The Cosmic Faith of the Japanese
by Alfred Bloom, Emeritus Professor, University of Hawaii
The theme, "Cosmic Faith of the Japanese" focuses our
attention on the overall unity of Japanese religion and its depth of
spirituality, despite its very diverse character through history. It is very
common, however, to hear that the Japanese are not very religious. This
judgment, of course, depends on the definition and standard one uses for
religion. The noted Japanese Protestant theologian, Seiichi Yagi, has
written:
"Let us define spirituality as an awakening to the activity
of the Transcendent in man, the Transcendent which is invisible, formless in
any sense, but which acts in man as light and life, so that egoism is
overcome and coexistence is realized. Then such spirituality has strongly
influenced Japanese culture since the arrival of Buddhism in Japan..." 1
Emerging from prehistoric times, the Japanese possessed a
rather well defined perspective on life which has endured to the present
time, giving shape and color to native or foreign religious traditions. This
perspective on life and religion evolved along with the introduction of wet
rice agriculture in what is known as the Yayoi culture from about 250 B.C.E. till 250 C.E. It extends into 250
C.E. to 500 C.E. when Japan enters
more fully into the light of history.
Because of the agrarian basis of Japanese life, the
Japanese perceived the world of nature as a dynamic, living reality. Nature
was awesome, sometimes fearsome. Nevertheless, blessed with a beautiful and
bountiful land, it became an article of faith for the Japanese that Nature
was essentially benevolent through its creativity and productivity which
nurtured human and non-human life. The Japanese belief that they were a
sacred people in a sacred land, the land of the Kami, placed them in a
cosmic setting, related to the very powers that govern the universe. The
Japanese affirmation of life and light as the foundation of human existence
is reflected in various ways throughout the tradition, in native religion,
in Buddhist developments and in modern reformulations in New Religions.
The significance of this theme lies in the ongoing process
of secularization which mechanizes, manipulates and externalizes our lives,
cutting us off from the perception of our deeper root in Cosmic life. Part
of the attraction of Japan for westerners stems from the fact that, despite
modernization and secularization, Japanese culture as a whole retains an
awareness of that deeper dimension of life. There is in Japan less sense of
contradiction between secularity and spirituality than in the west. A Shinto
priest can bless a modern 747 plane with ancient rites of purification and
appreciation for the power in both man and machine that makes it possible.
The plane also has its element of divinity. They easily combine the
traditional and modern.
There are several basic features that make up Japanese
religious perspective and the traditions through which it is expressed. They
have all fused as a lamination, a braid or a tapestry. Everything exists
together-the ancient and the modern, the native and the foreign, the
primitive and the sophisticated, the natural and the contrived, the
beautiful and the ugly, the pure and the polluted, the simple and the
complex, the minute and the gigantic, the doctor and the shaman, the
traditionalist and the modernist. There is folk religion, Shinto,
Confucianism, Religious Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, and a host of New
Religions which draw on all traditions. The curious complex that is Japan is
illustrated by plastic flower arrangements and electronic fortune telling
devices.
For those who may not be as familiar with Japanese
religious tradition, we can best visualize it as a tapestry. The warp
includes a variety of traits which together form the Japanese religious
perspective to which we have referred. These traits interweave with these
traditions, giving them their Japanese character. The woof constitutes the
various threads of interweaving religious tradition, native or imported,
that make up the more formal expressions of religion such as organizations,
buildings, practices and membership.
The basic features of Japanese religion are modes through
which they express their faith in the powers of the Cosmos and Nature. Their
orientation to nature has influenced deeply their religious perspective
forged through history. There are six traits which are shared in some way by
all the more formal or organized religious traditions. These are communal-ancestralism,
purity-pollution, shamanism, this-worldly practicality and naturalism,
syncretism, and aestheticism. These traits, found elsewhere in religion,
converge in the Japanese setting giving it its district character.
The communal-ancestral basis of Japanese religion is
perhaps the most central as it gives focus to much of Japanese religious
concern and social relations. In ancient times, in all cultures, survival
depended on the harmony of the group. Authority and obligation were based on
kinship bonds.
