Impact of Buddhism in Early Japanese Civilization
The first stage began towards the end of the sixth century up to the year 710. It was at this particular time when Buddhism was being introduced by the Koreans into Japan. Major foundations which enhanced civilization in the proceeding years were laid down. From the year 710 up to 794, major changes took place in Japanese culture especially after the introduction of many Buddhism sects. Moreover, the period was characterized by power struggles between different Japanese clans. In the Heina period, i.e. from 794-1185, Japanese culture flourished greatly and there was much peace and much stability. Kamakura period followed until the 18th century. In that particular period, Chinese civilization affected the way of life due to the earlier contacts between the Japanese and the Chinese. It contributed to political, artistic and religious development which eventually led to the early civilization (Hooker 1996). This research shall trace the history of Buddhism in Japan and discuss its impacts to the early Japanese civilization.
1.1 History of Buddhism in Japan
Most historians record that Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the sixth century by some Koreans who brought the image of Buddha in to Japan and a letter from their Prince praising dharma. Although it faced some resistance initially, it gained some little acceptance towards the end of the six century during the reign of Empress Suiko and Prince Shotoku when it was made to be the state religion. This marked the beginning of civilization because from this period henceforth the expression of dharma started to be encouraged in arts, education and in philanthropy. History records that, schools of Buddhism in Japan were opened between the 7th and 8th century and they flourished very well during the Nara period of the Japanese history. The 9th century is considered to be Buddhism breaking period in the country. It is during this period when some extra Buddhist sects (Tendai and Shingon) which enhanced the growth of Buddhism and the growth of mandala and the sculptural artwork were introduced into the country (Hooker, 1996).
A lot of Buddhist temples were constructed at different parts of the countries at this particular time in order to meet the demand of the increased growth of the religion despite the earlier tolerance. The continuous growth of Buddhism fostered more development in the artistic field and more so the growth of the Zen art. This included use of poetry and paintings as a means of expression. During the revolution, any human activity was considered as an art as long as it contained both the spiritual and the religious aesthetics.
1.2 The Kamakura Period
Towards the end of the eleventh century, a military government was set up in Kamakura by the Minamoto family which took full control of the central government after defeating the Taira family. It was at this particular time when the rule was transferred from the court aristocracy to the warrior class, after Minamoto-no-Yoritomo attained the title of Shogun with supreme military and police power (Pouwels and Adler, 2005). Further studies record that the cultural changes that had taken place did not allow for the continuous study of the complex philosophy and the performance of rituals. Due to this, people resulted to using the accessible teachings which led to advancements of democratic movements like the devotional schools and Zen. During this particular period, more sects continued to develop like the independent sect of the Pure Land known as the Jodo-shu which was introduced by Genku followed by another sect introduced by Shinran-Shonin which was known as Jodo-shinshu. The latter happens to be the largest Buddhist sect in Japan up to date. Still in the 12th century, another Chinese school which was known as Soto in Japanese was established by Dogen. The period was characterized by introduction of different sects of Buddhist in Japan which paved way for more developments.
According to Pouwels Adler (2005), seventeenth century was characterized by fighting and internal strife which was the main reason as to why the development of Buddhism stagnated. However, in the year 1868, the Japanese isolation came to an end after the restoration of the imperial regime. The attempts to make Shinto a state culture did not succeed because Buddhism was already firmly established. At this particular period, major developments took place in Japan since several contacts were made between Japan and other countries for the first time in history. Buddhist universities were opened and this also encouraged Buddhist scholarships. In addition, after the end of the Second Word War up to date, Buddhist in Japan has gained more support and more sects have been established. Not only has Japanese been the recipient of cultures from other countries but the Japanese Zen has also been exported to other countries as well.
2.0 Relationship between Buddhism and Japanese Civilization
The study of Japanese history shows that Buddhism in Japan is closely related to the early civilization and both happened concurrently. The fact that both happened at the same time is a clear indication that one must have led to the other. Since Buddhism affected the politics, administration, culture, education and the religion of Japanese people, it eventually paved way for civilization that followed closely. To understand this clearly, it would be important to look at how Buddhism affected the specific areas and how that affected the early civilization.
2.1 Education
As mentioned earlier, the introduction of Buddhism led to introduction of Chinese writing in to Japan which influenced the Japanese scholars to go and study in China. This did not only introduce some of the aspects of the Chinese education in to Japanese education system but it also led to the introduction of other aspects as well. Moreover, during the establishment of Buddhism, a lot of schools were established some of which exists up to date. The majority of the those schools which were being opened provided an opportunity for the Japanese not only to learn about the Buddhist doctrine but also other subjects like philosophy. Furthermore, history records that due to the increased need of scholars in Japan, more people were being sent to China for studies. After interacting with the Chinese people, they not only came back with knowledge but with other aspects of the Chinese culture as well (Pouwels Adler, 2005).
