Religious & Philosophical Systems in Japan Name Date College Instructor Buddhism Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who lived about 25 centuries ago in what is now Nepal and northern India. He came to be called "the Buddha," which means "awakened one," after he experienced a profound realization of the nature of life, death and existence. In English, the Buddha was said to be enlightened which means "awakened." In the remaining years of his life, the Buddha traveled and taught. However, he didn't teach people what he had realized when he became enlightened. Instead, he taught people how to realize enlightenment for them. He taught that awakening comes through one's own direct experience, not through beliefs and dogmas. Introduction of Buddhism in Japan "The introduction of Buddhism to the Japanese archipelago from China and Korea in the sixth century causes momentous changes amounting to a fundamentally different way of life for the Japanese. Along with the foreign faith, Japan establishes and maintains for 400 years close connections with the Chinese and Korean courts and adopts a more sophisticated culture" (Asia for Educators. 2009). DO NOT CHANGE THIS QUOTED PART & DO NOT ADD MORE QUOTES – THANKS!!!!! The history of Buddhism in Japan starts when Buddhism was introduced about 1450 years ago during the Nara period. We can say that it has a very long history. It all began, according to Chinese records when a monk delegation from China left for Fusang which might be Japan. The official introduction, according to the Japanese records actually happens in 552 CE (some say 538) when monks from Korea, this time, came to Japan and introduced the principal precepts of Buddhism and brought some treasures with them. The first years were not actually easy as Buddhism became one more tool in the struggle for power over the imperial dynasty by the Soga clan over the rival brother’s clans. The story goes that Emperor Kinmei, not sure what to do with these gifts, consulted with his advisors. The advisers were divided in two camps: Soga no Iname said that Japan should adopt Buddhism as it was the religion all the powerful and civilized countries had and Japan, striving to be powerful should imitate them. The other clan consisted of two brothers rejecting Buddhism ways by saying that if they adopted it, the local cities would undoubtedly be angered. The Sogas seized to opportunity to promote Buddhism and other “Western ideas” (from China and Korea) like Confucianism and other governmental and cultural models from China. For them it was a way to civilize Japan and give power to the emperor. The rival clans opposed the Buddhism as a foreign invasion and when an epidemic started after the importation of a statue, they claimed the local Kami were not in agreement with the new religion. They threw the idol in the river and burned the temple to the ground. (That statue was retrieved and now is in Zenkoji, Nagano.) A 5 ...

1. Religious & Philosophical Systems in Japan
Name
Date
College
Instructor
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha
Gautama, who lived about 25 centuries ago in what is now
Nepal and northern India. He came to be called "the Buddha,"
which means "awakened one," after he experienced a profound
realization of the nature of life, death and existence. In English,
the Buddha was said to be enlightened which means
"awakened."
In the remaining years of his life, the Buddha traveled and
taught. However, he didn't teach people what he had realized
when he became enlightened. Instead, he taught people how to
realize enlightenment for them. He taught that awakening comes
through one's own direct experience, not through beliefs and
dogmas.

2. Introduction of Buddhism in Japan
"The introduction of Buddhism to the Japanese archipelago
from China and Korea in the sixth century causes momentous
changes amounting to a fundamentally different way of life for
the Japanese. Along with the foreign faith, Japan establishes
and maintains for 400 years close connections with the Chinese
and Korean courts and adopts a more sophisticated culture"
(Asia for Educators. 2009). DO NOT CHANGE THIS QUOTED
PART & DO NOT ADD MORE QUOTES – THANKS!!!!!
The history of Buddhism in Japan starts when Buddhism was
introduced about 1450 years ago during the Nara period. We can
say that it has a very long history. It all began, according to
Chinese records when a monk delegation from China left for
Fusang which might be Japan. The official introduction,
according to the Japanese records actually happens in 552 CE
(some say 538) when monks from Korea, this time, came to
Japan and introduced the principal precepts of Buddhism and
brought some treasures with them.
The first years were not actually easy as Buddhism became one
more tool in the struggle for power over the imperial dynasty by
the Soga clan over the rival brother’s clans. The story goes that
Emperor Kinmei, not sure what to do with these gifts, consulted
with his advisors. The advisers were divided in two camps:
Soga no Iname said that Japan should adopt Buddhism as it was
the religion all the powerful and civilized countries had and
Japan, striving to be powerful should imitate them.
The other clan consisted of two brothers rejecting Buddhism
ways by saying that if they adopted it, the local cities would
undoubtedly be angered. The Sogas seized to opportunity to
promote Buddhism and other “Western ideas” (from China and
Korea) like Confucianism and other governmental and cultural
models from China. For them it was a way to civilize Japan and
give power to the emperor. The rival clans opposed the
Buddhism as a foreign invasion and when an epidemic started
after the importation of a statue, they claimed the local Kami
were not in agreement with the new religion. They threw the

