30.Different kinds of religion in Japan (Buddhism, Shintoism, belief in Jizo, Shugendo).

Buddhism

Buddhism first arrived in Japan in the 6th century from the Southern part of the kingdom of Baekje on the Korean peninsula. The Baekje king sent the Japanese emperor a picture of the Buddha and some sutras. Japanese aristocrats built Buddhist statues and temples in the capital at Nara, and then in the later capital at Heian (now Kyoto).

Buddhism is divided into three forms: the orthodox Theravada Buddhism, which is prevalent in India and most of Southeast Asia; Mahayana Buddhism, which spread to China, Tibet, Vietnam, and ultimately to Korea and Japan; and Vajrayana Buddhism. From the beginning, the largest form of Buddhism in Japan was the Mahayana school. According to the Agency of Cultural Affairs, 91 million Japanese identify themselves as Buddhist.

The six Buddhist sects initially established in Nara are today together known as "Nara Buddhism" and are relatively small. When the capital moved to Heian, more forms of Buddhism arrived from China, including the still-popular Shingon, an esoteric form of Buddhism similar to Tibet's Vajrayana Buddhism, and Tendai, a monastic conservative form known better by its Chinese name, Tiantai.

When the shogunate took power in the 12th century and the administrative capital moved to Kamakura, more forms of Buddhism arrived. The most popular was Zen, which became the most popular type of Mahayana Buddhism of the time period. Two schools of Zen were established, Rinzai and Sōtō; a third, Ōbaku, formed in 1661.

Another form of Buddhism known as Jodo-kyo, or Pure Land Buddhism, arrived in the Kamakura period. Pure Land Buddhism emphasizes the role of Amitabha Buddha and promises that reciting the phrase "Namu Amida Butsu" upon death will result in being removed by Amitabha to the "Western Paradise" or "Pure Land", and then to Nirvana. Jodo-kyo attracted the merchant and farmer classes. After Honen, Jodo-kyo's head missionary in Japan, died, the form split into two schools: Jodo-shu, which focuses on repeating the phrase many times, and the more liberal Jodo Shinshu, which claims that only saying the phrase once with a pure heart is necessary. Today, many Japanese adhere to Nishi Honganji-ha, a conservative sect of Jodo Shinshu.

The monk Nichiren established a more radical form of Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhism, which praised the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren's teaching was revolutionary, and the shogun distrusted him; when Nichiren predicted that the Mongols would invade Japan, the shogun exiled him. Nichiren was a progressive, the first Japanese thinker to declare that women could gain enlightenment. Nichiren Buddhism is the second largest Buddhist sect in Japan today. Sub-sects of Nichiren Buddhism include Nichiren-shu, Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai, a controversial denomination whose political wing forms the conservative New Komeito Party, Japan's third largest political party.

In modern times, Japanese society has become very secular, and religion in general has become less important. However, many Japanese remain nominally Buddhist and are connected to a local Buddhist temple, although they may not worship regularly. Buddhism remains far more popular in traditional rural areas than in modern urban areas and suburbs. For instance, while some 90% of rural households include a Buddhist altar (Butsudan), the rate drops to 60% or lower in urban areas.

Shinto

Shinto, meaning "the way of the gods", is Japan's indigenous religion and is practiced by about 83% of the population. Note that unlike Judeo-Christian religions Shinto due to its nature does not require the same admission of faith, instead merely participating in certain aspects of Shinto is generally considered enough for association. Shinto originated in prehistoric times as a religion with a respect for nature and for particular sacred sites. These sites may have originally been used to worship the sun, rock formations, trees and even sounds. Each of these was associated with a deity, or kami, and a complex polytheistic religion developed. Shinto worship of kami is performed at shrines. Especially important is the act of purification before visiting these shrines.

There are a variety of denominations within Shinto. Shinto has no single founder and no canon, but the Nihongi and Kojiki contain a record of Japanese mythology. Individual Shinto sects, such as Tenrikyo and Konkokyo, often have a unique dogma or leader. Shinto began to fall out of fashion after the arrival of Buddhism, but soon Shinto and Buddhism began to be practiced in tandem. On the sites of Shintō shrines, Buddhist temples were also built.

Before 1868, there were three main forms of Shinto: Shrine Shinto, the most popular type; Folk (or Popular) Shinto, practiced by the peasants; and Imperial Household Shinto, practiced by the imperial family of Japan. In the 18th and 19th centuries, independent Shinto sects – Sect Shinto – formed, some of which were very radical, such as the monotheistic Tenrikyo. These became known as the Shinto Sects or the New Religions. Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Shinto and Buddhism were forcefully separated. The Emperor Meiji made Shinto the official religion, creating a form of Shinto known as State Shinto by merging Shrine, Folk, and Imperial Household Shinto. The radical Sect Shinto was separated from State Shinto. Under Meiji, Japan became a moderate theocracy, with shrines under government control. Shinto soon became a reason for Japanese nationalism. After Japan took over Korea and Taiwan, State Shinto became the official religion of those countries as well.

During World War II, the government forced every subject to practice State Shinto and admit that the Emperor was divine. Those who opposed the Imperial cult, including Oomoto and Soka Gakkai, were persecuted. When the United States occupied Japan in 1945, the shrines were taken out of government control, and State Shinto was abolished. Shrine, Folk, and Imperial Shinto again became separate, and Sect Shinto further distanced itself from mainstream Shinto.

