue related to death or the afterlife, while
they turn to Shinto when dealing with the needs of the living. Buddhist tradition in East Asia
includes discussions of the different realms of heaven and hell, making it the tradition to
consult when considering one’s duty towards the ancestors. It’s worth noting that when this
concern takes place in the context of China, many view their ancestral duty as an issue of
Confucian filial piety. But in the context of Japan, a Buddhist priest commonly oversees those
practices.
As seen in these overlapping practices, many people in Japan have little concern for a
specific religious identification and will report following both Buddhist and Shinto practices. In
some surveys, including a 2015 survey by the government of Japan, about 70% of the
population follows Shinto practices, while almost 70% report following Buddhism. The overlap
of these numbers illustrates that, by this method of counting religion, many follow both
religions. Some of those who identify with a specific school of Buddhism, such as Jodo Shinsu,
may not identify with Shinto, and some who are in a leadership role in Shinto institutions may
not identify with or follow Buddhism, but many people ignore the boundary between the two
religions, making Japanese religion, for many, a combination of the two.
In some communities, this blending has even been institutionalized. For instance, some
Tendai teachers connected the kami (associated with Shinto) to Buddhism. Developing the
philosophical point that everything has a Buddha nature, they described the kami as Buddhas-
to-be. In other understandings, the benevolent kami are Buddhas who have descended into the
world to help humanity (much like a bodhisattva), while the dangerous kami are those beings
who have rejected the teachings of Buddhism. Such ideas became one way to adapt Shinto to
the preeminence of Buddhism by making Shinto figures into Buddhas or bodhisattvas. This
understanding also helps to present Buddhism as being more Japanese.
These dynamics in Japanese religion illustrate the problem with dividing religions into
distinct traditions. Some people, including many in Japan, participate in and identify with
multiple religions. Thus the unified designation of Japanese religion better reflects what many
actually do in Japan than an emphasis on Buddhism and Shinto as separate religions.
Analysis of Japanese Religion as a Combination of Buddhism and Shinto

Thinking about Japanese religion as a unified combination of Buddhism and Shinto presents an
integrated approach focusing more on rituals and devotional activities. This is quite different
from the second representation, which spent more time emphasizing the differences between
the indigenous and foreign influences of the religions of Japan by focusing on their origins and
historical development. The fact that both of these representations claim to describe the same
thing (“Japanese religions”) but in very different ways shows us how the phenomenon of
selective privileging (discussed in the Introduction) operates. We should note, however, that
such blending or merging of various religious traditions is not a phenomenon unique to Japan
or Japanese religions. All cultural practices (including those that we identify as religion) change,
shift, and respond to new influences.
As the preceding representation indicates, this emphasis on devotional activities, such
as engaging the kami and Buddhas, and ritualized commemorations of life events, is often the
way that average Japanese people approach these ideas. These various practices help bring
order to the lives of many by acknowledging change while also providing a sense of hope and
control through the assistance of supernatural beings. Communal events, especially festivals,
also build a sense of social solidarity.
Because of how common many of these events are, this introduces (once again)
questions about whether these practices are religious or cultural. As we’ve established, our role
as functionalists is not to claim that there is a single answer to this question; rather, it is to
show how a person or group’s perspectives will determine how they label it. It is important to
recognize that in the context of Japanese culture, people participate in many other traditions
that make meaning and encourage collective activity beyond what the examples above suggest.
They may also have many other motivations than pleasing some form of supernatural
being. The representation also highlights a variety of reasons for visiting a temple or festival,
but people’s intentions are often incredibly complex. We should, for instance, consider the role
of political interests and social pressure in influencing people’s behaviors. The standard practice
to visit a Shinto shrine (reportedly followed by 80-90% of the people of Japan) during the New
Year holiday is not an accident. A three-day holiday takes place at that time and gives people a
greater opportunity to attend. Combining the holiday with widespread participation in the
festival, some feel a social expectation to attend with friends or family. Such attendance, of
course, reinforces the pressure for others to attend (or be left out). Thus, reasons for
participation in the most widely attended Shinto practice goes beyond individual religious
commitments; the existence of formal social structures (like a declared holiday) strongly
influence this practice, as well. Such official support, whether by an elected government or an
emperor, have effects on the general practices within the population, both what is required /
expected and what becomes standard.
There have also been moments where asserting a clear identity as either Buddhist or
Shinto (but not both) have been important to certain groups. Sometimes this desire for a more
singular identity goes beyond what some may see as just personal sentiment to involve political
efforts. For instance, the establishment of state Shinto following the emperor’s restoration in
1868 included the suppression of some Buddhist groups while supporting Shinto practices that
helped to confirm devotion to the kami (and by extension, the emperor, who was understood
to be descended from a kami). The registration of all families at Shinto shrines was one practice
after the restoration of the emperor that encouraged an identification with Shinto and
distinguished Shinto further from Buddhism. On the other hand, those devoted to Nichiren’s
interpretation of Buddhism typically consider the Lotus Sutra as the source of power and
knowledge to strengthen Japan, ideally without the corruption of other practices or ideas,
including Shinto. These issues of practice and identification are clearly more complicated than
this image of a unified Japan implies.
Finally, it’s important to note that the dual identification of many in Japan as both
Buddhist and Shinto is something often determined by survey data, and people’s responses
depend on the survey and how the question is phrased. If a survey focuses on performing
certain cultural practices, many people in Japan will relate to one or more religions. If the
question asks about expressing a personal faith, people often answer quite differently. Surveys
from about the same time period (2012-2015) as the one emphasized above illustrate these
differences. When asked about affiliation or belief (rather than participation in temple visits or
ancestral veneration) some surveys show that approximately seventy percent of the people of
Japan do not identify with any religion at all. Of those who do identify with a religion, most
identify as Buddhist, with a small percentage identifying as Shinto and a similar number as
Christian. Such results illustrate the problem of identifying people with religious labels as if
those identifications mean the same thing around the world.
Case Study: Mount Hiei and Marathon Monks