Most of the Japanese scholars from China are recorded to have established more schools once they returned from China. A scholar by the name Dogen opened up a Chinese school in the 12th century known as Soto to add to other Japanese schools that were established in the earlier centuries. Buddhism contributed greatly to the changes in education system which in turn contributed to early civilization in Japan.
2.2 Government and Administration
Before the early civilization in 6th Century, Japan was organized into noble clans which used to govern the common people in the society. Before the establishment of Buddhist, the Japanese were being ruled by the Yamato clan which was the biggest of all the clans. Buddhism caused several changes in the country from the sixth century which affected the government and the administration. According to Pouwels and Adler (2005), in the year 604, the Seventeen Point Constitution which founded the Japanese state was established under the rule of Prince Shotoku. Although it was regarded to as a constitution, it contained a lot of Buddhism doctrine dictating the roles of the government and of a good citizen. The same studies record that, since then, the document has always had very great influence of political science in Japan.
In order to effect the Seventeen Point constitution, people were sent to China to study which led to the introduction of the Chinese model of government into Japan. Despite the fact that Japanese had borrowed so much from the Chinese model of government, they changed some aspects like the bureaucracy system and thus the government remained to be aristocratic. Between the seventh and the eleventh century, the government system changed after the Fujiwara clan came in to power. At this time, the real head of the government was the Shogun who was the commander in chief. Although the emperor by then used to preside over the ceremonies, it was the Shogun who used to have the responsibility of making all major decisions. However, history records that this system was only successful for two centuries after which it broke following the induced rivalry by the Fujiwara reagents. The next clan that took over power was the Minamoto clan which introduced the Kamakura Shogunate system. This ushered in the period of Kamakura which was characterized by the clan aristocracy. The Kamakura period was followed by Ashikaga Shogunate period which lasted up to the fifteenth century. Major changes in the government continued to take place in the history of Japan which led to more civilizations. Although other factors may have contributed to the changes in government and administration Buddhism played the greatest role.
2.3 Religion
Before the introduction of Buddhism in Japan, the native religion was known as Shinto. Buddhism led to the development and introduction of different sects which include Zen, Pure Land, and Nichiren. Although the Japanese were willing to retain their religion, some of them, especially the scholars were quick to accept Buddhism. Moreover, it is recorded that Buddhism was declared to be the state religion during the initial stages of the Japanese civilization. Although some studies argue that Buddhism did not eliminate Shinto the native religion completely, it is quite clear that even those who did not give up their native religion had already borrowed some aspects from the Buddhism religion due to its simplicity and some aspects like compassion to the weak and the less fortunate in the society.
The introduction of Buddhism caused major changes in Japan. The earlier shrines were replaced by Buddhism temples in various parts of the country like the first Buddhist temple Shitennoji which was established in Nara in the year 593 to replace the earlier Shinto shrines. Moreover, more rituals and beliefs which characterized the Buddhism religion were adapted by the Japanese people most of which changed the Japanese way of life. These and many more changes that are associated with the religion contributed to the onset and continuation of the early Japanese civilization.
2.4 Arts and Culture
Japan is a country that has been known for its unique culture in the whole world. However, most of the aspects of the Japanese culture were as a result of introduction of Buddhism in the country- a result of the early civilization. The key characteristics of the Zen Buddhism which includes intricate tea ceremonies, artfully arranged gardens and the highly aesthetic architecture found in the Japanese culture were borrowed from the religion. Although some rituals like the tea drinking party is not purely spiritual, it was an aspect of Buddhism because it signified simplicity and compassion.
Buddhism had a lot of impact in the arts field. History records that it is the introduction of Buddhism that fostered the development of poetry, painting and sculpture work. The changes in artwork were more evident during the building of the temples which was brought up by Buddhism. In addition, this also introduced sculpture work with the first sculptures to be produced in Japan being Buddha in the seventh century and from then henceforth, more sculptures started to be produced. From the Zen School in Japan, poets like Bankei, Basho and Rinzai transformed the practice of poetry so as to incorporate the religious aspects of the Buddhism religion. Moreover, the interaction of Japanese with Koreans and the Chinese during the establishment of Buddhism in the country changed a lot of aspects of the Japanese culture including economic activities, social practices among others (Pouwels Adler, 2005).
Although Japanese are not easily influenced by other countries as mentioned earlier, introduction of Buddhism by the Koreans towards the end of the sixth century fostered the early civilization. This is because Buddhism as any other religion influenced changes in areas like education, government and administration, art and culture among other areas. Once changes that were effected in these areas, eventually, they led to the early civilization. Categorically, Buddhism in Japan led to the introduction of the Chinese civilization as it allowed contact between Japanese and the Chinese people. Despite the fact that Japanese were careful not to take everything from the Chinese people, some changes were inevitable. Therefore, most of the early civilization in Japan can be referred to as Chinese civilization. History records that Buddhism was the main cause of civilization not only in Japan but also in other Asian countries like Korea (Stearns, 2000).
Categories:
0 comments:
Post a Comment