Jizō Bosatsu (Japanese)

One of the most beloved of all Japanese divinities, Jizō works to ease the suffering and shorten the sentence of those serving time in hell, to deliver the faithful into Amida's western paradise (where inhabitants are no longer trapped in the six states of desire and karmic rebirth), and to answer the prayers of the living for health, success, children, and all manner of petitions. In modern Japan, Jizō is a savior par excellence, a friend to all, never frightening even to children, and his/her many manifestations -- often cute and cartoon-like in contemporary times -- incorporate Taoist, Buddhist, and Shintō elements.

Jizō is a Bodhisattva (Jp. Bosatsu), one who achieves enlightenment but postpones Buddhahood until all can be saved. Jizō is often translated as Womb of the Earth, for JI 地 means earth, while ZŌ 蔵 means womb. But ZŌ can also be translated with equal correctness as "store house" or "repository of treasure" -- thus Jizō is often translated as Earth Store or Earth Treasury. Jizō embodies supreme spiritual optimism, compassion, and universal salvation, all hallmarks of Mahayana Buddhism.

This deity appears in numerous Mahayana texts. One of the most widely known is the Sūtra of the Fundamental Vows of Jizō Bodhisattva (Jp. = Jizō Bosatsu Hongan Kyō 地藏菩薩本願経), in which Jizō vows to remain among us doing good works and to help and instruct all those spinning endlessly in the six realms of suffering, especially the souls of the departed who are undergoing judgment by the Ten Kings of Hell (thus explaining why Jizō statues are commonly found in Japanese graveyards). Jizō promises to unceasingly fulfill these tasks in the eons-long interval between the death of the Historical Buddha and the arrival of Miroku Buddha (the Future Buddha). Miroku is scheduled to arrive, according to Japan's Shingon 真言 sect of Esoteric Buddhism (Mikkyō 密教), about 5.6 billion years from now, to bestow universal salvation on all beings.

Jizō appears in many different forms to alleviate the suffering of the living and the dead. In modern Japan, Jizō is popularly venerated as the guardian of unborn, aborted, miscarried, and stillborn babies (Mizuko Jizō). These roles were not assigned to Jizō in earlier Buddhist traditions from mainland Asia; they are instead modern adaptations unique to Japan. At the same time, Jizō serves his/her customary and traditional roles as patron saint of expectant mothers, women in labor, children, firemen, travelers, pilgrims, and the protector of all beings caught in the six realms of transmigration. Jizō is also one of the 13 Deities 十三仏 (Jūsanbutsu) of the Shingon Sect of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan. In this role, Jizō presides over the memorial service held on the 35th day following one's death. In the mandala of Japan's esoteric sects, Jizō appears as the central figure in the Jizō-in 地蔵院 section of the Womb World Mandala. In the Diamond World Mandala, Jizō appears as Kongōdō Bosatsu 金剛幢 (one of the 16 Great Bodhisattva).

Jizō is also, like Kannon (the God/Goddess of Mercy), one of Amida Buddha's main attendants and, like Kannon, is one of the most popular modern deities in Japan's Amida Pure Land (Jōdo 浄土) sects. The two share many overlapping functions -- both protect the Six Realms of Karmic Rebirth (the Six Jizō, the Six Kannon), both are patrons of motherhood & children (Koyasu Jizō, Koyasu Kannon), and both protect the souls of aborted children (Mizuko Jizō, Mizuko Kannon). In some scriptures, they even share the same Ennichi 縁日 (Holy Day). The 18th day of each month is considered Kannon's Ennichi. Jizō's Ennichi is generally on the 24th, but at many temples it occurs on the 18th.

Shugendō (修験道) is a highly syncretic Buddhic religion or sect and mystical-spiritual tradition which originated in pre-Feudal Japan, in which enlightenment is equated with attaining oneness with the kami (神). This perception of experiential "awakening" is obtained through the understanding of the relationship between Man and Nature, centered on an ascetic, mountain-dwelling practice. The focus or goal of Shugendō is the development of spiritual experience and power. Having backgrounds in mountain worship, Shugendō incorporated beliefs or philosophies from Old Shinto[citation needed] as well as folk animism, and further developed as Taoism and esoteric Buddhism arrived in Japan. The 7th century ascetic and mystic En no Gyōja is often considered as having first organized Shugendō as a doctrine. Shugendō literally means "the path of training and testing"[citation needed] or "the way to spiritual power through discipline."

With its origins in the solitary hijiri back in the 7th century, shugendō evolved as a sort of amalgamation between esoteric Buddhism, Shinto and several other religious influences including Taoism. Buddhism and Shinto were amalgamated in the shinbutsu shūgō, and Kūkai's syncretic view held wide sway up until the end of the Edo period, coexisting with Shinto elements within shugendō

In 1613 (Edo period), the Tokugawa Shogunate issued a regulation obliging shugendō temples to either belong to Shingon or Tendai temples.

During the Meiji Restoration, when Shinto was declared an independent state religion separate from Buddhism, shugendō was banned as a superstition not fit for a new, enlightened Japan. Some shugendō temples converted themselves into various officially approved Shintō denominations.

In modern times, shugendō is practiced mainly by Tendai and Shingon sects, retaining an influence on modern Japanese religion and culture. Some temples include: Kinpusen-ji in Yoshino (Tendai), Ideha Shrine in Dewa Sanzan, Daigo-ji in Kyoto (Shingon).