Mount Hiei sits outside of Kyoto, which was the capital of Japan centuries ago. The mountain
became the site of the central Tendai monastery when a monk (identified as Saicho) brought
the teachings associated with Tiantai Buddhism to Japan in 807 CE. The location of the
monastery on top of the mountain connected what became known as Tendai to the support of
the emperor, which helped it become a dominant force in Japan. The practices and ideas that
developed in relation to Mount Hiei, and Tendai generally, illustrate ways a community can
incorporate a range of elements commonly associated with both Buddhism and Shinto into a
Japanese tradition.
One idea associated with Tendai, as presented above, identifies kami, or especially
benevolent kami, as Buddhas, or Buddhas-to-be. Across Mount Hiei, a variety of trails pass by
numerous small shrines and noted sites where spirits and other powers are said to exist. One of
the monastic practices on Mount Hiei is to walk a circuit around the mountain, stopping and
paying homage to the kami and spirits that reside at these spots. Classifying all of these beings
is difficult; some are clearly described as kami, some as Buddhist figures, and others are more
ambiguous, perhaps best identified as beings or places related to local folklore or indigenous
traditions that have not been fully incorporated into a formal religion. However one describes
them, the monks participate in expressing devotion to this range of figures.
Maintaining the various trails is thus part of the ascetic practices of a group of monks
who identify with Tendai Buddhism. A few monks have vowed to undertake extreme practices
by walking certain circuits daily over the course of seven years (called “Marathon Monks” by
scholar John Stevens). These routines take place in sets of 100 or 200 days, with daily circuits
increasing in length along with the number of consecutive days a monk must walk over the
course of the seven years. The monk who makes the full commitment promises to kill himself if
he fails to complete any part of the seven-year discipline, but if he is successful, the community
understands that he gains enlightenment. Only 46 monks have completed the full set of circuits
since 1885, and those who were successful have attained a certain fame among the people of
this region of Japan and beyond. In this way, practices that combine folk, Shinto, and Buddhist
components can also connect the devoted monk to sources of social status both within Tendai
monasteries and across the general population.
Tendai Buddhism and the monastery at Mount Hiei have held significant influence
across Japanese history even beyond the actions of “Marathon Monks.” Monks trained at
Mount Hiei developed many of the different schools of Buddhism in Japan, and some of these
monks have also served as advisors and protectors to certain Japanese rulers. There was even
an army of monks that developed in the sixteenth century to maintain the prominence of
Tendai Buddhism and oppose the ruler’s political enemies. In these ways, the history and
practices related to Tendai Buddhism on Mount Hiei push us to question the idea that there are
firm lines between religion and politics, or between Shinto and Buddhism. In more recent times
its political significance is less prominent and yet it is one site where the lines between
Buddhism and Shinto remain less concrete.
Representation 4: Japanese Religions as Legal Classifications

