Chapter Ten:

Honji-Suijaku

"Shintō"

You may have heard of the term "Shintō" 神道 (or "Shintoism") to indicate non-Buddhist native Japanese religion. Though you might not realize it from a typical dictionary definition (*click here* for a short one), the term "Shintō" is highly problematic from an historical perspective when used to designate the pre-Buddhist or non-Buddhist forms of religion in the Japanese islands in ancient or medieval times. The typical English or Japanese dictionary definition of Shintō is largely a creation of modern times and serves, or has served, specific #political purposes.# Prior to the nineteenth century, "Shintō" did not exist as a formal religious tradition independent of Buddhism, which is one reason I have not used the term so far. A possible exception to this statement might be a type of religion called Yoshida Shintō, which started in the late Muromachi period. Although it claimed to be independent of Buddhism, even Yoshida Shintō reflects a strong Buddhist influence when closely examined. Indeed, in premodern times the word that today we call "Shintō" was pronounced jindō. The term jindō indicated any local form of religion that involved kami (a term we examine below). Because Shintō is inextricably connected with modern Japanese identity politics, it is better to substitute a term like "native religion" for it, even though what was native and what came into the Japanese islands along with Buddhism often was, and continues to be, difficult to distinguish.

Religion in Ancient Japan (Background Material)

By the time Buddhism arrived in the Japanese islands during the sixth century, religious activities and beliefs already existed and were an integral part of social life. Just what these religious activities and beliefs were, however, is not easy to ascertain. The first people to write about local religious practices in Japan were Buddhist priests.

In this section, we first look at native religious activities and concepts in the Japanese islands prior to the coming of Buddhism. We then look more closely at early forms of Japanese Buddhism and how Buddhism merged with native religious traditions. In terms of time, our coverage ranges from the tomb period (4th century) to the end of the Nara period (8th century).

It cannot be emphasized enough that our knowledge of Japanese religious practices prior to the coming of Buddhism is limited. Because it was Buddhism that produced written religious materials, all existing accounts of native religious activities reflect at least some Buddhist influence. Furthermore, as early as the Nara period, Buddhism and native religious traditions began to merge. By the Kamakura period, it had became virtually impossible to separate native practices from those of Buddhism in many locations.

The details of native religious practices varied from one part of the Japanese islands to another, but one concept common to nearly all such practices was that of kami 神. The word kami is often translated as "spirit," "nature spirit," "god" or "deity," but there is no precise equivalent in English. A different word kami 上 means "above" in premodern and modern Japanese, and it is likely that the kami meaning "deity" and kami meaning "above" came from a single concept. Combining the meanings of these two words may help clarify an early view of the supernatural. Kami were things that stood out to the people of ancient Japan as distinctive in a superior fashion. More specifically, they stood out as better in some way than other examples of items in the same category--more powerful, more capable, more beautiful, etc. Evergreen trees were quite common in ancient Japan, as they are today, but a particularly large one, or a tree with distinctive beauty or a peculiar shape, might be *designated a kami*  (notice the rope with paper hanging down). Ancient Japanese designated other distinctive, beautiful, or powerful features of the *natural world* as kami.

To indicate an object possessing or embodying such distinctive qualities, it was common practice to place a rope around it, upon which was hung white folded paper at regular intervals. Later, it became common to erect simple gateways called torii 鳥居 to mark the path leading to a kami site. These torii, usually, #but not always# *red in color,* now mark the entrances to Shintō shrines.

Human beings were also eligible for kami status. A person with an unusual talent for singing and poetry, for example, might come to be regarded as a kami of verse after his death. Those among later generations wanting to become proficient at this art might ritually ask the deceased bard, now a kami, for assistance in that goal. As in most animistic religious practices, the world of the kami and the world of humans were not regarded as radically separate places. There was substantial overlap. Kami, in other words, were part of the daily life of humans in ancient Japan.

How would one have communicated with kami in ancient times? Although there is a general format for praying at shrines today, we cannot be sure how such things were done in the remote past. There would have been a designated place for the kami. In the case of a rock, tree, waterfall, etcetera, the object itself would have been the site of worship. If it were small enough, the kami-object might be encircled with a simple enclosure or fence. In the case of a person, a simple wooden structure might be constructed to house his or her spirit. This spirit would inhere in some kind of object called a shintai 神体. Shintai literally means "kami body" or "deity body." In many cases, these simple shrines gradually became the focal point for local community activities and festivals.

The arrival of Buddhism in the Japanese islands resulted in the construction of elaborate Buddhist temples. These temples influenced shrine construction, which also became more elaborate. It is customary to use the word "shrine" (jinja 神社 and other terms) to designate a structure associated mainly with native religious activities and "temple" (tera 寺) to designate a structure associated mainly with Buddhism. In practice, however, the two were not always distinct. Buddhist temple compounds in medieval Japan often contained shrines within them. In such cases, the kami of the shrines were thought to be protectors of the Buddhist temple. Although Buddhism was controversial when the Soga first began worshiping the image sent by the Korean king of Paekche around 538, the sense of conflict between native kami and Buddhism faded rather quickly, never to return significantly until the time of Japan's nation building process starting in the 1860s.

Agriculture was the foundation of all economic activity in Japan until the start of this century. The most important kami, therefore, were those associated with agriculture (one example: #Inari#). In many localities during the Tomb period and later, villagers worshiped a *pair of kami,* one male and the other female. The thinking was that the fertility of these kami was closely connected with the fertility of the land and that such worship would help ensure a bountiful harvest. *Sexual imagery* in the form of depictions of male and female organs, often carved out of stone, was common in such worship. This imagery is still seen in numerous local festivals, and at several prominent shrines, such as the #Tagata Shrine# near Nagoya. Although this sexual imagery is no longer typically linked with agricultural fecundity, religious depictions of sexual organs today are often regarded as aids for couples trying to conceive.

