Japanese Buddhism: A Cultural HistoryBuddhism was founded in India more than two thousand years ago, but the Japanese molded it to suit their culture, and it became one of the most enduring and far-reaching cultural and intellectual forces in Japan's history. The stamp of Japanese Buddhism is unmistakable in the nation's poetry, literature, and art; and the imprint of Japan's indigenous culture is clear from the amalgamation of pre-Buddhist worship and esoteric Buddhism in the practice of the Shugendo ascetics. Japan's Buddhism and the nation's cultural infrastructure are so inextricably linked that it is impossible to understand one without the other. Japanese Buddhism is both a history of Japanese Buddhism and an introduction to Japan's political, social, and cultural history. It examines Japanese Buddhism in the context of literary and intellectual trends and of other religions, exploring social and intellectual questions that an ordinary history of religion would not address. |
Contents
Preface | 7 |
Editorial Note | 9 |
Early Japan and the Arrival of Buddhism | 13 |
Copyright | |
17 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
activities Amida authority became began believers bodhisattva Buddha Buddhist Buddhist establishment century China Chinese Christianity clan clergy criticized daimyō death deities dhism dhist disciples doctrine of original Dōgen Edo period emperor esoteric exiled faith followers founded Fuji kō Fuju Fuse Heian Hōnen Hongan-ji Hōryū-ji Hossō human imperial impermanence Japan Japanese Buddhism Japanese culture Jōdo Jōdo Shin Kamakura Buddhism kami known Kūkai Kyō Kyoto Kyūshū later living Lotus Sutra Mahayana Man'yōshū Meiji ment merchants Mount Hiei Mount Kōya movement Muromachi period naoshi nation nembutsu Nichiren sect ōjō Ōmoto Onisaburō original enlightenment peasants persecution philosophy poems popular practice Prefecture priests Prince Shōtoku Pure Land teachings realm rebirth reform Reiyūkai religion religious Rinzai Saichō secular Shakyamuni Shingon Shinran Shintō shō shogunate Shōtoku shrines shū society spirit Taishō taught temples Tendai Tendai doctrine Tenrikyō thought tion Tokyo transcended truth warrior worship wrote