Centre for Japanese Studies University of Marburg OCCASIONAL PAPERS No. 30 The Structure of Religious Systems in Contemporary Japan: Shintô variations on Buddhist pilgrimage Prof. Dr. Michael Pye Centre for Japanese Studies, University of Marburg Marburg 2004 Edited by Centre for Japanese Studies University of Marburg Biegenstr. 9 35032 Marburg Germany Tel.: +49 (0)6421 28 24627 Fax: +49 (0)6421 28 28914 Email: [email protected] Author Michael Pye Centre for Japanese Studies Religion and History of Ideas University of Marburg Biegenstr. 9 35032 Marburg Germany Tel.: +49 (0)6421 28 23662 Fax: +49 (0)6421 28 28914 Email: [email protected] Copyeditor Petra Kienle Centre for Japanese Studies University of Marburg Biegenstr. 9 35032 Marburg Germany Tel.: +49 (0)6421 28 24908 Fax: +49 (0)6421 28 28914 Email: [email protected] ISBN 3-8185-0393-1 The Structure of Religious Systems in Contemporary Japan: Shintō variations on Buddhist pilgrimage Michael Pye Fig. 1: Pilgrims on Gassan (about 1900 metres), Yamagata Prefecture (Photo by author, August 2003) The Structure of Religious Systems in Contemporary Japan: Shintō variations on Buddhist pilgrimage Religious systems in contemporary Japan: the analytical task 3 Shintō, primal religion and civil religion 10 The key features of contemporary Japanese primal religion 12 Rites of transaction as an analytical key 16 Buddhist circulatory pilgrimage as transaction and more 22 The Seven Gods of Fortune between Buddhism and Shintō 25 Shintō variations on Buddhist pilgrimage 32 Conclusions 42 References cited 45 Religious systems in contemporary Japan: the analytical task There are very few systematic accounts of Japanese religion. This is not surprising, since the subject matter is both varied and elusive. No less than elsewhere, people in Japan fail to agree about what "religion" is or how to talk about it. There is therefore no ready-made framework of interpretation which the observer can simply take over from within the field. Japanese specialists have written voluminously on many different aspects of Japanese religions, yet there seems to be no general consensus among them about how the field as a whole hangs together.1 Various non-Japanese specialists have also highlighted particular aspects, but popular introductory accounts fall short of theoretical precision. In view of this deficit, the opening sections of this paper present the main features of contemporary Japanese religion, very briefly, in a systematic perspective. The field is too rich to be covered in detail here, but in so far as the overall analysis is correct any observer in Japan itself will find that further details fall into place accordingly.2 To illustrate how the leading analytical concepts provide a framework for more differentiated studies, attention will be drawn to the connections with previous work on "circulatory" Buddhist pilgrimage (o-meguri).3 Finally the more recent phenomenon of "Shintō variations on Buddhist pilgrimage" 4 will be introduced to show how even more precise differentation can be achieved in particular cases while keeping the main analytical pattern in mind. It is well known that there is a wide variety of distinguishable religions in Japan. These include Shintō in its various historical stages and significant vestiges of the Chinese traditions of Confucianism and Daoism. Buddhism is present in what may seem to be a bewildering range of forms such as the older Nara schools, Tendai, Shingon, Rinzai Zen, Sōtō Zen and Ōbaku Zen. 1 This is particularly evident in multi-authored works in which terms such as "indigenous religion", "folk religion" and others jostle for attention. This is no doubt inevitable, even in authoritative and insightful volumes such as N. Tamaru and D. Reid (eds.) Religion in Japanese Culture. Where Living Traditions Meet a Changing World, Tokyo/New York/London 1996. 2 A more substantial account is on preparation, of which the provisional title is: The Religious Systems of Modern Japan. 3 Documented for example in O-meguri. Pilgerfahrt in Japan (Schriften der Universitätsbibliothek Mar- burg 31) Marburg 1987. 4 This more specialised theme was the subject of a lecture given in April 2004 at the Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien in Tokyo; I am grateful to its director Prof. Dr. Irmela Hijiya-Kirschnereit and to Dr. Monika Schrimpf for providing this very helpful stimulus. 