The Asuka Period

Confucianism’s major impacts on the bushido code have come from its ethical teachings, primarily those from the Five Relations. Historians suggest that Confucianism was introduced into Japan via merchants who travelled across the East China Sea from neighbouring Korea and China as early as the 4th century AD. If this view is accepted it would make Confucianism one of the earliest foreign religions introduced into Japan thus playing an imperative role in shaping Japanese ideology.

The Kamakura shogunate had control of Japan for over a century but collapsed in 1332 which resulted in civil wars afterward. These civil wars lead to the rise of the Ashikaga clan and thus began the Muromachi period which lasted from 1333 to 1573. During this period, Zen Buddhism and older traditions became popular again. Zen was mainly focused on rigorous discipline and personal responsibility which influenced samurai and aristocrats, and merchants to place high value in loyalty, courage and self-control. This wasn’t just a religion to these people but became centers of culture and art. In this period, gardens played a major role in the lives of the Zen Buddhist because these karesansui rock gardens gave monks a place to meditate without the

Buddha in the Land of Kami reviews Japan on a historical account. It revisits the story of the Kami and elaborates on the country’s uniqueness. Significant to Japanese culture, this film recognizes Chinese culture as the primary influence on Japan formation. The film given categorizes as a historical documentary that appears to be in the setting of Japan from the seventh and twelfth centuries. Although World History; Culture, States and Societies, explore a different time frame (500 B.C.E- Seventh century), there are still many similarities as compared to the documentary; such as the importance of the Kami, and the role Chinese culture play on the development of Japan.

During the post classical period, 650 C.E to 1450 C.E, Japanese leaders were confronted with several issues that threatened political order in Japan. The problems that arose during that time included a lack of respect for Buddhism, for example, monks were not taking their vows seriously. Another problem included the division between classes in the social structure, one instance was when the lady-in-waiting in the temple showed disdain for the peasants in a lower class than her. Ultimately, one last problem was the lack of overall respect for the government. Samurais were not being properly trained and the Daimyo were fighting among themselves simply for power. The issues that presented themselves during this time period can be solved in many ways. Buddhism, a unified religion, reestablishing Confucian values and relationships, and properly training the Samurai are just

In this paper it will discuss the influence of the Buddha and how Buddhism came to America and the impact it had upon its arrival. How the American culture westernized Buddhism in their own way and how it looks today. It will also cover the difference of ethnic Buddhism and convert Buddhism in America. More specifically the objective of this paper is to explain descriptively and analytically and go over the historical time line of

Buddhism was a powerful force in politics and in everyday life. It was a tool of the ruling class to appease the people in times of hardship - such as the political disunity in between dynasties. However, when the times changed, Buddhism was also blamed for much of the trouble, and for edging out the much more strict doctrine of Confucianism. Most of the documents presented indicated a spread nonetheless of Buddhism among the people. Additional documents needed to further evaluate the response to Buddhism should be from a source of a slightly lower class, such as a merchant, or a view from a convert to Buddhism - since most views seem to be from Confucian

Soon after Asoka learned about Buddhism he wanted to share it with the public (BE). This was important to him to spread such a great religion. He had people go to Syria, Egypt, Greece, and Sri Lanka, just to spread Buddhism (Doc E). This proves Asoka had goals for everyone to be Buddhist. Asoka even described Buddhism as “little evil”, much good, kindness, generosity, truthfulness, and purity (Doc E). It must be a very special religion if it has “little evil”. If Asoka didn’t devote his life to spreading Buddhism, then his empire citizens would not have had a good

The Tokugawa period or otherwise known as the Edo period has been recognised as an extremely significant aspect of Japanese history and left history changing effects on the country. In this essay, five primary aspects of the Edo period, which has helped produce present day Japan and had greatly impacted on the nation during this period will be addressed:

Introduced by a mission from Korea in 552 C.E., Buddhism has long been a central theme in Japanese artwork. Since the king of Paekche, a kingdom in the South East of the Korean peninsula, first gave the Japanese emperor a bronze Buddha statue, the Buddhist art forms that were periodically introduced from China and Korea were tempered in the crucible of local custom and usage, to yield a rich tradition of religious art.

Shinto and Buddhism are two different traditions that have flourished in Japan for hundreds of years. Generally, followers from one of the traditions tend to follow the guidance of the other as well, which makes the relationship between Shinto and Buddhism very rare in world religions. At first, when these two traditions contacted each other in ancient Japan, there was a lot of confusion, but eventually they were able to coexist. However, even though Buddhism and Shinto share similarities regarding flexibility and independence, there are more differences between them proven by Buddhism’s spread to ancient Japan, their contrasting practices and beliefs and the different outlooks on the afterlife.