This sexual imagery connected with local deities and agriculture was also common in popular performing arts, especially dance. Yamaori Tetsuo explains (okina = old man):

In the different regions of Japan, a variety of folk performing arts have been handed down, for example, dengaku 田楽, sarugaku 猿楽, kagura 神楽, and sato kagura 里神楽. In such performing arts, dancers in the form of aged men inevitably appear. . . . This okina, however, in most cases accompanies a female figure, and the two perform a dance with sexual and lewd gestures. For example, at the Shinshū Shinno 信州新野 Snow Festival . . . two performers . . . tumble and turn embracing each other and making the audience laugh with sexual gestures. As another example, in the sato kagura dance transmitted at the Suwa 諏訪 shrine at Shimoakatsuka in the Itabashi ward of Tokyo, two performers wearing costumes of a farming couple, with okina and woman's masks, dance with similar gestures. Such performing arts are enacted as part of festivals celebrating the year's harvest or praying for the fertility of the fields; the sexual gestures may be understood as spells performed in expectation of the fruition of the earth. (Yamaori Tetsuo, Wandering Spirits and Temporary Corpses: Studies in the History of Japanese Religious Tradition, Dennis Hirota, ed., trans. [Kyoto: International Research Center for Japanese Studies, 2004], pp. 401-402.)

What Yamaori calls "the fruition of the earth" was the key to wealth, power, and prosperity. The leaders of locally powerful clans worshiped these agricultural deities because the livelihood of everyone in the area depended on good harvests. In time, many of these clans (uji) came to regard these agricultural deities as their ancestral founders. Local agricultural deities, in other words, became the ujigami 氏神 (uji-founding kami) of the major local clans. As the confederation of clans in the Yamato area extended its hegemony over the other uji and peoples of the Japanese islands, their ujigami became more widely known.

Of particular importance, of course, was the Yamato royal family, whose ujigami was Amaterasu 天照, a solar deity (often called the "sun goddess") often, but not always, depicted as female in premodern times. Her "deity-body" is housed at the *inner shrine at Ise,* near the coast of the old Yamato region. Worship of Amaterasu was an important duty of the Yamato king, who was as much a religious leader as he was a secular leader.1 After the Taika Reforms of 645, Amaterasu became, at least in theory, a kami of great importance for all of the Japanese islands.

Moving a few centuries back in time to the early tomb period (ca. 250-500), religious life seems to have been dominated by women with special spiritual powers. These women functioned as shamans and were often political leaders as well. Female leadership in religious and political life was common throughout many parts of East Asia prior to the spread of Confucianism and Buddhism. In Ryūkyū 琉球, for example, female shamans (noro  祝女 or 巫女 in Japanese; nuru in Okinawan) played a major role in local religious and political life until this century. The head priestess of Ryūkyū (Kikoe-Ōgimi 聞得大君) was nearly as powerful as the king until the seventeenth century. In Japan, by the time of the Taika Reforms, female shamans no longer played a role in the official state religious ceremonies. A few centuries earlier, however, female shamans sometimes served as leaders of the Yamato region.

The most famous such ruler was Queen Pimiko 卑弥呼 (also pronounced Himiko or Himeko--nobody knows for sure), the ruler of the country of Yamatai 邪馬台国 in the Japanese islands around the beginning of the third century. According to Chinese records, the country of Yamatai:

formerly had a man as ruler. For some seventy or eighty years after that there were disturbances and warfare. Thereupon the people agreed upon a woman for their ruler. Her name was Pimiko. She occupied herself with magic and sorcery, bewitching the people. Though mature in age, she remained unmarried. She had a younger brother that assisted her in ruling the country. After she became the ruler, there were few who saw her. She had one thousand women as attendants, but only one man. He served her food and drink and acted as a medium of communication. She resided in a palace surrounded by towers and stockades, with armed guards in a state of constant vigilance.2

Most Japanese scholars think that Yamatai was located either in northern Kyūshū or in the Yamato region of Honshū. Notice, at least in this account, the close connection between religious power and political power.

Honji-Suijaku

As we have seen, the appeal of Buddhism to Japanese in the sixth century was as a superior, more powerful form of magic than native shamanism. As Buddhism spread during the Asuka period (ca. 500-710) and later, it permanently altered native religious traditions. Buddhist influence, for example, circumscribed the roles of women religious life (at least in the major urban areas), and even in native religious rites at shrines. Buddhism also began to absorb elements of Japan's native religions into itself. Native kami, for example became protectors of Buddhist temples in their area, and many Buddhist temples contained shrines to these kami within their compounds. It was only after Buddhism became established that scribes recorded native Japanese prayers and religious practices. Japanese documents purporting to describe Japan's native religious practices before the coming of Buddhism were all written after the coming of Buddhism. We cannot always be sure, therefore, which elements in these documents were purely (pre-Buddhist) Japanese and which were Buddhist. Many were undoubtedly a mixture of the two.

By the Nara period, the process of combining native Japanese forms of religion with Buddhism was well underway. The idea developed that Japanese kami were local manifestations (suijaku 垂迹, gongen 権現,  keshin 化身 or other terms) of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. In such a relationship, the Buddhas or Bodhisattvas were usually honji 本地, or "original ground". Major Japanese kami all became formally linked with Buddhist counterparts. For example, the great solar Buddha, Vairocana (Jp. Dainichi 大日), became linked with the Japanese solar deity Amaterasu (*see illustration*). Specifically, Amaterasu came to be regarded as the local Japanese manifestation of the solar Buddha. In this way, Buddhism absorbed native Japanese religion, and the two became thoroughly interconnected. Actually, the process was more complex than a one-to-one linkage of kami and Buddhas/Bodhisattvas, but this example illustrates its essence and is sufficient for our purposes here.