The religions of Japan can also be examined by looking at the ways that religion has been legally
understood and classified, which is a conversation that involves certain historical moments in
Japan. As we will discuss, while Japanese people have used religious ideas to describe their
national identity in certain ways, people outside the islands have classified elements identified
with Japanese religions as acceptable or dangerous, as well, with legal consequences for the
people of Japan.
Perhaps the clearest example of Japanese religions as a type of legal classification was
the Meiji Restoration, which began in 1868. For centuries before, various feudal or military
leaders controlled Japan. The Meiji Restoration involved the re-establishment of the Japanese
empire under the head of a single leader – the emperor – with continuing authority staying in
the imperial family. The restoration of the emperor’s authority ended the control of the military
government of the shoguns, and the samurai were disbanded soon afterwards. One way that
imperial authority was restored was by presenting the emperor as a person with divine
ancestry. The imperial family traced their lineage to the kami Amaterasu (sometimes
referenced as the sun or sun goddess, see discussion in final case study in this chapter), who
was created by Izanagi after the death of Izanami in the creation story described above. In
common narratives, Amaterasu demonstrates mastery over other kami, making her (and her
descendants, which include the imperial family) the most powerful of beings. The Japanese flag
featuring the emblem of the rising sun and the national moniker “Land of the Rising Sun” both
connect, in part, to the prominence of Amaterasu.
The effort to restore the emperor not only emphasized Amaterasu’s dominance but also
promoted the practice of Shinto. Officials at this time organized Shinto practices and shrines
into a multilevel, hierarchical system. This classification process granted certain shrines with the
highest amount of national significance (including those associated with Amaterasu), compared
with local shrines that were considered less important. Shinto became the legally recognized
religion of the state, and here it is sometimes called State Shinto. Efforts were made by the
imperial powers to differentiate Shinto from Buddhism, and Buddhist individuals and
movements faced oppression at times after the restoration of the emperor, treated as rivals to
the state religion. These efforts served to make Japanese nationalism, Shinto, and devotion to
the emperor all connected and mutually reinforcing.
During the decades leading to what people in North America call World War II, Japan
had military supremacy over much of East and Southeast Asia. Many North Americans thought
that the Japanese had this degree of power because they viewed the emperor as divine, which
the North Americans interpreted as a dangerous and irrational level of devotion. Of course,
many United States service men and women had a similarly absolute devotion to their nation in
the sense that they were willing to sacrifice their lives in the name of defending America. Thus,
U.S. rhetoric about the irrational devotion of the Japanese to the emperor was less about the
dangers of Japanese patriotism and more about an effort to present the people of Japan as
dangerously different and inferior to modern democratic nations.
When the Japanese surrendered after the United States dropped nuclear bombs on two
Japanese cities (Hiroshima and Nagasaki), the United States imposed conditions on the
government of Japan. One condition required that the Japanese institute the freedom of
religion to alleviate the suppression of some religious groups in Japan, such as certain Buddhists
(as mentioned above). However, this requirement was not an attempt to create total religious
freedom. Rather, the United States imposed specific legal distinctions because ensuring a more
widespread freedom of religion also prohibited certain religious practices that they found
problematic. For example, the surrender required the emperor to renounce his divine status as
a descendant of Amaterasu. Classifying the divinity of the emperor as a dangerous religious
belief, American leaders thought that the renunciation would also undermine the emperor’s
status in the eyes of the Japanese people, thereby reducing Japanese military aggression and
power.
It is reasonable to debate the merits of these policies, but the primary interest here is to
highlight how the religions of Japan cannot be separated from legal processes of classification.
Certain practices and ideas, in the view of the US occupying force, were religious and protected
(e.g., Buddhist temples), but other practices were considered dangerous and thus were not
protected, particularly the divine status of the emperor. These classifications formed a
hierarchy of religions and organizations, distinguishing good religion from bad religion. In this
example, the legal classification came from the United States government, which painted the
Japanese as irrationally committed to their nation.
The US rhetoric of the irrational devotion of the Japanese also had another effect – it
contributed to the distrust and eventual imprisonment of people of Japanese ancestry residing
in the United States. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, US President Roosevelt signed
Executive Order 9066, which ordered people of Japanese ancestry in the United States to be
