Japan 1 Flashcards
(57 cards)
1
Q
shinto
A
- everything has a god/spirit
- ethnic religious tradition
- relationship between japanese people, land, and kami (dieties)
- native to japan and differentiates it
- when baby is born go to shrine
- dont hurt anything
- kindness
- go to shrine to ask for a favor
- you cannot visit a shrine one month after a death
- national faith of japan
2
Q
Buddhism
A
- go to temple when someone dies
- originated in india
- strive for enlightenment while reaching down to help others (jogu bodai geke shujo)
- values various figures of worship and powers they were said to bestow (buddhism offered a further extensions of shinto trandition)
3
Q
confucianism
A
- how to behave in society while youre here
- respect elders, friends
- filial piety
- ancestor veneration
4
Q
3 traditions
A
- foundation of japanese culture
- buddhism
- shinto
- Confucianism
5
Q
hospitality
A
- yes please -> impolite in japan
- say no thank you
- in japan you just get it for them so they dont have a choice
6
Q
frame of reference
A
- organized religious traditions have found their roots and grown in japan providing a centralizing dynamic through which all the religious traditions found in japan have been interpreted and assimilated adding to the overall picture
- contributes to a whole that is more than simply the sum of its parts
7
Q
Nihongi and Kojiki
A
- manifests shinto
- spreads ledgends, religion, culture important to shinto
- Izanami and Izanagi created the land of japan by thrusting a sword into the oceans
- produced a myriad (a kami) who inhabited and gave vitality to the land
- Izanami dies while birthing the fire god and Izanagi follows her into the underworld -> she tries to drag him down with her
- Izanagi escapes and rolls a rock to divide the worlds of living and dead
- Izanami says if the worlds remain divided shell kill 1000 people a day but Izanagi says he will birth 1500 to replace them
- Izanagi bathes in water to purify him and births other kami including Amaterasu (sun goddess)
- Imperial line claims descent from from Amaterasu -> kami are present in the land and connect them to humans -> benefits humans
8
Q
Izanamis death
A
- shows that death before its time is unnatural and disruptive
- reminder that death may intrude life
- separate life and death
9
Q
relationship between humans and kami
A
- continuity between humans and kami means that humans can become kami through continuation of the qualities marked in their life
- ex. Sugawara Michizane was exiled for political intrigue and a series of misfortunes struck Kyoto -> he was built a shrine and considered a kami -> transformed into something beneficial for the living -> enshrined as Tenjin the kami of learning
10
Q
Emporers
A
- enshrined
- unity
- kami hachiman
- especially during Meiji
11
Q
living kami (ikigami)
A
-Emperor during Meiji was considered a living kami
12
Q
kami
A
- represent a life force
- source and manifestation of energy found in the world
- benefactors of the benefits of that force
- upholders of life and its goodness
- unpredictable
- similar to humans: prone to pique, jealousy, rage
- must be thanked and respected in order to maintain a balanced productive relationship
13
Q
legend of divine
A
- implies that both japan and its people are unique
- resulted in japans ethnocentrism
- nationalism
- isolation
- result of shinto and even buddhism
14
Q
Japanocentric
A
- external entities are frequently Japanised as they are absorbed
- ex. in Mahikari it says that jesus came to japan for religious training
15
Q
yakudoshi
A
- dangerous or unlucky years
- 33 for women
- 42 for men
- visit shrines and temples
- seek protection from kami and buddhas
- bad luck is avoided to ease anxiety and guilt
16
Q
butsumetsu
A
- death of emperor hirohito in january
- bad luck day
- “death of buddha”
17
Q
Kannon
A
- buddhist figure
- embodiment of compassionate mercy
- vows to save all who call on her mercy and top adopt innumerable manifestations in order to do so
- contributed to literary genre and oral tradition
- most popular buddhist figure
18
Q
riyaku
A
- go-riyaku
- benefits acquired through the response of buddhist figures, kami, and spiritual world
- not limited to this world or life -> people pray for benefit of souls of the dead
19
Q
genze riyaku
A
-affirms the responsive and fluid nature of the spiritual world and it powers and abilities to five succour to the living in response to human petitions and needs
20
Q
mantra and dharani
A
- words of power
- incantations that had spiritual powers
- could unlock or summon the powers of various buddha figures to help the living
- buddhism was introduced with texts -> shows superiority bc japan has no writing system
21
Q
sutras
A
- chanted at funerals
- purify soul and transform into state of enlightenment
22
Q
Hannya Shingyo
A
- heart sutra
- most widely used text
- recited at temples and other religious centres
- encapsulating the essence and power of all buddhist teachings
- chanted in times of stress
23
Q
Kinpusenji
A
- buddhist temple
- oni mo uchi (demons also in) instead of oni wa soto (demons out)
- represent buddhist view that all existence can be transformed and made good
24
Q
first encounter of buddhism for japanese
A
-in the form of statue sent by ruler of Paekche Korea
25
Kaigen
- buddhist ritual
- use chants and prayers that summon up the powers of buddhas
- essence of buddha is believed to enter the statue
26
Buddhism X Shinto
- worked together
- priests would chant prayers that sought to lead kami into enlightenment
- converting kami and japanese people to buddhism
27
Inari the fox diety
protector of the esoteric buddhist temple toji
- powerful kami with heightened powers of riyaku bc his association with buddhism