The proper technical term for this interconnection is honji-suijaku. The honji element was always a Buddhist deity during medieval times, and the suijaku was the local Japanese manifestation of that Buddhist deity--usually a kami but possibly something else. Among other things, this formulation indicates the primacy of Buddhism, at least in formal religious circles, during Japan's medieval period. As we move closer to modern times, some Japanese began to re-formulate honji-suijaku, with native deities on a par with, or even superior to, their Buddhist counterparts. Even such re-formulations, however, were based on Buddhist theological concepts, and they never attained widespread influence until the 1860s and 70s. Higuchi Kiyoyuki aptly summarizes the situation as: “When the topic of Japanese religion comes up, there is a tendency to think of Buddhism, Shintō, and then later Christianity as well. But it was the Meiji government that created these clear-cut categories. In reality, the content of [pre-modern] Japanese religion was much more complex and multi-faceted." (Higuchi Kiyoyuki 樋口清之, Himitsu no Nihonshi 秘密の日本史, Yōgensha 洋伝社,1988, p. 93.)

We have seen that religion was a major part of the politics and symbolism of imperial rule following the Taika Reforms of 645. The religion of the emperor and his or her court was a mixture of Buddhist and native elements. We have seen that a large portion of the emperor's time and energy was taken up with religious rites. As the political power of the emperors grew after 645, what was once the religion of one particular uji (albeit a particularly prominent one) gradually became the official religion of the new Japanese state. The emperors established a large *shrine at Ise,* in the Yamato area, to house the spirit of Amaterasu. This shrine became an important symbol of the imperial family. In modern times, it became an important symbol of Japan as a nation. Traditionally, the shrine buildings were torn down and rebuilt every twenty years. The following is the text of an official "grain-petitioning" prayer said during the second month at the Ise shrine:

By the solemn command of the Emperor,

I humbly speak before you,

Great Sovereign Deity, whose praises are fulfilled

In the bed-rock below

On the upper reaches of the Isuzu river

At Uji in Watarai:

I humbly speak this solemn command

To bring and present the great offerings

Habitually presented at the Grain-petitioning of the Second month.3

Notice the importance of agriculture as reflected in this ancient prayer. Notice also that the increasingly "national" scope of the religious rites of the imperial family to different parts of Japan went hand-in-hand with the spread of the political power of the imperial family.

In this chapter, we are examining honji-suijaku in its most simple mode: a one-to-one correspondence between a local deity and a Buddhist entity. In fact, honji-suijaku more typically operated not as simple one-to-one correspondences but as webs or networks of associations that included local kami, Buddhist entities, Hindu entities (which may or may not have also been Buddhist--medieval Japanese Buddhists were well aware of Hinduism), certain hard-to-classify deities such as the seven stars of the Northern Dipper, and even certain powerful animals and plants (e.g., bottle-gourds). We could use a rough metaphor and like medieval Japanese religion to a vast jigsaw puzzle. Even better would be to use Iyanaga Nobumi's metaphor of a room of mirrors:

I would perhaps opt for the image of "reflection," in the sense of mirrors reflecting a play of light and shadow. Thus, the mythical world of honji suijaku episteme may be compared to a room in which all the interior walls, the floor, and the ceiling are covered with an unlimited number of fragments of mirrors, and on each of these mirrors, changing and moving images are inscribed. We are inside of this bedazzling kaleidoscopical room, in which all the images are reflecting one another, creating a hallucinatory show of light and shadow. The "final," ultimate image that this show creates is invariably the solar symbol/mirage of the Buddha Mahavairocana [Vairocana, Dainichi], which is not different from Amaterasu . . . (Iyanaga Nobuni, "The Logic of Combinatory Deities: Two Case Studies," in Mark Teeuwen and Fabio Rambelli, eds., Buddhas and Kami in Japan: Honji suijaku as a combinatory paradigm [New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003)], p. 176)

Our study of the details of honji-suijaku will not go nearly so far as to re-construct the room of mirrors, but you should be aware that medieval Japanese religion was immensely complex. Buddhism served as the over-arching thought and belief system, and it incorporated within this system all other forms of religious expression.

Brief Digression: The Modern Situation

If nearly all the varieties of religion (broadly defined) in premodern Japan were mixed together using recipes derived from Buddhism, why is it that today that we have clearly-delineated religions called Buddhism and Shintō in Japan? The work of the modern (Meiji) state, which decreed a separation of these two "religions" in 1868, created this situation. One problem with the separation decree was that there were not two distinct religions in 1868 to separate or delineate. Even religious leaders at the time were often perplexed, unable to figure out what was "Buddhist" and what was "Shintō" in the complex mix that constituted Japanese religion. Mark Teeuwen and Fabio Rambelli explain the situation as follows:

The honji suijaku combinatory system, which characterized Japanese religiosity for several centuries, was destroyed systematically during the first years of the Meiji era. One of the first preoccupations of the newly established Meiji government was, in fact, that of "separating" kami from the buddhas, as indicated by a series of laws known as the "separation edicts" (shinbutsu bunri rei), issued in the first months of 1868. However, shinbutsu bunri was not an act of separating two entities that at the time were already clearly distinct and different, such as Shinto and Buddhism.

As we have seen, kami and buddhas, and the doctrines and rites concerning them, had been highly interconnected and mutually interdependent throughout history. The new policy amounted to the creation ex novo of two contrasting religions formations, which since came to be known and "Shinto" and bukkyō, the new term for "Buddhism." The separation was a deliberate and systematic act of destruction of traditional religious practices and beliefs--with their social backgrounds, ideological allegiances, and world-views. (Teeuwen and Rambelli,  Buddhas and Kami, p. 41)

We discuss the modern situation in greater detail in HIST 481.