housed in internment camps, even if they were US citizens. What this practically meant was
that over 100,000 people of Japanese descent who were guilty of no crime were imprisoned by
the US government for being Japanese. The logic behind this act was that Japanese people
were a security threat because they would be committed to the Japanese emperor and his
authority simply by virtue of their Japanese heritage.
In prior centuries in Japan, it was similarly common to classify certain groups as either
protected (and thus good, receiving official state support) or dangerous (and thus prohibited,
sometimes legally so). Prior rulers created connections, even alliances, between themselves
and particular religious movements or institutions. Japanese emperors used monks and priests
associated with Buddhism as diplomatic emissaries to China on multiple occasions, and these
monks, such as Saicho and Kukai, returned to Japan with additional teachings that generated
new Buddhist movements (Tendai and Shingon in those two examples). In return, Saicho’s
founding of the Tendai school on Mount Hiei required the approval and support of the
emperor, as other monastic institutions in Japan opposed the new practices (“new” from a
Japanese perspective) that Saicho brought from China. From the opposite side, rulers have
banished religious groups, often hoping to undermine a rival or enemy. During the late 16th
century, for example, rulers who came to power in Japan suppressed the Buddhist monasteries,
which had developed into military and political powers (including the siege of Mount Hiei and
defeat of Tendai monks who fought for two allied clans). They did this because they wanted to
place the monasteries under their own political control as well as limit the ability of the
Buddhist monks to challenge them in the future.
Some institutions also sought political alliances and legal recognition to increase the
status and power of their movement. Presenting his solution to a period of turmoil in Japan in
the mid-13th century, Buddhist monk Nichiren’s devotion to the Lotus Sutra included the
assertion that such devotion would generate a peaceful and successful nation. He submitted to
the ruling military powers a treatise blaming the turmoil on the spiritual decline of Japan due to
the growing popularity of teachings, such as Pure Land Buddhism, that he classified as inferior
to the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren requested the suppression of these other groups, but the rulers
never adopted his classification as official policy. Instead, Nichiren faced repeated arrest,
eventual exile, and then a pardon because he challenged the position of various authorities.
Today, the movement called Soka Gakkai centers on Nichiren’s teachings and political
activity, alongside their interest in chanting to generate self-improvement. Originating in 1930’s
Japan, this movement follows particular teachings of Nichiren to generate peace and
prosperity. They also founded the Komeito Party (formerly New Komeito Party) to promote
their vision for society through the democratic government of Japan. Such political activity
raised concerns from some when the Komeito Party first joined a governing coalition in 1999,
since if the party was classified as religious, that complicates the legal principle of the
separation of the state from religion in contemporary Japan.
In 2022, the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raised a
different question about legal action and the classification and treatment of organizations
identified as religious. The assassination specifically generated public focus on the relationship
between the political party of Abe and the Unification Church, which is a Korean-based
organization that identifies with Christianity. Sometimes popularly classified as a “cult,” the
Unification Church has actively recruited members in Japan and encouraged the purchase of
tea, vases, and other objects (offered at exorbitant prices) that are said to appease ancestors or
bring blessings to the participant. Accusations of fraud have become common, and some
individual followers report paying the organization ten million to one hundred million yen
(hundreds of thousands of US dollars), with most of those funds returning to Korea. The larger
political issue, however, is that members of Abe’s party have frequently expressed support for
the Unification Church and received campaign funds from the organization, raising questions
about the lack of investigation into charges of fraud from the government led by Abe’s party.
Whether the purchases and claims are fraudulent and whether the sales of items constitute
business or religious practices are some of the questions of legal classification related to the
Unification Church.
This representation of the religions of Japan highlights a few examples to illustrate the
construction of Japanese religions in relation to the politics of legal classifications. As we have
seen, the rulers of Japan have labeled certain groups good or dangerous movements to
promote their own power. At other times, foreign nations have emphasized particular
understandings of the religions of Japan to enhance their own political positions. Still yet,
various Japanese movements have engaged with the political rulers of the day to gain benefits,
support, and prominence for their activities. Like any religion discussed, separating the history
of Japanese religions from legal processes and classifications is an impossible task.
Analysis of Japanese Religions as Legal Classifications

