My usual response to such lazy, unresearched questions inflicted on board members is to post with the URL of the search function. This time, though...
The native religion of Japan....er, whatever that means (Hint: not much.):
http://www.e-budo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9598&highlight=bodiford+shinto
02-25-2002, 09:10 PM
W.Bodiford
Member
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 80
Quote:
Originally posted by Earl Hartman
. . . the religious practices we now know today as
Shinto, though perhaps on a less organized level,
predated Buddhism, or so I have been led to
believe. At what point, and how, was Shinto
subsumed into Buddhism?
Dear Earl:
The complexity of this topic (and my own busy
schedule) prevents me from attempting to address
it with the adequacy it deserves via such a
limited medium (electronic bulletin boards). The
construction of social identities, their
transformation over time, and their labeling by
observers for various purposes (political,
religious, economic, academic, etc.) cannot be
discussed without careful stipulation of
methodological assumptions and definition of terms
(etc.). When I teach courses on Japanese religions
at UCLA, I assign my students to read many books
(such as the ones cited above) as well as many
more articles. I lecture day after day. I answer
student questions inside the classroom and meet
with students during my office hours. Nonetheless,
even after all of that effort, when I read the
final exam essays written by those students, I
always discover that 10% to 20% of them have
misunderstood key points.
Let it suffice to say in this forum that
specialists in the history of religions begin with
the methodological assumption that something that
they can identify as "religious" plays an
important roll in all human societies in all
places and in all times. (Of course, they cannot
agree on a definition of what they mean by
"religious.") Therefore, they assume that there
must have been some kinds of religious practices
among the various communities who populated the
islands of Japan prior to the arrival of Buddhism
(ca. 6th century). The question is not the
existence of pre-Buddhist religion, but what to
call it. Since the 18th century it has been called
"shinto." Recently, a number of scholars have
challenged the usefulness of that designation. In
other words, they ask:
Does it really help our understanding of Japanese
culture to use the same name for the practices
commonly associated with "shinto" today (20th &
21st centuries) and for religious practices of the
4th and 5th centuries?
There are a number of reasons why I argue that the
answer is: "No, it is not helpful." I will list
these reasons in the following order: pre-Buddhist
Japan, Buddhist Japan, modern Japan.
_____
1. Reasons why the label "shinto" is not helpful
for understanding the religious life of
pre-Buddhist Japan.
1.1
The label "shinto" implies a country-wide unity
which probably did not exist. Archaeological
evidence suggests a wide diversity of different
cultural groups located in different geographic
regions with different lifestyles. Usually
differences in lifestyles find expression in
differences in religious practices. Modern
ideologies that assert the racial purity and
homogeneity of the Japanese seek to divert our
attention away from religious regionalism. Thus,
applying the label "shinto" to ancient Japan helps
that ideological agenda succeed.
1.2
The label "shinto" implies a cultural uniqueness
which probably did not exist. Archaeological
evidence reveals that among the geographic
variations of north-eastern Asia there are many
parallels among the grave goods, tomb wall
paintings, jewels (magatama), etc., found in
pre-Buddhist islands of Japan, in the peninsula of
Korea, and in plains of Mongolia. We never talk
about the shinto of pre-Buddhist Korea or the
shinto of pre-Buddhist Mongolia. Why, then, should
we do so in the case of Japan? Modern ideologies
that assert the uniqueness of Japan seek to divert
our attention away continental parallels. Thus,
applying the label "shinto" to ancient Japan helps
that ideological agenda succeed.
1.3
The label "shinto" implies that we know more than
we really do about pre-Buddhist Japan. The texts
usually cited for knowledge of pre-Buddhist Japan
(e.g., Kojiki, Nihon shoki, Man'yoshu) all were
written for political purposes during the 8th
century. By that time the ruling elites already
had been promoting Buddhism as a state religion
for several generations. Those early texts are
full of information about Buddhism and
Confucianism and other Chinese cosmological and
religious concepts. Previous scholars attempted to
exclude those elements from consideration and to
regard anything remaining as evidence of "shinto."