In relation to the observation made by Reid, the concept of “Confucianism” is often observed as one of the major Chinese religions alongside Taoism as well as Buddhism. The religion has been emerged in the Japanese culture during the period of 285 AD. A few of the major principles of this religion such as humanity, morality, trustworthiness along with the consideration of developing an individual have been widely witnessed to provide significant influence within the Japanese culture (Reid 67-90). The principles and beliefs within the facet of “Confucianism” had played an imperative part particularly for Japan which eventually strengthened its political philosophies as well as ethical code of conducts by a considerable level. In relation to the political phenomenon, the notion of “Confucianism” had played an essential role for the Japanese culture in terms of developing morality along with increasing individual potentials of achieving their desired goals and objectives. Moreover, the religion had also been widely observed to create significant loyalty among the Japanese communities through increasing the amount of

During the Heian period (745-1185AD) Buddhism spread throughout Japan and thrived in the imperial court in Heiankyo (Kyoto). There were two sects of Buddhism that were most popular during this time, one was Tendai and the other was Shingon. Both of these sects of Buddhism came from China and were brought over to Japan by two different people. Saicho or Dengyo Daishi brought over Tendai sect (767-822) and Kukai or Kobo Daishi brought over Shingon sect (774-835) known as Esoteric Buddhism. Tendai sect beliefs were also of Esoteric Buddhism, but Saicho teachings were based on Chih-I form inspired by the Lotus Sutra, the practice of Chines Ch’an, the commandments of the Mahayant, and part of the esoteric teaching of the “True Word” (History of Buddhism). Due to both Saicho and Kukai being introduced to Esoteric Buddhism, some might have thought there was a rivalry between them, but that was not so due to Kukai was consider an expert due to his training he had with his mentor. Out of the two sects it would be Kukai that would still have a strong hold in the Japanese culture today. It is important to understand how Kukai came to understand his beliefs and what Esoteric Buddhism was for him and the influence Kukai would have on Esoteric Buddhism.

The Paradise of Maitreya has magnificent beauty. It was performed in fresco-secco, a painting technique done on dry plaster with colors assorted in water. The substance the artist used is difficult to distinguish because there are only few natural pieces that exist today. During this time tempera paint was used regularly in paintings, therefore, researchers believe that this was done in the Paradise of Maitreya. The Paradise of Maitreya is extremely large with measurements of 502cm tall and 1101cm. This painting has an organized plan and is known for its intricacy. It displays Buddha Maiterya centered in an imaginary paradise and is enclosed by monks and the rulers. While Buddha Maitreya is generally portrayed as Indian, most people in the scene are represented Chinese. The painting predicts the time of Buddha Maitreya coming into the world during its toughest hours to

Japan is an unique oriental country in many aspects, especially in politics and economy, both western practices and traditional nationalism are coexisted in this country. The period 1890-1940 was just followed the Meiji restoration, and was typical in the history of Japan, at that time, Japan was on the way from a feudal country to a capitalistic country, called modernization. Many western practices were being more and more adopted, however, at the same time, traditional rules still had strong influences in Japan. Under this background, this report will discuss the Japanese cultural factors during 1890-1940 that influenced the disclosure

In the first part of the book, titled « Origin, Traces, Nonorigin », the author focuses on the early career of Kūkai (Chapter 1), his attempt to differentiate himself from the traditional ritsuryō state expressed through his first major piece of writing (Chapter 2), his studies in China under Hui-Kuo, a journey during which he was introduced to the Esoteric Buddhis (Chapter 3), and his assessment of the Japanese society’s religious conditions at the time (Chapter 4). Kūkai entered the prestigious Daigakuryō college as a scholar along Confucian lines; however, he soon discovered that he had gradually lost interest in the classics and in following the norm dictated by the ritsuryō system, which is the system incorporating « the administrative and penal codes of Sui and Tang China » (Shōhachi 145). Therefore, Kūkai abandoned the college and became a self-ordained mendicant with the justification found in his first work Demonstrating the Goals of the Three Teachings (Sangō shiiki), in which he elevates Buddhism over Confucianism through the use of an « unorthodox format of fiction » (Abé 8). During his studies in China, Kūkai was able to realize the distinction between Esoteric and Exoteric Buddhism, an important development, since Nara Buddhists failed to grasp the difference between somatic practices and scholastic studies