The preceding representation, with its focus on Japanese religions as constructed in legal
classifications, naturally emphasizes the official actions of leaders, both within and outside
Japan. That focus on elite people and institutions downplays what common people do and how
they view themselves and others. Certainly, people who were placed in internment camps by
the US government or a follower of a prohibited group or practice experienced significant
effects from the classification. Other legal classifications were less impactful, such as the policy
to register births at local Shinto shrines, which was likely an annoyance for some and an
opportunity to celebrate for others who wished to enhance their ties to Shinto practices
through this celebration of birth. Other government actions that do not directly fit the legal
classification model also can have significant influence on an individual’s experience. Notably,
the declaration of national holidays for the New Year has contributed to the overwhelming
participation in visits to temples during that period, since most people have greater freedom
from work responsibilities.
The preceding representation also does not deal with how the legal classification of
religion was inspired by other social issues. Various prejudices, including racial, national, and
social stereotypes, contributed to the effects of many of these policies. Most notably, the
requirement that US residents identified as Japanese live in internment camps in the United
States drew on the representation of Japan as irrationally devoted to the emperor, but racist
and xenophobic attitudes towards Japanese people in the US are largely what made it possible.
Similarly, the US conditions for Japan’s surrender that prohibited claims of the emperor’s
divinity drew on the racial assumption that people of Asia were less rational than people of
European / North American heritage. In these ways, legal classifications and representations of
religions are not isolated elements but become part of a complex set of ideas that reinforce
each other. This is true for the ways that labeling and classifications impact all social groups,
not just the members of religious movements.
The Yasukuni shrine, which (as described above) houses the kami of many who died to
protect the islands of Japan, provides another example of the tension between classifying
something as a positive religion or as dangerous nationalism. Many people (both in Japan and
outside of it) see the shrine as politically charged, representing the Japanese imperialism of
WWII. When politicians from outside of Japan visit the shrine, it is seen by some as an embrace
of this imperialism, which caused considerable suffering across the countries of Asia in the
1930’s and 1940’s. During that time, Japan took control of much of the region, characterized by
widespread imprisonment and torture. Some Japanese politicians, however, visit the shrine
because it is a nationalist symbol that effectively emphasizes Japan’s military strength.
Classifying Yasukuni as militaristic, nationalist, or simply religious depends on one’s
perspectives and interests.
The choice of the examples in the representation also emphasize monks and
movements that engage directly with the larger society, including political and military
activities. It is important to remember, though, that some movements and practices directly
encourage participants to reject the larger society. While many Zen leaders engaged in political
maneuvers in relation to the government and many practitioners of Zen maintained their full
family and work lives, others refrained from such activities and withdrew from society
altogether. This was also true of some in Shugendo groups (the mountain ascetics referenced
earlier who are sometimes connected to Shinto, Buddhism, and/or Daoism). Naturally, those
who withdraw from society are also making their own political statements and classifications
(often critiquing the larger society), but because of their absence in mainstream society, they
are often overlooked in such discussions.
Case Study: Amaterasu