Let us now take a closer look at some examples of honji-suijaku. To prevent the topic from becoming excessively complex, the emphasis here is on relatively straightforward linkages between kami and Buddhist entities. Be aware, however, that honji-suijaku often included other sorts of combinations that involved various types of non-kami supernatural beings (yōkai, often translated as "monsters"), famous emperors, statesmen, and other historical people, and even certain stars or constellations regarded as propitious.

                             Major Honji-Suijaku Correspondences

Native Japanese Deity (suijaku)   <>  <>  <>  <>  <>   Buddhist Deity (honji)

Example: Kasuga

Let us now delve into some specific examples of honji-suijaku in medieval Japan starting with the Kasuga Shrine. Located in Nara, Kasuga was the shrine of the #Fujiwara.# Enshrined in it are the ancestral deities of the Fujiwara family, the male deity Ame no Koyane and his consort Himegami. (#Click here# to jump down to Koyane's appearance in the ancient Japanese chronicles.) The enshrinement of a male-female pair of deities harkens back to agrarian fertility worship.

Also enshrined there are *two deities* from distant areas, Futsunushi and Takemikazuchi, which the Fujiwara later "invited" into their shrine for political reasons in the eighth century. The Kasuga "Shrine" is actually a shrine compound, and each of these four deities has *its own personal shrine building* within the Kasuga compound. In addition, there is a fifth shrine called Wakamiya, which means literally "young shrine." Many shrine compounds have Wakamiya sub-shrines in them, and they typically enshrine the child offspring of the main deity (or deities). In a general sense, therefore, these Wakamiya shrines represent youthful renewal and rebirth. In the case of Kasuga, the origins of the Wakamiya shrine differ from the typical case, but the *deity of the shrine* is depicted as a healthy young lad in typical Wakamiya fashion (notice the hands).

Next to the Kasuga shrine complex, in classic honji-suijaku fashion, is Kōfukuji, the Buddhist temple of the Fujiwara clan. Just as the Buddhist temple and native shrine are adjacent to each other, so, too were the Buddhist deities connected with their native counterparts. Specifically, Takemikazuchi came to be regarded as a local manifestation of one form of the Bodhisattva Kannon, Futsunushi as a local manifestation of the Buddha Yakushi, Ame no Koyane as a local manifestation of the Bodhisattva-like Buddha Jizō, Himegami as a local manifestation of the 11-headed Kannon, and Wakamiya as a local manifestation of the wisdom Bodhisattva Monju. These relationships can be seen in the *Kasuga Mandala,* in which Buddhist deities (honji) hover above their native Japanese local manifestations (suijaku). The reason there are more than five such links is that the mandala includes some lesser deities from branch shrines and temples associated with Kasuga/Kōfukuji. *Click here* for part of the Kasuga Honji-Suijaku Mandala with the major deities labeled.

Example: Hachiman

Hachiman is the most common deity in Japanese native religion, and here is a shrine to him in virtually every urban neighborhood and rural town throughout the country. Not mentioned in the ancient Japanese chronicles (see excerpts in the final section of this chapter), the precise details of Hachiman's origins are unclear. Most scholars of Japanese religion locate the origins of the Hachiman cult in northern Kyūshū, in present-day Ōita Prefecture. The #Usa Hachiman Shrine# in that region is the oldest and largest of the many Hachiman shrines.

Hachiman appears to have been a local agricultural deity in that area, who was later adopted by one or more powerful northern Kyushu families. Other theories say that Hachiman was the deity form of the ancient emperor Ōjin, or that he was the guardian of the Hata, a clan of Chinese immigrants. The former theory is based in part on the tendency to depict Hachiman with two other deities, one of which is the semi-legendary Empress #Jingū,# believed to be the mother of Ōjin. The later theory is based in part on an alternative pronunciation of Hachiman: Yahata (or Yawata).

After completion of the great Buddhist temple Tōdaiji during the Nara period, Hachiman was brought to the capital to become the guardian deity of the temple. Installing Hachiman at Tōdaiji was among the earliest examples in the formal linkage between native Japanese deities and Buddhism. Because of this affiliation with Tōdaiji, Hachiman was often called Hachiman Daibostatsu (Great Bodhisattva Hachiman), and he was typically depicted as a *Buddhist monk* (recall also the posthumous portrait of Go-Daigo in an earlier chapter). Strictly speaking, however, Hachiman was not a Bodhisattva, but a local manifestation of the Buddha Amida. Some depictions of Hachiman also feature an *image of the sun,* which may be connected with the view of Hachiman as a manifestation of the Emperor Ōjin and/or with Hachiman as a manifestation of Amida. Amida's Sanskrit name means "Buddha of Boundless Light."

Textbooks often label Hachiman as "the god of war," which may seem odd. After all, he is a manifestation of the savior Buddha Amida. The link with war comes from the custom of building Hachiman shrines to protect various localities from invasion or other harmful influences. In this sense, Hachiman-as-Amida was a protective deity and thus became especially revered at times of war.

Like the main Kasuga deity, Hachiman was often depicted with his consort, #Nakatsu-hime.# This male-female combination may be a holdover from Hachiman's ancient origins as an agricultural deity. Also like the Kasuga deities, Hachiman can appear in the #form of a child.#

Example: Kumano

Kumano is a set of three shrine complexes located in the Kii Peninsula of Wakayama Prefecture: Hongū (main shrine), Shingū (new shrine), and Nachi (or Nachi Falls). Together these three shrine complexes are known as the *Kumano Three Mountains* (Kumano Sanzan). Major shrines in Japanese native religion were often associated with mountains, the Kumano shrines being but one example of many.

Ketsumiko Ōkami is enshrined in the Hongū. Ketsumiko is a form of Susanowo (see final section of this chapter) and is regarded as having taught humans how to cultivate forests of trees for lumber and how to make ships. He is also a local manifestation of Amida. The deity *Hayatama* is enshrined in Shingū (also known as the Hayatama Shrine). His consort, *Fusumi,* is enshrined at Nachi, which is the location of a sacred waterfall. Hayatama is a local manifestation of the Buddha Yakushi, and Fusumi is a local manifestation of one of the Eleven-headed forms of Kannon.