In the Japanese context, we are all familiar with the fact
of the predominance of group relations in Japanese society. The individual
Japanese is generally more a representative of group than an independent
individual. One does not usually ask a Japanese what his\her religion is,
but to what religion does one's family belong. Shinto shrines became
ancestral centers and the ancestors were believed to provide the rain and
fertility of the soil. Buddhism quickly allied itself with this ancestral
concern. Ancient temples were built and dedicated to ancestors seven
generations back.
Confucian teaching gave content and substance to this
perspective with its reverence for ancestors and its ethical principle of
respect for elders and superiors. In our modern situation, we have often
heard the exhortation: "Make no shame!" Family honor is the key concern. The
recognition of generations serves to define authority and establish the
hierarchical nature of Japanese society. The modern new religions which have
emerged, particularly in the post-war period, have stressed devotion to
ancestors as the basis of a happy life in this world and the foundation of
ideal social and ethical behavior.
Many problems are now arising in Japan as this feature of
religion and society has weakened in the wake of Japan's defeat. Since the
traditional way has been associated with authoritarianism, there has not yet
arisen a satisfactory basis of self-definition and social obligation in a
democratic society which can give direction and meaning in life,
particularly for the youth.
The second prominent trait of Japanese religion is a
concern for purity and avoidance of pollution. This feature expresses itself
in many ways in all traditions. With the value of harmony as uppermost in
ancient Japanese life, purity became essential to maintain or restore
positive relations with the Cosmic life that nurtures us and with society.
An important part of a Shinto shrine is the water fountain
before the shrine whereby one rinses mouth and hands, mind and body of
impurities before approaching the deity. The principle of makoto to
be true and sincere became a central value in Shinto
In the modern New Religions, such as Tenri, there is
effort to purify the soul from the dusts of egoism which create the many
personal and social problems we encounter.
The third dimension of Japanese religion we have called
the shamanistic and magical. Whatever the force that embraces our lives,
intermediaries are required in order to reveal its will for specific events
and needs. This aspect of Japanese religion has been very prominent since
the Chinese first observed the power of Queen Pimiko whom they described as
a sorceress. With the institutionalization of Shinto, headed by the priestly
Emperor, female shamans were submerged. They appear in folk tradition and
even today there are many women practitioners. In Buddhism which had
precedents in China, this function was taken up by the yamabushi,
those who prostrate themselves on mountains and cultivate spiritual power
through the practice of Shugendo.
The fourth dimension of Japanese dimension of Japanese
religion is its naturalistic, this-worldly, and practical character. The
Japanese do not merely speculate about cosmic life, but have concrete
expectations resulting from harmony with that life. While in the west
religion has generally been considered as an end in itself in doing all for
the glory of God, for the Japanese, religion is a means to the end of
prospering life. Much emphasis is laid in Japanese religion on "benefits."
With respect to the this-worldly orientation, we may
observe that Japanese have beliefs concerning the afterlife. However, their
main focus is living in this life. Afterlife concerns function as a matter
of filial piety and respect to care for the dead and their well-being in
other worlds. In early primitive contexts concern for the dead was to avoid
vengeance of ill-treated spirits. Even today stories are told of batchi
atari (retribution) resulting from improper treatment of the dead.
Beliefs in transmigration drawn from Buddhism also motivated a concern to
give proper treatment of the dead. There is belief in Pure Lands or
Paradises and appeals of salvation, but they do not become the object of
such intense an personal concern as we can wee in the West. The center of
gravity is in this life. Most of the modern new religions aim to construct a
paradise on this earth, in some ways similar to the concept of Kingdom God
in modern Christianity.
The practicality of Japanese religion roots in the
everyday needs of the people. They aspire for health (Byoki-naoshi),
for wealth (Shobai-hanjo), and spiritual security (Anshin,
Wakei-seijaku harmony, reverence, and tranquility - a phrase from tea
ceremony).
The fifth dimension of Japanese religion flows from what
has already been outlined. It is the syncretic feature. The practical this
worldly interest of Japanese religion does not emphasize the question of
true or false in religion, but whether it works. Whatever world or yields
benefit will be maintained. Depending on the need, Japanese resort to
various religions traditions. When they bless their house and family or
marry, they may go to a Shinto shrine. When they must bury a loved one or
have a memorial, they go to the Buddhist temple. If they are ill, they may
also resort to a shaman practitioner, a New Religion, or all traditions
together. Thus the founder of Seicho no Ie, Dr. Taniguchi Masaharu, employed
materials from the Bible, Shinto mythology, and Buddhism to expound his view
of the truth of life. Because Japanese do not draw strict and clear
doctrinal and organizational lines in the practice of religion, it is a
well-known fact that the total religious population exceeds the actual
population of the nation.