The problem with that approach is that if we
compare the remaining elements with what we know
about the roles of local gods as described in the
literature of other Buddhist and/or Confucian
societies, then we can find similar examples in
those texts. These comparisons show how impossible
it is to separate "cultural survivals" from
"cultural imports." Thus, the label "shinto"
encourages an inadequate study of early Japanese
texts in isolation from the study of non-Japanese
Asian literature which would otherwise help
illuminate them.
1.4
The label "shinto" tends to conflate the imperial
mythology described by texts like Kojiki and Nihon
shoki with all other religious phenomena of early
Japan. Imperial mythology describes a social order
in which the head of the royal family enjoys a
divine right to rule over regional lords who, in
turn, enjoy the divine right to rule over lands
and people. Ordinary people have no connection to
the gods of the ruling elites and in many cases
are expressly forbidden from worshiping them. The
political agenda of this mythology probably bore
little connection to the religious practices of
ordinary people. Nonetheless, applying the label
"shinto" to ancient Japan effectively obscures any
attempt to notices these kinds of distinctions.
1.5
The label "shinto" implies the existence of
something that developed independently from
Buddhist and Chinese influences. Instead, almost
every feature that has or can be associated with
anything that ever has been called Shinto
developed through the combination of continental
elements, usually combined according to Buddhist
systems of association. From physical features
(architecture, cosmological orientations,
decorations, etc.) to social practices
(professional priesthood, rituals, music, chants,
etc.) to linguistics (sacred texts, chants,
prayers, etc.) to mythology (deities in
anthropomorphic forms, many of which came from
Korea, China, or India) to concerns (purity vs.
impurity, oracles, hierarchy, etc.) and so forth,
Japanese religious life exhibits adaptation and
development of religious practices already
prevalent in Korea, Mongolia, and China. The label
"shinto" promotes the study of Japanese religious
practices in isolation from the study of similar
religious practices elsewhere in Asia which would
otherwise help illuminate them.
_____
2. Reasons why the label "shinto" frequently is
not helpful for understanding the religious life
of Buddhist Japan.
2.1
The label "shinto" implies that Buddhism lacks any
concern with local gods. In fact, just the
opposite is the case. Buddhist cosmology assigns
various roles to local gods, Buddhist temples are
populated with local gods and their shrines,
Buddhist scripture discuss local gods, and
Buddhist rituals direct prayers to local gods. The
label "shinto," however, promotes the study of
local gods without reference to Buddhism and
promotes the study of Buddhism without reference
to local gods. Such an approach frequently results
in misunderstanding both.
2.2
Using the word "shinto" as a label (as a proper
noun) inhibits us from questioning the meaning of
that word when it appears in premodern texts. The
graphic signs that we read as "shinto" is a word
of Chinese origin. In Chinese Confucian classics
the word "shinto" (shendao) implies cosmological
regularity. In Chinese Taoist scriptures the word
"shinto" refers to methods of immortality or to
spiritual powers. It was used by Chinese to refer
to Buddhas, to Taoist gods, to Indic (Hindu) gods,
and (much later) to the Christian god. In Chinese
Buddhist scriptures the word "shinto" refers to
the generative life force, to Buddhism itself, or
to non-human realms of rebirth. In common Chinese
it refers to the "spirit tablets" used in rites of
ancestral worship or even to the road leading to a
cemetery. In Japanese history, many other meanings
--- some mutually contradictory --- were attached
to the word "shinto." During the 18th century, for
example, some Japanese authors asserted that
shinto concerns only the royal family and that
ordinary people should not be allowed to worship
local gods. Thus, casual use of the label "shinto"
encourages us to assume a singular meaning and
ignore alternative possibilities.
2.3
The label "shinto" is anachronistic since little
evidence suggests that premodern Japanese ever
were aware of a separate religion called "shinto."
When the Buddhist monk Kukai (774-835) described
the religions of the world, for example, he
mentioned: hedonism, Confucianism, Taoism, and
Buddhism. Nothing else. The Buddhist monk Nichiren
(1222-1282) wrote that Japan is superior to India
and China because only Japan is without any
non-Buddhist religion whereas India has Hinduism
and China has both Confucianism and Taoism. Of
course both of those monks knew that shrines to
local gods played an indispensable role in
Japanese society. But they also knew that the
priests of those shrines were themselves Buddhists
who also studied Buddhist scriptures, who
performed rituals at Buddhist temples, who
received Buddhist funeral rites, and who
frequently received Buddhist tonsure when they
retired from their responsibilities at the shrine.