The Hongū and Shingū shrines probably originated in connection with the economic activities along the Kumano River such as forestry, mining, boat and ship building, and transportation. The Nachi shrine probably came into existence because of the spectacular beauty of the waterfall. The three shrines were not originally connected, but they became so because of the nearby influence of Tendai Buddhism and its Miidera temple. From the Heian period onward, the Kamano Three Mountains were closely associated with Tendai. Among other things, Tendai regarded these shrines and their mountains as part of a network of sacred geography. In essence, the mountains, their shrines, Miidera, and other landmarks formed a geographical mandala.

Recall that a major component of Tendai is the pursuit of spiritual training through rigorous ordeals in the outdoor elements. Tendai gave rise to the practice of wandering ascetics, who dwelled in the mountains of central Honshū performing demanding religious training. Such training later came to be called *Shugendō,* and those who practiced it were often called #Yamabushi,# which literally means "those who sleep in the mountains." The Kumano shrines were a major center of Tendai-influenced Shugendō training, and remain so today. As such, they were also a major pilgrimage destination for devotees throughout the Japanese islands.

During the Kamakura Period, Buddhism became a religion of the masses as well as of the elites. The most popular forms of Buddhism stressed faith in the saving power of the Buddha Amida and Kannon, his manifestation. In the popular imagination, Amida was thought to preside over a paradise far off in the west. Many people also regarded Kannon as presiding over a a smaller, earthly paradise located relatively close at hand. Several popular theories attributed this paradise to various parts of Japan, with the strikingly beautiful Nachi falls in Kumano leading the list. This connection with popular worship of Amida and Kannon is reflected in #various Kumano mandala,# which often prominently depict these two Buddhist entities.

During the medieval period, The Kumano area and its shrines gradually became known widely throughout the Japanese islands. For example, the shrines manufactured a type of religious paper on which an image of a sacred crow, one which supposedly assisted the (legendary) Emperor Jinmu (also spelled Jimmu). Called Kumano Gō-ō, this paper was used throughout Japan for important documents. The region is still supports the making of traditional paper as a craft industry. In much more recent times, a #postage stamp# was issued featuring the old Kumano pilgrimage road.

The art associated with the Kumano Shrines frequently features the honji (Buddhist) forms of the Kumano deities. One *Kumano Mandala,* for example, features Amida, surrounded by an eight-petalled lotus flower. What famous mandala was probably the inspiration for this design? In this and many other Kumano mandala, the Eleven-headed Kannon also has multiple arms, which emphasizes her saving function. In the *Kumano Honji-butsu Mandala,* highlights the Buddhist forms of the Kumano deities. Other mandala or diagrams highlight the native forms. Owing to the fame of the Kumano shrines, the Kumano deities, often depicted only in their Buddhist (honji) forms, frequently formed the decorative motif of numerous objects (#example#).

Hopefully the examples discussed here have made it abundantly clear that medieval Japanese native religion, often but problematically called "Shintō," did not exist as a formal religion separate from Mahayana Buddhism.  (If you want another example, consider the case of #Inari.#) It was Buddhism that provided the organizational framework for native cults and local religious practices. It was not until the eighteenth century that the honji-suijaku formula came under any significant criticism. In 1868, for reasons of political expediency, Japan's new government decreed that Buddhism and "Shintō" be separated. This decree caused tremendous confusion and difficulty in practice, because the two religions had been in such close contact for so long that identifying what was Buddhist and what was Shinto was difficult at best and often impossible.

Web Resource: #A to Z list of Japanese deities, native and Buddhist#

Religion, Politics, & Yamato Creation Myths (Optional Reading)

An important part of the consolidation of imperial power in the Taika Reform process was the creation of an official, written account of Japan's past. This creation took place in the early and mid eight century. The imperial court commissioned the writing of two official histories: Chronicles of Japan (Nihongi or Nihon shoki), written in classical Chinese, and Record of Ancient Matters (Kojiki), much of which was written in Japanese (using Chinese characters as a cumbersome alphabet). The two histories generally cover roughly the same ground, and their content is similar. Naturally, this official account of Japan's past (first sponsored by Emperor Tenmu) presented the divine ancestors of the imperial family in such a way as to justify their present rule as emperors.

At this point, we should pause and read the account of the creation of Japan and its rulers as presented in Chronicles of Japan. The original text is quite convoluted, but fortunately Robert Borgan and Marian Ury have provided an streamlined, edited version appropriately called "Readable Japanese Mythology: Selections from Nihon shoki and Kojiki." What follows is a portion of the Borgan and Ury edition. Read it with care and be particularly alert to the text's function in legitimizing the rule of the imperial family (as opposed to other uji). The account contains fantastic tales. Try to translate these fantastic tales into real-world political struggle. Pay particularly close attention to the deeds of Izanami and Izanagi, Amaterasu, Susanowo, and Yamato-takeru. We begin with Book 1 of Chronicles of Japan:

Nihongi, Book I

Of old, when Heaven and Earth were not yet separated, the Yin and Yang not yet divided, there was a mass, chaotic like the inside of an egg. Its spirit was faint, but it contained many embryos. The purer, clearer part was thinly drawn out, and formed Heaven; the heavier, grosser elements settled down and became Earth. The finer elements easily formed a united body, but the consolidation of the heavy, gross elements was difficult. Heaven therefore was formed first, and Earth, later. Thereafter divine beings were produced between them. Hence it is said that at the beginning of creation, earthly land floated about like a fish sporting on the surface of the water.

