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[German Version] I. Historical Development As a coherent system, the religion of Japan known to us as Shintoism (or better: Shintō) emerged in the course of Japan’s reception of cultural elements from China, especially the Confucian (Confucianism) administrative system, Buddhism (I, 2.d), and writing. The name shin-tō itself consists of two Chinese characters meaning “gods” or “spirits” and “way.” Put in Japanese, it is the “Kami Way” ( kami no michi). The kami (= shin), or with the honorific kami-sama, are supernatural beings that appear in great number in the ancient Jap…

[German Version] (Skt. Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra, i.e. “ Sūtra on the lotus blossom of the true dharma ”), a fundamental text of early Mahāyāna Buddhism and a work of prime importance in the Chinese Tiantai school (Jap. Tendai) as well as in Japanese Nichiren Buddhism. The most important Chinese translation by Kumārajīva (406) bears the title Miaofa Lianhua Jing (“ Sūtra on the lotus blossom of the sublime dharma”), which gave rise, in Japan, to the frequently used prayer formula Namu myōhō renge kyō. Sanskrit manuscripts are of later date. In terms of content, the concept of “(skill…

[German Version] (literally “the path of training and testing”) denotes a rather loosely organized complex of strenuous ascetic practices that emerged in the Middle Ages on the fringes of Japanese esoteric Buddhism (I, 2.d). It includes recognizable elements of a shamanistic culture (Shamanism) that did not survive independently, including the use of animal symbolism and familiarity with the primitive world of plants and animals. En no Gyōja (or En no Ozuno), who probably lived in the second half of the 7th century, is venerated as its founder. The yamabushi were already organized …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies The English word temple derives from Latin templum. In the technical vocabulary of religious studies, it is more specialized than sanctuary, shrine, cult site, or place of worship. The usage of the originally Latin term beyond the sphere of classical antiquity is well established, particularly for structures that appear comparable in regard to their architectural form (monumentality, stone construction) or religious function (dwelling place of a god or goddess). But this usage does not reflect a precise defi-¶ nition it is based primarily …

[German Version] As the oldest compilation of myths and legends from ancient Japan, the Kojiki is highly significant not only in the context of Shintō (Shintoism), but also for the cultural history of Japan as a whole. It was set down in writing in 712 ce by the court nobleman Yasumaro, although it doubtlessly goes back to oral traditions attributed to Emperor Temmu in their existing form. The latter had ascended the throne in 673 and was interested in placing the legendary descent of the ruling clan from the gods ( Kami ) in a favorable light. The mythological secti…

[German Version] I. General Facts – II. History and Culture – III. History of Religion – IV. History of Christianity – V. Orthodox Church – VI. Japanese Religions, Missiology I. General Facts The Japanese archipelago ( nippon rettō) consists of four main islands and several smaller ones with a total area of 373,534 km2. Honshū, the largest island by far (227,414 km2), is the country's geographical middle. All the political power centers of Japanese history (Nara, Kyōto, Kamakura, and Edo/Tokyo) are situated here. Owing to its proximity to the southe…

[German Version] I. History of Religions State cults in the narrow sense are religious ceremonies, governed by tradition or law, performed in the name of the state and for its benefit; typically they are addressed to extrasensory powers such as gods, demons, natural numina, or personalized cosmic forces. It is necessary to distinguish cults celebrated regularly at fixed times and places from those staged on a particular occasion such as an enthronement, the death of a ruler, a natural disaster, an epi…

1. Term Shinto is Japan’s native, national religion. The word means “way [ tō; cf. Chin. tao] of the gods [ shin],” though the sign for shin, when alone, reads kami. Kami are the many mythological or legendary figures that occur in the oldest Japanese written sources (i.e., Kojiki [Records of ancient matters] and Nihon shoki, or Nihon-gi [Chronicles of Japan]). Prominent kami are Izanagi and Izanami, who created the islands of Japan, the sun goddess Amaterasu, and the storm god Susanoo, who destroyed the rice fields and thus had to be banished. Kami…

Zen Buddhism is an orientation in Japanese Buddhism that stresses meditation (Jpn. zen). The word zen comes from Chin. chʾan, from Skt. dhyāna (meditation). The chʾan, or zen, school did not exist in India, the home of Buddhism. Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk who came from India to China at the beginning of the sixth century a.d., triggered a Chinese development that reveals an antiformalistic, Taoist influence (Taoism). The teaching work of Hui-neng (638–713) was a high point in China. He advocated a principle of sudden illumination. A radical discon…

In general the term “fatalism” denotes the idea that whatever happens is determined and caused by an irresistible, supernatural power that leaves no room for human decision. What is ordained for individuals cannot be foreseen in advance. The Romans gave the name fatum to the power that overrules birth and death (Roman Religion). The Greeks called it Heimarmenē or Moira (Greek Religion). The incalculable aspect of destiny was also known to the Greeks as tychē and to the Romans as fortuna. The Stoics made fate the dominant principle of the universe. Yet the question of freed…

[English Version] I. Religionsgeschichtlich S. im engeren Sinne sind durch Tradition oder Gesetzgebung geregelte, im Auftrag, im Namen und zum Wohl des Staates durchgeführte rel. Handlungen, deren Adressaten typischerweise außersinnliche Mächte wie Götter, Dämonen, Naturnumina oder personalisierte kosmische Wirkmächte sind. Es ist zw. solchen S. zu unterscheiden, die regelmäßig zu festgelegten Zeiten und an bestimmten Orten durchgeführt werden, und solchen, die aus gegebenem Anlaß (Thronbesteigung,…

[English Version] I. Religionswissenschaftlich Das dt. Wort »T.« geht über mhd. »tempel« (mask. und ntr.) zurück auf ahd. »tempal« (ntr.), eine Entlehnung aus dem lat. Wort »templum«. Als Begriff der religionswiss. Fachsprache steht das Wort neben den allgemeineren Benennungen »Heiligtum« und »Kultstätte«. Dabei hat sich die Verwendung der urspr. lat. Bez. über den Bereich der griech.-röm. Antike hinaus v.a. für solche Anlagen durchgesetzt, die im Hinblick auf ihre bauliche Gestalt (Monumentalität,…

[English Version] . Wörtl. bedeutet Sh. »Weg des Übens und Testens« und stellt den Namen eines eher locker organisierten Komplexes anstrengender asketischer Praktiken dar, der am Rande des esoterischen Buddhismus (: I.,2., d) im japanischen MA entstand. Erkennbar sind Elemente einer schamanistischen Kultur (Schamane/Schamanin/Schamanismus), die eigenständig nicht überlebte, wie der Gebrauch von Tiersymbolik und die Vertrautheit mit der urwüchsigen Tier- und Pflanzenwelt. Als Stiftergestalt wird En…

[English Version] I. Historische Entwicklung Als zusammenhängendes System entstand die uns als Shintoismus oder besser: Shintō (Sh.) bekannte Rel. Japans erst im Zuge der Rezeption chinesischer Kulturelemente, insbes. des konfuzianischen (Konfuzianismus) Verwaltungssystems, des Buddhismus (: I.,2., d) und der Schrift. Die Bez. shin-tō selbst besteht aus zwei chinesischen Schriftzeichen mit der Bedeutung »Götter« oder »Geister« und »Weg«. Japanisch formuliert handelt es sich um den »Weg der kami« (ka…