A Buddhist temple could not exist without a shrine
(or shrines) to local gods who protected the
temple and who promoted Buddhist teachings.
Shrines, therefore, played an indispensable role
in Buddhism. Of course shrines also played many
other political and social roles not directly
related to Buddhism. Nonetheless, frequently the
earliest accounts we have of the legends,
miracles, and rituals of local gods were written
by Buddhist monks. In fact, many of the famous
Shinto shrines of present-day Japan were Buddhist
temples prior to 1868. When people of the time
period being discussed did not distinguish between
Buddhism and Shinto, then scholars should not
insert that distinction without sound reasons.
When people did identify something called
"shinto," then scholars should try to determine
what was or was not implied by that word. Blindly
applying the label "shinto" to Buddhist Japan
prevents us from clearly investigating how earlier
people themselves viewed their worlds.
2.4
Using the word "shinto" as a label (as a proper
noun) for all of Buddhist Japan inhibits us from
investigating the emergence of Shinto as a
distinct discourse over the course of Japanese
history. Literate Japanese did not begin to write
about phenomena that they labeled "shinto" until
the medieval period, probably not until the 11th
century. At that time, the earliest extant texts
about Shinto were written by Buddhist monks who
described the roles of local gods in promoting
Buddhist teachings. Over time non-Buddhist or
Confucian or even anti-Buddhist treatises about
Shinto appeared, but that process required
centuries of evolution and exerted little
influence on popular notions until the 18th
century. Even then, the word "shinto" probably did
not make the transition from being a literary term
to becoming a word used in conversation until the
19th century. The historical emergence and
development of various kinds of Shinto discourse
is a major feature of Japanese history, one that
deserves much closer attention than it has
received.
2.5
The label "shinto" implies that the relationship
between local gods and Buddhism in Japan is unique
or an isolated case. In fact, Buddhism has
promoted articulation of local religious systems
in many parts of Asia. The anthropologist Stanley
Tambiah (professor at Harvard) has shown how
non-Buddhist spirit cults in Thailand owe their
religious structure to Buddhist models. Likewise,
the Buddhist influences on Bon in Tibet and on
Taoism and Confucianism in China have been
enormous. Our understanding of the emergence of
Shinto in Japan would benefit immensely from
comparative study of Buddhism and local religions
elsewhere in Asia.
_____
3. Reasons why the label "shinto" frequently is
not helpful for understanding the religious life
of modern Japan.
3.1
Use of the label "shinto" for pre-Buddhist Japan
implies our acceptance of the imperial mythology,
which states that Japan began in 660 BCE when
Jinmu, the first tenno, founded the nation.
("Tenno" is a Taoist religious term that literally
means "heavenly sovereign" and today usually is
translated as "emperor.") The absurdity of that
date becomes immediately apparent when we note
that the 1st emperor of China did not found his
state (the Qin empire) until more than 4 centuries
later in 221 BCE. No Western scholars have ever
accepted the impossible ancient dates asserted in
Japanese histories, but until recently they
nonetheless (and against all evidence to the
contrary) accepted the historical framework which
posits the existence of an ancient Japanese state
with an ancient Japanese religion (Shinto) that
developed independently of China and Korea. In
modern times (and even today) the imperial
mythology of an unbroken royal line going back to
Jinmu has held tremendous political power. Use of
the label "shinto" for pre-Buddhist Japan inhibits
our ability to understand that imperial mythology
for what it is: an ideological construct.
3.2
Use of the label "shinto" for pre-Buddhist Japan
implies a naive acceptance of the image promoted
by Meiji-period (1868-1912) rulers that their
policies merely "restored" ancient customs. It
reinforces their xenophobic obsession with
promoting "pure Japanese-ness" in opposition to
unwelcome foreign influences. They saw Shinto as
being native to Japan while Buddhism and
Confucianism were denigrated as foreign imports.