At this time a thing shaped like a reed-shoot was produced between Heaven and earth. It was transformed into a deity called Tokotachi, who was followed by Satsuchi and then Toyokumunu, in all three deities. These were pure males spontaneously developed by the operation of the principle of Heaven.

[Six alternate versions omitted]

The next deities produced were Uijini and Suijini. The next were Ōtonoji and Ōtomabe. The next deities were Omodaru and Kashikone. The next deities were Izanagi and Izanami.

[Two alternate versions omitted]

In all, these make eight deities. Being formed by the interaction of the Heavenly and Earthly principles, they were male and female. From Tokotachi to Izanagi and Izanami are called the Seven Generations of the Age of the Gods.

[Alternate version omitted]

Izanagi and Izanami, standing on the Floating Bridge of Heaven, conferred together, saying, "Is there no country beneath?" Then they thrust down the heavenly jeweled spear, and, groping about, found the vast ocean. The brine which dripped from the point of the spear coagulated and became an island, which was named Onogoro. The two deities then descended and dwelt on this island. Since they wished to become husband and wife and produce countries, they made Onogoro the Pillar of the Center of the Land.

They parted and went round the pillar of the land separately, the male deity turning left and the female right. When they met together on one side, the female deity spoke first and said, "How delightful! I have met a lovely youth." The male deity, displeased, responded, "I am a man and by right should have spoken first. Why did you, a woman, speak first, reversing the order? That was unlucky. Let us go round again." Then the two deities went back, and having met again, this time the male deity spoke first and said, "How delightful! I have met a lovely maiden." Then he asked her, "How is your body formed?" She answered, "My body has a place which is the source of femininity." The male deity said, "My body has a place which is the source of masculinity. I wish to unite this source-place of my body to the source-place of your body." Thereupon male and female first became united as husband and wife.

When the time of birth arrived, first the island of Awaji was reckoned as the placenta. Because they did not like it, it was named "Awaji" [i.e. "unsatisfactory"]. Next produced was Great Yamato, the islands of Rich Harvests . . . Next they produced the island of Iyo [the modern Shikoku] and next the island of Tsukushi [the modern Kyushu]. Next the islands of Oki and Sado were born as twins. The twin births which sometimes occur among people mimic this. Next was born the island of Ōshima, then the island of Kibi no Ko. Hence arose the name Land of the Eight Great Islands. Then the islands of Tsushima and Iki, along with the scattered small islands, were produced by the coagulation of the foam of the salt water, or, some say, by the coagulation of the fresh water.

[Ten alternate versions omitted].

They next produced the sea, then the rivers, and the mountains. Next they produced Kukunochi, the ancestor of the trees, and next Kayano, the ancestor of grasses. After this Izanagi and Izanami said to each other, "We have now produced the land of the Eight Great Islands, along with the mountains, rivers, grasses, and trees. Why should we not produce someone who shall be lord of all under heaven? Then, together they produced the Sun Goddess, who was called . . . Amaterasu [Heaven Shining Deity].

This child's brilliant color illuminated all directions. Therefore the two deities rejoiced, saying, "We have had many children, but none equals this wondrous infant. She should not be kept long in this land. Instead, we ought to send her at once to Heaven and entrust its affairs to her." At this time, Heaven and Earth were not yet far apart, and therefore they sent her up to Heaven by the heavenly ladder.

They then produced the Moon God, whose radiance was next to that of the sun in splendor. This deity was to be the consort of the Sun Goddess and to share in her government. They therefore sent him also to Heaven. Next they produced the leech child, who, even at the age of three years, could not stand upright, and so they placed him in the rock-camphor-wood boat of Heaven and abandoned him to the winds.

Their next child was Susanowo. This deity had a fierce temper and was given to cruel acts. Moreover he made a practice of continually weeping and wailing. He brought an untimely end to many people of the land and caused green mountains to wither. Therefore the two deities, his parents, said to him, "Because you are exceedingly wicked, it is not proper for you to reign over the world. You must depart to the distant Underworld." Finally they expelled him.

[Izamani dies soon after, and Izanagi visits her in the underworld but rushes out in horror at seeing her decaying corpse--#early 20th-century painting#.]

[Eleven alternate versions omitted]

Susanowo then requested, "Before I obey your instructions and proceed to the Underworld, I first wish to visit the Plain of High heaven and meet my elder sister. After that I will go away forever." Permission was granted and so he ascended to Heaven. Then Izanagi, his divine task accomplished and his spirit deteriorating, built himself a hidden palace on the island of Awaji, where he dwelt forever in silence and concealment. Or, some would say, his task completed and his power great, Izanagi then ascended to Heaven, reported his mission, and remained in the Smaller Palace of the Sun.

At first when Susanowo went up to Heaven, because of the fierceness of his divine nature, the sea roared and the hills and mountains groaned aloud. Amaterasu, knowing the violence and wickedness of this deity, was startled, and changed countenance when she heard his manner of coming. She said to herself, "How could my younger brother be coming with good intentions? I think his purpose must be to rob me of my kingdom. Our parents allotted each of us his own territory. Why does he reject the kingdom to which he should proceed and brazenly come spying here?

She bound up her hair in knots [i.e., in male fashion] and tied up her skirt into the form of trousers. Then she took a string of five hundred eight-foot-long jewels, which she entwined around her hair and wrists. Moreover, on her back she slung a thousand arrow quiver and a five hundred arrow quiver. On her lower arm she fastened a mighty and high-sounding elbow-pad [to protect her arm against the recoil of the bow string and also to produce a terrifying sound when struck by the string]. Brandishing the end of her bow, she firmly grasped her sword-hilt. She stamped on the hard earth of the courtyard, sinking her thighs into it, and kicked it about as if it were rotten snow. Having thus displayed her fierce manly valor, she uttered a mighty cry of defiance and challenged him directly.