- previously god of good rice harvest but now looked at as god of business
28
preserving shinto
- guardians of physical space
- ceremonies when new buildings are made
- kami guard buddhist temples
29
Toyokawa Inari
- dedicated to inari
- officiants who run the complex are zen buddhist monks
- shows the buddhist and shinto themes together
30
senzo
- ancestors who act as guardians and protectors of the continuity and prosperity of the household lineage to which they belonged in life
- influence rarely extends further than this
- visits to their grave and o-bon festival and rituals at family butsudan
31
tama
- each person has a tama (soul) which invested the physical body with life
- death was a result of the severance of the soul from the physical body
- soul doesnt cease with death
- rituals guide dead soul and transform it into a enlightened being
32
hotoke
departed soul
- also means buddha or enlightened being
- enlightenment after death
33
jobutsu
- attaining the state of peaceful rest after death
| - attaining enlightenment
34
ancestors
- patrilineal members of the family
- male who had procreated and helped extend to lineage
- not all dead (hotoke) would be ancestor (senzo)
- can give guidance in the form of misfortunes containing inner messages
35
death
- positive and affirmative
- natural
- benefit of humanity
- spiritual
36
ancestor veneration
- a reciprocal relationship
- transform dead soul into a peaceful ancestral spirit
- ancestors bring fortune in return for butsudan
37
butsudan
- after ones death
- make offerings to continue their ancestors peaceful spirit
- lets them not be forgotten
- in return the family gets fortune
38
fear of death
- people fear that souls that died abruptly and angry will bring misfortunes
- Agonshu- religious movement that contends that all misfortunes are the result of unhappy spirits bc the correct rituals were not done
39
memorial
- done for animals that are being exploited
- objects that are no longer usable (printing blocks, dolls)
- express gratitude
40
karma
- innen
- all events have repercussions
- can be transmitted or shared (blood lines)
- when "en" is broken problems arise
41
spiritual blockage
-sawari, reisho
42
psychic retribution
tatari
43
healing techniques
- rid of bad karma
- o-kiyome- transforms spirits into peaceful one or exorcises them
- rituals
- these solutions are referred to as miracles, manifestation
44
origin of shinto
- shamnistic and animistic practices were found throughout northeast Asia (especially korea)
- not purely japanese faith
- no documentary evidence of original character of shinto belief bc chinese writing and ideas werent introduced yet
45
shinto failed to develop into a unified religion bc people held onto their own beliefs...what beliefs are they referring to?
page 1 of second assignment
46
cults of shinto
- animism
- shamanism
- fertility cults
- worship of nature
- ancestors
- heroes
47
architecture of shrines
- simple
- single room (sometimes partitioned)
- raised from the ground
- wood with whole tree trunks used for beams
- outside there is a torii (gateway) and water basin
- hands and mouth are washed in water basin before entering
48
acts of worship at shinto shrines
- harai
- misogi
- reflect cleanliness
- attendance- giving attention but also performing ceremonial dances or processions
- offerings- the first son of the house hold, the first fruits or catch of the szn, booty of war (heads of enemies)
- dancing- communicate with gods
49
Susa-no-o
- amaterasu unruly brother
- banished from heaven for missing his mom and not following order
- he went to korea
- showed that gods were no more limited to japan
- settled in izumo, married the princess
- ocean storm god
50
princess and prince plenty
- prince plenty (son of susa-no-o and princess izumo)
- he was a god only seen at night
- he appears in the toilet so his wife can see him -> she is fightened
- he tells her she shamed him and he will shame her
- the god took human form and went to the mountains
- she then stabbed herself with a chopstick and died
- her tomb was built by men at day and gods at night
51
Susa-no-o in Izumo
- susa-no-o was expelled
- he went to izumo
- he saw chopsticks in the river -> he went to find the people
- old man crying bc a serpent takes his daughter each year
- susa-no-o tells the old man to set up 8 vats of liquor and 8 gates
- the snake comes and gets drunk
- susa-no-o slices him
- he then built a palace in Suga
- he marries the girl (izumo princess)
52
Kitsuki-no-miya
- oldest shrine ever in Izumo
- Susa-no-o from yamato and izumo princess married -> symbolize unity
- their son is prince plenty
53
enshirnement of amaterasu
- Amaterasu was taken from Toyo-suki-iri-him (a princess) and entrusted to Yamato-hime no Mikoto (a princess)
- she went all around to find a place for amaterasu to dwell
- Amaterasu says the the province of Ise, of the divine wind, is the land of repair and secluded
- she chooses to dwell there
- palace of Iso was built
- the great goddess amaterasu first descended from heaven there
54
Susa-no-o and Amaterasu
- Susa-no-o was rude consistently to amaterasu
- when susa-no-o endangered her she hid in a cave -> caused it to be dark for so long
- Ama no uzume no mikoto tried doing stuff to get her out -> dancing intoxicated
- amaterasu was confused how she could be so jolly and came out
- saw herself in the mirror and came out -> never go back
- susa-no-o was exiled, hair was plucked out, and gave him guilt
55
buddha
- will always try to help
- even bad people
- only truth
56
enlightenment
- loose urself
- detach urself
- no wants
- no desire
- you become buddha
57
shinto vs buddhism
- shinto how life starts
| - buddha how life ends