Narratives about the Sun Kami, Amaterasu, who is considered the ancestor of the imperial
family, provide an excellent example of the legal and political impacts of what are often
considered religious origin stories. According to the narrative, Amaterasu was created when
Izanagi washed his left eye during the ritual bath to purify himself upon his return from seeing
his wife, Izanami, in the underworld. He created the moon kami when he then washed his right
eye and the storm kami Susanoo when he washed his nose. According to the dominant telling
today, the storm kami, Amaterasu’s “younger brother,” was trouble; this has been attributed
either to his mischievous personality or as a response to grief over the death of his mother
before his “birth.” In the story, he initiated a contest with Amaterasu. In this contest,
Amaterasu took a sword from Susanoo, broke and ate it, and then spit out the three parts that
became other kami. Susanoo took Amaterasu’s jeweled necklace, ate it, and spat it out to
create five kami in return.
During this conflict, Susanoo became uncontrollable in the high heavens (Amaterasu’s
realm). As a means of self-protection, Amaterasu locked herself in a cave, which deprived the
earth of her light. Divine beings used a whole range of enticements to coax Amaterasu from the
cave, including a mirror that reflected Amaterasu’s radiant light and beauty. When she came
out and the world again enjoyed light, the divine beings convinced her to remain outside the
cave, and Susanoo was banished from the high Heavens for his misdeeds.
This narrative becomes, for some, an illustration of both the necessity of the sun and
the preeminence of Amaterasu over the other kami. Her absence made life impossible and led
many kami to plead for her return. The imperial household has claimed for millennia to be
descendants of Amaterasu, and three imperial emblems connect with her stories, including
Susanoo’s sword that she broke, Amaterasu’s jewels that Susanoo broke, and the mirror that
helped to coax her from the cave. Are you saying there are actual artifacts (swords, jewels,
mirrors), or that Various clans claim nobility in Japan based on their descent from the eight
kami that Amaterasu and Susanoo created from these emblems of imperial power, which
places all of them below Amaterasu and the imperial clan.
Amaterasu’s narrative primarily comes from the two collections of stories, Kojiki and
Nihon Shoki, from about the eighth and ninth centuries CE, respectively. The story as presented
above comes largely from the Kojiki, which is the older manuscript that retells ancient stories as
well as presenting an imperial chronology. Importantly, it was written at the request of the
emperor, and clearly justifies imperial authority. The Nihon Shoki, though, presents two
different narratives for the birth of Amaterasu. In the first, Izanagi and Izanami procreate and
give birth to Amaterasu first and the moon kami second. This birth order provides rationale for
Amaterasu’s preeminence. In another version within Nihon Shoki, Izanami is not involved in the
creation of Amaterasu. Here Izanagi created her by holding a mirror in his left hand, created
the moon kami by holding a mirror in his right hand, and formed Susanoo by turning his gaze
away. In both of these versions, the rationale for Amaterasu’s superiority is present, though
each rationale differs. The telling in the Kojiki is the more famous narrative, but the others were
important enough in the ninth century CE to be recorded.
Another figure in these narratives, described as a descendant of Susanoo, was the head
of the physical earth and all of the kami residing there. In contrast, Amaterasu and the moon
kami were in the high heavens. Some people thus considered the terrestrial kami to be more
important, but in the 1868 Meiji Restoration, official interpretations recognized Amaterasu as
the dominant kami. These differences may reflect regional competitions within the islands, as
some suspect that the terrestrial kami related to a particular part of Japan that was brought
under imperial control later than other regions. The government classification of shrines into a
hierarchical system during the Meiji Restoration also placed the inner, most important shrine at
Ise, which is dedicated to Amaterasu. However, some of the devotees to the fertility and grain
kami housed in the outer shrines at Ise have at times asserted an equality between the two
figures or even claimed the fertility and grain kami as superior. Thus, the interpretations that
the imperial line presented and promoted were not the only interpretations of the relations of
the kami and Amaterasu’s position.
A different issue about Amaterasu is her gender, particularly as it relates to the imperial
line and the role of women in Japanese history. Some have suggested that the fact that
Amaterasu is presented as female gives a clue to the superior position of women in ancient
Japan, perhaps even having been the main leaders. In this interpretation, women’s leadership is
often seen as a tradition that should be restored. On the opposite side is the assertion that
Amaterasu was created asexually and created her own offspring asexually, thus separating her
from women generally. Since some in Japanese culture see childbirth as polluting, this
distinction separates devotion to Amaterasu from the status of women in society. The different
