RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Japan
made progressive people more ready to listen to the religious doctrines of its representatives.
Acceptance of the doctrine that the ruler of a nation gained great merit by abdicating and becoming a monk vastly increased the in-
2. Its Dom- fluence 0f the monasteries, which thus inane e, became allied with the imperial family.
and16' ^e new ^artn sPread from the upper Recovery. *° tne l°wer classes. Its progress was more easy because it did not demand the abandonment of old beliefs and forms of worship. As in other countries, Buddhism could accommodate itself to the religious ideas of those whom it desired to win. At the beginning of the ninth century the priest Kukai (better known by his posthumous title, Kobo Daishi) formulated the doctrine that the Shinto deities were avatars of Buddhist saints, while the classification of many deified heroes as gongen, temporary manifestations of Buddha, simplified the problem and provided for the apotheosis of future emperors and great men. Most of the Shinto shrines soon lost their former simplicity, images and decorations of various kinds being introduced into them, while the forms of worship combined Shinto and Buddhist elements in proportions that differed with time and locality. Buddhism became the chief religious force in Japan and gradually attained to great political influence and even military power. In the Middle Ages some of the monasteries were strong fortresses, the monks of which took an active part in war with rival sects or political enemies. In the last half of the sixteenth century these fortresses were destroyed by the military leaders, Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, while the power of Buddhism was further weakened by the success of the Roman Catholic missions. Under the Tokugawa shoguns (1603-1867) it was restored to favor. The advent of Christian missions has done much to arouse the Buddhist priests from the lethargy into which they had fallen. Some of the sects imitate Christian methods, establishing schools for boys and girls, young men's associations, women's societies, and charitable institutions, while many Buddhist journals are published. Preachers have been sent to Korea, China, Hawaii, and California, primarily for the sake of Japanese colonists, but also with the hope of gaining converts.
Japanese Buddhism is divided into many sects.
Some of these were brought from China, while
others originated in Japan itself. Those
3. Buddhist now in existence, with the dates of Sects. their establishment, are as follows:
Tendai (three subsects), 805; Shingon (two subsects), 806; Yuzu Nembutsu, 1127; Jodo (three subsects), 1174; Rinzai (nine subsects), 1168; Shin, also called Monto or Ikko (ten subsects), 1224; Soto, 1227; Nichiren or Hokke (seven subsects), 1253; Ji, 1276; Obaku, 1650. The Rinzai, Soto, and Obaku sects are offshoots from the old Zen sect, by whose name they are sometimes called. The word zen signifies " contemplation," the earnest followers of this system giving much time to meditation, or rather to an attempt to induce a sort of hypnotic condition in which there is a complete absence of thought. The Zen sects together with the Tendai and Shingon are sometimes called the
learned sects, as they have attached much importance to the study of the Sanscrit texts. The sects having the most influence with the people at the present time are the Jodo, Shin, and Nichiren. The name of the first signifies " Pure Land." It teaches that Amida (Amitabha), the object of its worship, made a series of vows to the effect that on attaining the state of a Buddha he would create a paradise into which those who had faith in him should enter after death. This faith is chiefly shown by use of the formula Namu Amida Butsu (" Hail, Amida Buddha! "). The Shin sect sprang from the Jodo, which it rebukes for seeking salvation through " self-effort depending on the merits of another," while it teaches reliance upon Amida 's merit alone. This belief in salvation by faith, the rejection of penance, fasting, and other forms of asceticism, together with the fact that it permits its priests to marry, has caused the Shin sect to be called the Protestantism of Japanese Buddhism. The Nichiren sect highly esteems charms, amulets, and pilgrimages. Its temples are gorgeous and the services noisy, and its priests are considered expert in exorcising demons. Delighting in controversy, the priests attack the doctrines of other sects, while these declare that the Nichiren sect ought not to be considered as belonging to Buddhism. The Yuzu Nembutsu and the Ji sects "have but a small following.
Though three extinct sects belonged to the Hirvayana (" Smaller Vehicle "), Japanese Buddhism of to-day belongs to the Mahayana 4. Modern (" Greater Vehicle "). The differences Doctrinal that divide the sects turn upon ab- Basis. struse metaphysical and technical points, and often depend upon the sutras that are held in chief honor, here being one point in which the divisions of Buddhism differ from those of Christianity with its one Bible. It is to be remembered further that, as very few of these books have been translated into Japanese, they are read only by the priests. The common people have but slight knowledge of Buddhist doctrines. Simply following the religious customs that have been handed down in their families for generations, they know little about the meaning of the rites or the nature of the beings that they worship. The beliefs of the younger priests are being greatly influenced by Western ideas. One resulting movement has taken the name " New Buddhism." It is an attempt to bring Buddhist doctrines, or rather nomenclature, into harmony with modern thought. The doctrines are so explained as to bear little resemblance to what was formerly taught; and there is an attempt to replace the pessimism of Buddhism by a more hopeful philosophy. No formulated system has yet been constructed, as the leaders differ greatly among themselves; some being atheistic, some pantheistic, while others assert that they believe in a personal God.
III. Christianity in Japan. — 1. Roman Catholic Missions: The Portuguese, who had previously visited the Liukiu Islands, reached Japan proper about 1542. Six years later one of their ships brought a young Japanese named Yajiro (the Paul Anjiro of the Jesuit accounts) to Malacca, where he met St.
Japan