They ignored the fact that all civilizations
develop in interaction with their neighbors. They
ignored the fact that Buddhism and Confucianism
exerted formative influences on every aspect of
premodern Japanese life and culture. (Just imagine
someone arguing that Christianity is foreign to
the United States simply because it was not
invented in America.) Use of the label "shinto"
for pre-Buddhist Japan helps foster acceptance of
their assertion that they had accomplished the
restoration of ancient Shinto instead of the
invention of something new, which, though clad in
ancient garb, had never existed in that way
before.
3.3
Use of the label "shinto" for modern Japan implies
an unchanging essence that helps render invisible
the radical transformation of Japanese religious
life between 1868 and 1945 --- a transformation
that Allan Grapard (a professor at UC Santa
Barbara) has rightly called "Japan's Ignored
Cultural Revolution." (See his 1984 article by
that title in: History of Religions vol. 23 no. 3:
240-265.)
Today neither we nor most Japanese can readily
imagine just how much the Shinto we know has
changed from what it used to be. Here is a brief
summary of some of those changes. In 1868 the new
Meiji regime ordered local gods to be dissociated
from Buddhism. In other words, all worship halls
for gods were stripped of their Buddhist names,
Buddhist powers, Buddhist religious rituals,
Buddhist art, and Buddhist symbols, and given new
"Japanese" identities. Thousands and thousands of
Buddhist temples were destroyed to create what
subsequently became known as "Shinto." In 1873 the
Meiji government outlawed many so-called
"superstitious" religious rites performed at the
newly independent Shinto institutions. In 1882 the
government ruled that Shinto is NOT a religion but
a civic duty. They defined Shinto shrines as
"civic centers," the rituals of which bond
together royal subjects and government officials
with the mythological ancestors of the royal
family. They forbad Shinto celebrants from
performing private religious rituals. In 1906 the
government initiated a nationwide program of
shrine "mergers," a euphemism for the elimination
of shrines that were too small for government
supervision. Nationwide more than 52% of Shinto
shrines were destroyed, thereby depriving rural
villagers of local worship halls. In 1945 the
occupation GHQ forbid Shinto shrines from
exercising any government-controlled civic role.
Deprived of their nationalist and ideological
purpose, most shrines were forced to adopt new
identities as primitive nature cults, dependent on
private individuals. This is the reason why in
1947 the famed folklorist and scholar Orikuchi
Shinobu (1887-1953) wrote that Shinto as a
"religion" is only 2 years old. In short, first
the Buddhist roles were stripped away, then the
religious roles were stripped away, then the local
roles were stripped away, and finally the national
role was stripped away. What was left? Thus, use
of the word "shinto" without historical
qualifications begs the question: Which Shinto?
_____
The first person to attract widespread attention
to the problems with the label "shinto" was a
Japanese scholar named Kuroda Toshio (1926-1993),
whose work has revolutionized the way that
scholars examine medieval Japan. For a brief
English-language summary of his view of Shinto,
see:
Kuroda, Toshio. 1981: "Shinto in the History of
Japanese Religion." Translated by James C. Dobbins
and Suzanne Gay. Journal of Japanese Studies 7:
1-21.
Kuroda's article has been reprinted in at least
two books:
Religions & Society in Modern Japan. Edited by
Mark Mullins, Shimazono Susumu, and Paul Swanson.
Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press, 1993.
Religions of Japan in Practice. Edited by George
Tanabe Jr. Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1999.
More of Kuroda's scholarship can be found in a
1996 special issue of the Japanese Journal of
Religious Studies, vol. 23 nos. 3-4, edited by
James Dobbins, which consists almost entirely of
translations from a few of his more influential
essays. This entire issue is available on-line:
http://www.ic.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN
In spite of the fact that many scholars like
Kuroda and Grapard have published widely on this
topic, most Western-language textbooks and
reference works still describe Shinto in terms of
the 19th-century ideological framework which
sought to portray it as "Japan's native religion."
Here is an excellent resource:
http://www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp/ijcc/
While Mr. Bodiford's point of view is a very good one, there is a great amount of information he isn't touching on (probably due to time constraints, as he states in the thread). Getting one's head around Shinto, the number of groups outside and inside of the reformed Kokka Shinto and its inner politics, then adding to very old local practices makes the issue extremely complicated. The "genitalia shrines" are a good example of this....not exactly orthodox, but still hovering as a part of a loosely knit whole.
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