readings of Amaterasu and her relation to other kami illustrate the ways symbols, especially
when drawn from narratives, can provide competing images and even hierarchies that
influence who holds power. More significantly, though, people in power can shape which
stories get told and which others are silenced.
Conclusion
The previous four representations of Japanese religions illustrate the challenge of describing
religions according to their regions. Japanese religions can be used to describe a generalized
view of Japan (which often ends up romanticized or stereotyped), or it can raise issues about
which practices it should include. While most representations of Japan include Shinto and
Buddhism, questions remain about the inclusion of Confucian, Daoism, and other folk
traditions; still yet, other religions also have a small presence in the modern nation. The
regional designation can also draw attention to and even support nationalist viewpoints that
often pit foreign religions against indigenous practices. This nationalist focus also generates
questions about whether these labels should display a plural (Japanese religions) or singular
(Japanese religion) perspective on these traditions. Which representation a person prefers
determines what practices and institutions they select as examples.
While the regional designation of Japanese religions can introduce new questions, it can
also help to resolve others, particularly as they pertain to the World Religions Paradigm and its
emphases on distinct religions. Some sets of practices, such as Shugendo, do not fit squarely in
one category, and proponents of Shugendo have shifted their identifications as political
demands change. Describing practices solely as distinct religions misses the interaction even in
communities that identify exclusively with one religion of the world, such as Tendai Buddhism’s
continued veneration of kami. Outside of these established communities, the issue of
contemporary practice in Japan illustrates the benefit of a regional designation for organizing
the representation. Since many in Japan follow life cycle rituals associated with more than one
religion of the world, separating Buddhism and Shinto in distinct chapters would ignore the
ways people combine practices from each.
However, the regional designation also describes practices as single religions at times. In
some accounts, Shinto does not become a religion until after 1868 and the restoration of the
emperor. Too often, representations project Shinto as a religion anachronistically onto the
earliest practices and texts, even describing Shinto as the indigenous religion of Japan.
Discussions of Buddhism as a unified religion also developed in the nineteenth century, as
Europeans began to connect different images and practices across Asia as a part of a single
religion. In that process, the label Buddhism was anachronistically applied back to various ideas
(Chan, Tiantai, Theravada, etc.) when it is not clear that people in that time understood them in
a unified, singular way. This chapter offers a helpful reminder that whether we discuss religions
as separate traditions or as regional practices is a decision with nationalist, racial, and ethnic
impacts, and that “religion” is thus a social phenomenon comprised of all of these things.
Discussion Questions
1. How does your impression of Japan and religion there relate to or differ from any of
these representations?
2. How does the discussion of Chinese and Japanese influences in the second
representation connect to events described in the fourth representation on legal
classification?
3. What social interests influence the representation of Japanese Religion as a
Combination of Buddhism and Shinto, and whose interests are diminished by that type
of representation?
4. Compare and contrast the festival of Obon and the discussion of Mount Hiei. How might
someone use either of the case studies to construct a particular representation of
Japan?
References
King, Sallie B., trans. 1993 Journey in Search of the Way: The Spiritual Autobiography of Satomi
Myodo. Albany: SUNY Press.
Sakurai, Yoshido. 2022. “The Unification Church Splinters Japan.” East Asia Forum.
https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2022/10/20/the-unification-church-splinters-japan/
Stevens, John. 1988. The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei. Echo Point Books and Media, 2015
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Japanese Religion

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Japanese Religion

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Japanese Religion

Ca. 6th century BCE

Ca. 6th century BCE

483 or 400 BCE

Representation 1. Japanese Religion as Meditative and Peaceful

Analysis of Japanese Religion as Meditative and Peaceful

Case Study: Samurai

Representation 2. Japanese Religions as Indigenous and Foreign Traditions

Analysis of Japanese Religions as Indigenous and Foreign Traditions

Case Study: Japanese Tea Ceremony

Representation 3: Japanese Religion as a Combination of Buddhism and Shinto

Analysis of Japanese Religion as a Combination of Buddhism and Shinto

Case Study: Mount Hiei and Marathon Monks

Representation 4: Japanese Religions as Legal Classifications

Analysis of Japanese Religions as Legal Classifications

Case Study: Amaterasu

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