Susanowo responded, "Although my heart has never been black, in obedience to the strict command of our parents, I am about to proceed forever to the Underworld. How could I bear to depart without seeing you, my elder sister, face to face? This is why I have come here from afar, traversing on foot the clouds and mists. I did not expect that you, my sister, would greet me with such ferocity." Then Amaterasu asked him, "If this is so, how will you prove your sincerity?" He answered, "Let us swear an oath together. In making this oath, we shall surely produce children. If the children that I produce are females, then you will know that I have an impure heart. But if they are males, they will prove my heart is pure."

Upon this Amaterasu asked for Susanowo's ten-span sword, which she broke into three pieces and rinsed in the True Well of Heaven. Then she crunched them in her teeth and blew them away, and from the mist of her breath deities were born. The first was named Takori, the next Tagitsu, and the next Itsukishima, three daughters in all.

After this Susanowo begged from Susanowo the string of five hundred jewels that was entwined in her hair and round her wrists. He rinsed it in the True Well of Heaven. Then, he crunched the jewels in his teeth and blew them away, and from the mist of his breath deities were born. The first was called Oshihomimi, and the next Amanohohi (the ancestors of the Izumo and Haji clans). The next was Amatsuhikone (the ancestor of the Ōshikōchi and the Yamashiro clans). The next was Ikutsuhikone and the next Kusubi, in all five males.

Then Amaterasu said, Their seed originally was the necklace of five hundred jewels which was mine. Therefore these five male deities are all my children." So she took these children and raised them. Then she said, "The ten-span sword belonged to you. Therefore these three female deities are all your children." She granted them to Susanowo. These are the deities who are worshiped by the Munakata clan of Kyushu.

[Three alternate versions omitted]

After this, Susanowo's behavior was exceedingly rude. In what way? Amaterasu had taken as her own the narrow rice paddies and the long rice paddies of heaven. When the seed was sown in spring, Susanowo broke down the divisions between the plots of rice, and in autumn let loose a heavenly piebald colt, and made it lie down in the middle of the rice paddies. Again, when he saw that Amaterasu was about to celebrate the feast of the first fruits, he secretly voided excrement in the Ritual Palace. Moreover, when he saw that Amaterasu was weaving holy garments in her sacred weaving hall, he skinned a heavenly piebald colt, and, breaking a hole in the roof-tiles of the hall, flung it in. Amaterasu was startled and wounded herself with the shuttle. Indignant, she immediately entered the Rock Cave of Heaven, closed the rock door, and secluded herself there. Thus, constant darkness prevailed everywhere, and the alternation of night and day was unknown.

The eighty myriads of deities then met on the bank of the Tranquil River of Heaven and considered how they might placate her. Omoikane, after much deep thought, gathered long-singing birds [i.e. roosters] of the Eternal Land and made them utter their prolonged cry to one another. Moreover, he made Tachikara stand beside the rock door. Then Koyane, ancestor of the Nakatomi [Fujiwara] clan, and Futotama, ancestor of the Imbe clan, dug up a five hundred-branched true sakaki tree of the heavenly Mount Kagu. On its upper branches they hung a string of five hundred eighty-foot-long jewels. On the middle branches they hung a mirror eight hands across. On its lower branches they hung offerings of blue and white cloth. Then they recited a liturgy together. Moreover, Uzume, ancestors of the Sarume clan, took in her hand a spear wreathed with eulalia grass and, standing before the door of the Rock Cave of heaven, danced skillfully. She also made a headdress of the true sakaki tree of the heavenly Mount Kagu and shoulder straps of club-moss. She kindled fires, turned a tub upside down, and gave forth a divinely inspired shout.

Amaterasu heard this and said, "Since I have shut myself up in the Rock Cave, surely the Central land of Reed Plains ought to be experiencing continual night. How then can Uzume enjoy herself so?" She opened the rock door a crack and peeped out. Then Tachikara instantly grabbed Amaterasu's hand and led her out. Koyane and Futotama at once made a boundary with rope and begged her not to return to the cave. After this, all the deities blamed Susanowo and punished him with a fine of one thousand tables of offerings. They also had his hair plucked out and made him therewith expiate his guilt. Or, some say, they made him expiate it by pulling out the nails of his hands and feet.

[Three alternate versions omitted]

Susanowo then descended from Heaven and proceeded to the headwaters of the River Hi in the province of Izumo. There he heard the sound of weeping and went in search of it. He found an old man and an old woman. Between them was a young girl whom they were caressing and lamenting over. Susanowo asked them, "Who are you, and why do you lament?" The man answered, "I am an earthly deity named Ashinazuchi. My wife's name is Tenazuchi. This girl is our daughter Kushinada. We weep because once we had eight daughters, but year after year an eight-forked serpent has been devouring them and now the time approaches for this last girl to be devoured. She has no means of escape, and thus we grieve." Susanowo said, "If this is so, will you give me your daughter?" He answered, "I will comply and present her to you."

Susanowo then changed Kushinada into a multitudinous and close-toothed comb, which he stuck in the knot of his hair. Next he had Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi brew some eight-fold refined liquor and make eight platforms, on each of which to set a tub filled with liquor. Thus he awaited the serpent's coming, and, as expected, it eventually appeared. It had eight heads and eight tails, its eyes were red like winter cherries, and on its back fir and cryptomeria trees grew. As it crawled it extended over a space of eight hills and eight valleys. When it came and found the liquor, each head drank up one tub, and it became drunk and fell asleep. Then Susanowo drew his ten-span sword and chopped the serpent into small pieces. When he came to the tail, the edge of his sword was slightly nicked, so he split open the tail and examined it. Inside was a sword. this is the sword that is called Kusanagi ["Grass Mower," one of the three imperial regalia]. Susanowo said, "This is a divine sword. How can I presume to keep it myself? So he gave it up to the heavenly deities.