3 Other Buddhist denominations of great popular appeal include Pure Land Buddhism, True Pure Land Buddhism and Nichiren Buddhism, based on the mantra-like utterances Namu Amida Butsu or Namu Myōhō Rengekyō respectively. For all of these there are various subdivisions usually referred to as "sects", corresponding to the Japanese term -ha, meaning a subdivision.5 Much attention is attracted by new religions with richly suggestive names such as the Teaching of Heavenly Wisdom (Tenrikyō), the Teaching of the Great Source (Ōmoto)6, the Perfectly Adapted Teaching (Ennōkyō) and many more recent foundations such as The White Light Association (Byakkō Shinkōkai) or Science of Happiness (Kōfuku no Kagaku). This phenomenon is part of a wider field which can be documented across the whole of East Asia, conditioned as it is by the Chinese script-based conceptual system.7 Religious freedom has been enshrined in the constitution for many years and in this sense the multiform presence of religion is officially recognised.8 Indeed the various legally incorporated religious bodies are listed in a statistical yearbook of religions (Shūkyō nenkan) published by the Agency for Cultural Affairs of the Ministry of Education. At the same time there is a vague awareness among most of the population that all of these religions are in some way part of Japanese religion. Christianity by contrast, is generally regarded as a western religion which has settled in Japan. Islam, only tenuously present in the country, is regarded simply as a foreign religion. What can be said, then, about the general features of Japanese religion? It has indeed frequently been noted that there are many common characteristics shared by the various religions mentioned above, and others, in the Japanese context. The question therefore arises as to whether there is some kind of general field of Japanese religion, and if so what it looks like. What is its shape? The answer given here is that there is indeed such a general field, and that this field has its own resilience independent of the specific religions mentioned above. Generally speaking, Japanese people do not perceive this general field as such. This is because 5 It is extremely unfortunate that the word "sect" has completely lost its older meaning of "subdivision" in the minds of those who produce and consume the western media, but it is difficult to avoid using it in the context of Japanese religions. The original meaning is intended here. 6 This name is often romanised as Oomoto, following the kunreishiki system. However, the official rec- ommendation in Japan is that the Hepburn system should be used in international communications and in this internationally accepted system the vowels are lengthened by a superscript line rather than by redupli- cation. 7 C.f. my article "New religions in East Asia" (2004). 8 The relation between religious freedom and the arrangements for managing religious plurality are treated in an article by Katja Triplett entitled "Das Pluralismusmodell 'Religionsfreiheit' und die religiöse Vielfalt Japans" which is due to appear shortly. In the meantime c.f. Pye "Religion und Recht in Japan: Pluralismus, Toleranz und Konkurrenz", Marburg Journal of Religion 6,1 (2001). 4 in ordinary life they do not need to. At the same time they are familiar with what I have referred to metaphorically as "the common language of Japanese religion",9 that is, a pattern of symbols and actions which are widely understood and may be found in various forms within the various denominations. For example, everybody knows that a votive tablet (ema) is used for giving expression to prayers and aspirations both at Shintō shrines and at Buddhist temples. Indeed every year millions of them are bought, inscribed with a felt-tip pen and left behind in the shrine or temple grounds for the various divinities (and other visitors) to peruse.10 It should not be thought however that there is just one single system of religion in Japan. Rather, there are overlapping systems. It is certainly possible to differentiate between the various organised religious groups, which amount to systems in their own right. At the same time there are more general systems in which they participate in various ways. These are not just a miscellaneous collection of bits and pieces. Rather, they have their own coherence. For various reasons which will become apparent it will be convenient to designate the main general systems as primal religion and civil religion respectively. Both of these have a considerable claim on the loyalty of the population. The main difference between them is that primal religion allows for rituals relating to this-worldly soteriology, whereas civil religion does not. However, because of the overlapping of many symbolic elements, they support each other. Thus, together with the specific religious teachings there are often at least three levels of interpretation to consider. For example, a Buddha statue such as a famous Yakushi Nyorai is not only considered to be important as one of the great, inspiring, traditional Buddhas. He is also believed to provide assistance to those whose eyesight is failing, an example of proximate soteriology for those who have the faith to pay for this service. Beyond that he may be an "important cultural property" (jūyōbunkazai) or even a "national treasure" (kokuhō) and thus part of the symbolic network of Japan's civil religion, worthy of mention in apparently "non-religious" school textbooks or cultural guides. The great majority of Japanese people are not normally interested in thinking about these matters in a sustained way.