The eclecticism and syncretism of Japanese religions has
made Japanese tradition more tolerant of religious differences than we are
familiar in the West. The Japanese are more like the ancient Romans in
tolerating any religion so long as it does not threaten the established
social order. Unconventional religious movements in Japanese history have
experienced persecution until they adapted to the social requirements of the
culture.
The sixth dimension of Japanese religious tradition is its
aesthetic character. It is a basic Japanese intuition that life is beautiful
and beauty is an essential ingredient of life. Japanese aestheticism became
especially prominent among the Heian nobility for whom all that was
worthwhile had to be beautiful.
For the Japanese religions in art and art and art is
religion. In contrast to western approaches to art which have sometimes been
rejected in religion or used more didactically, art has been employed in
Japan as a means for understanding reality and shaping life attitudes and
behavior. Art is a means to experience reality, and harmony with reality
manifests itself through artistic endeavor. Zen Buddhism has inspired
various forms of art as a means of realizing one's true nature, while the
spontaneous, undeliberate practice of the art reveals the depths of one's
harmony with cosmic reality.
We should note that here is also a moral quality to
Japanese art which proceeds through the master-disciple relationship. This
relationship requires ethical considerations, as well as aesthetic, in the
achievement of the harmony and tranquility desired in life.
Summary
Japanese religion was initially an agrarian
religion focused on fertility. Natural elements such as mountains, trees,
and rocks, were regarded as divine. In the mythology we see that the Sun and
natural elements, the land itself and natural formations were gods (kami).
Everything that held significance for human life was divine. Gods might be
unruly, but there was no absolute distinction of good and evil. The ancient
awareness was institutionalized in two major forms, Shinto (The Way of the
Gods) and Buddhism. Each tradition shared the basic aspects of Japanese
religion in ways expressed by their teachings. Though they have proliferated
into many sub-traditions those traits remain and give Japanese religion its
distinctive character among the world's religions.
We should note that despite the many differences among
Japanese religious traditions, they possess "a vitalistic conception of
salvation" in which "the cosmos is regarded as a living body or a life force
with eternal fertility. In this way, the whole universe is grasped as one
living body. And from this stems the notion that all things are harmonious,
interdependent, sympathetic, and constantly growing. From the standpoint of
each component of the cosmos, especially that of human beings, the universe
or the world is seen as the source from which all living beings spring.
Hence, the universe will also be imaged as a beneficial and gracious entity
which gives each individual being eternal and ultimate life." 2
Japanese throughout their history have been deeply aware
of the forces of nature that nourish our lives. They have stood in awe at
the profundity of the mystery of existence. It speaks through their
religious faiths, their arts, their social relations, every aspect of their
lives. While this faith can be observed in specific traditions, it also
shapes many the basic features of religious perception that form those
traditions and given them overall unity, despite diversity.
Conclusion
The basic features of Japanese religion have
emerged from prehistoric times and interacted with foreign traditions to
produce the wealth of symbols, beliefs and practices that make up the
diverse array of Japanese religious phenomena. It is clear that the whole
sphere of Japanese religion is bound together with a deep yearning for
harmony with, and support of, the Cosmic life, which is the foundation of
our own existence. Though many features of modern Japanese life maybe belie
this awareness, its potentiality to give meaning to life is significant, not
only for Japanese culture, but also for world culture, as people,
particularly in secular, technological societies, struggle to renew their
bond with nature and a deeper reverence for life.
Endnote
1.
Seiichi Yagi, "The Maternal Bond as a Paradigm of Japanese Religion," LOOK
JAPAN, July 10, 1983. p. 2.
2
Tsushima, M., Nishiyama, S. Shimazono, S. Shiramizu., "The Vitalistic
Conception of Salvation in Japanese New Religions," Japanese Journal of
Religious Studies, 6/1-2, (March-June 1979). pp. 142-143.