3. idol in the river and burned the temple to the ground. (That
statue was retrieved and now is in Zenkoji, Nagano.)
A 50-year long war insured where temples were burned and the
power-struggle finally moved in the favor of the Soga Clan.
Buddhism finally began to take hold. The way it happened is
referred as an accident. When a second statue was imported and
enshrined in a temple, another epidemic started in Japan. Seeing
this, the opponents destroyed the temple and the image once
more. This time, though, the epidemic did not subside but
increased in virulence. This was seen as divine punishment for
cracking down on Buddhism and The Soga’s were then given
permission to embrace Buddhism privately.
Yemeni became emperor in 585 but became sick the very next
year. Wishing to recover his health he declared his devotion to
Buddhism at the suggestion of the Soga clan. This marks the
point where Buddhism became official in Japan. It was a very
aristocratic religion though and only the elite practiced it at
first as only they had access to the texts. During this period
some famous figures emerged such as the En-no-Gyoja, a “folk
priest” combining Buddhism, Shamanism and Taoism. He
started a religion called Shugendo which is still practiced today
all over Japan.
Some great temples were erected during the Nara period. Such
famous temples as Todai-ji -home of the Great Buddha- and
Hokki-ji are still famous today and are among the most visited
in Japan. The Kamakura and Muromachi periods The Kamakura
period corresponds to a long shogun ate by the Minamoto clan.
During this period, Buddhism took another ideological turn with
the introduction of schools of Buddhism for the masses like the
Pure Land schools and philosophical schools like Zen which
were adopted more by the elite Samurai class.
The Muromachi period is when the Minamoto lost power and
the emperor was restored for a brief period of time (3 years
only!) and the following Shogunate by the Ashikaga clan. This
clan was not as strong as the previous Minamoto clan so this
period is on of social rife and civil war. This period saw the rise

4. of martial idealism and Zen was closely linked to the samurai
class. The Rinzai school of Zen accomplished considerable
development during this period.
Buddhism during the Edo period was equal to the other aspects
of this period. Japan was at peace and artistic and economic
developments marked this era. Buddhist temples were built, art
was made and every school enjoyed a golden era. During the
years following the Meiji restoration, Shinto was made the
official state religion in an effort to justify the emperor as the
direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu.
This resulted in a slow but sure decline of the hold Buddhism
had in Japan. After the Second World War, when the United
States forced the separation of state and religion, schools
stopped teaching about religion and it became a family tradition
to teach the rights to the younger generation. Nowadays, young
people have very little interest in Buddhism and traditions are
lost. According to some sources, some 100 temples are closing
every year around the country, mostly small, family run temples
or poor temples, deserted by the followers.
References
Asia for Educators. (2009). 300 to 600 CE: Expanding Zones of
Exchange and Encounter.
Retrieved from http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/tps/300ce_jp.htm
O'Brien, Barbara. (2015). What Is Buddhism? An Introduction
to Buddhism. Retrieved from
http://buddhism.about.com/od/basicbuddhistteachings/a/basicsh
ub.htm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (2000-2016). Japan, 500–
1000 A.D. Retrieved from
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/06/eaj.html