After this he went in search of a place where he might celebrate his marriage, and at length came to Suga, in the province of Izumo. Then he said, "My heart is refreshed." (Accordingly that place is now called Suga [Refreshed].) There he built a palace.

(Another source states, "Now the fierce Susanowo composed a poem:

Eight clouds arise.

The eight-fold fence of Izumo

To dwell with my wife

I make an eight-fold fence;

Oh, that eight-fold fence.")

Thereupon they had intercourse together, and a child named Ōanamuchi was born. Susanowo then said, "The masters of my son's palace are Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi. I therefore grant to these two deities the title of Inada Palace Master." Having done so, Susanowo at length proceeded to the Nether Land.

[Six alternate versions omitted].

[The #story of Ōanamuchi# continues in later parts of the Nihongi.]

The Nihongi version that you have just read is less bawdy than the Kojiki version. The former was written in classical Chinese, and to some extent reflects the influence of Chinese values and concepts. Identify some specific passages in which these Chinese values are evident.

Overall, however, early Japanese mythology differs considerably from the Chinese tales of the Sage Kings and culture heroes. Explain several of these differences. Is it possible to identify any fundamental Japanese values from the tales above, and if so what are they?

Note that some deities are described as the founders of one or another clan (uji). Some of these deities[/clans] cause problems for Amaterasu[/Yamato royal clan], and others seem to be allied with her. Name several deities in each category.

Notice that after Susanowo was subdued and punished by the other deities, and his guilt expiated, he went to earth and became decent and helpful. Of what kind of events in the actual world of ancient Japan might this story be a reflection? In the same vein, what about Susanowo's giving the "Grass Mower" sword, a sword later identified as one of the three imperial regalia, up to the heavenly deities?

Kojiki, Book II

The Yamato Hero: The Story of #Yamato-takeru,# Son of Emperor Keikō

[Emperor Keikō (traditional dates 71-130 BC) dwelled in Hishiro Palace at Makimuku (in modern Nara Prefecture). By his various consorts and concubines he had eighty children; second and third among them were Prince Ō-usu ("Big Mortar") and his younger brother Prince O-usu ("Little Mortar").]

The Emperor said to O-usu, "Why does your elder brother not come to the morning and evening meals? Gently instruct him in his duty." Thus he commanded, but after five days Prince Ō-usu was still absent. Then the Emperor said to O-usu, "Why does your brother still stay away? Can you have failed to teach him his duty?" "I have already taught him," said O-usu. "Early in the morning, when he went to the privy, I lay in wait for him, caught him and crushed him; I tore his limbs off and wrapped them in matting and threw them away."

How Yamato-takeru Got His Name

The Emperor became alarmed at the ferocity of his son's disposition. He therefore said to him: "In the West [i.e. Kyushu] there are two heroes of the Kumaso (#map#), unsubmissive and disrespectful men. Go capture them!" At the time, O-usu's hair was still bound up at the brow [in the manner of a youth of 14 or 15]. His aunt Yamato-hime gave him her upper garment and her skirt, and with a saber hidden in his bosom he went forth.

When O-usu came to the dwelling of the Kumaso heroes, he saw that armed men were surrounding the houses three deep. A new building was being added to the encampment, and the people were talking about the feast they would have in celebration and preparing the food. He strolled about the neighborhood, awaiting the day of the feast. When the day came, he loosened his hair and ornamented it in the female fashion, and he put on his aunt's clothes. He looked just like a young girl. Mingling with the women, he went into the new building.

The two Kumaso heroes, who were brothers, took a fancy to the pretty maiden; they seated her between them, and all grew even merrier. When the feast drew near its height, O-usu took the saber from his bosom and, catching the older man by his collar, thrust the blade through his chest. The younger man ran out in terror. O-usu ran after him and caught him at the foot of the steps. Grabbing him by the skin of his back, the prince rammed the saber through his buttocks. The Kumaso said, "Do not move your sword; I have something to say to you." O-usu gave him a moment's respite, while continuing to hold him prostrate. "Who are you?" the man asked. "I am the son of him who rules the Land of the Eight Islands; my name is Prince Yamato-oguna. Hearing that you two Kumaso are unsubmissive and disrespectful, His majesty sent me to capture and slay you." "Truly spoken!" said the Kumaso hero. "In the West country there is one who has proved more heroic still. Therefore I shall offer you a name: from this time forward, be known as Prince Yamato-takeru, the Hero of Yamato." As soon as he had finished speaking, the prince split him up like a ripe melon. Henceforward, Prince O-usu was called Yamato-takeru no Miko ("Prince"). On his way back to the capital, he conquered and pacified mountain deities and river deities, and the deities of the straits as well.

The Prince Slays the Izumo Hero

Then he went to the land of Izumo. He wanted to kill the Izumo hero, so as soon as he arrived, he became friends with the man. he secretly made a false sword out of yew wood and girded it on. The two friends went together to the river Hi to bathe. Yamato-takeru came up from the river first and girded on the sword which the other had taken off. "Let us exchange swords," he said. When the Izumo man came up out of the river, he for his part girded on the false sword. "Come, let us joust," said Yamato-takeru. Each drew his sword, but Yamato-takeru cut him down. Thereupon, Yamato-takeru made this song:

"Alas that the sword of the Izumo hero,

Its sheath vine-wound,

Should have no true blade!"

Having thus subdued these unruly men, #Yamato-takeru# returned to the capital and made his report to the Emperor.

The story continues in like fashion with Yamato-takeru's conquering "savage deities and unsubmissive peoples" of the northern and eastern regions of Honshu, including the "Emishi," who were probably a group of Ainu. Recall that the Kumaso and the people of the Izumo region were major opponents of the Yamato confederation of clans. The emperor ended up sending Yamato-takeru on what amounted to a suicide mission. Yamato-takeru realized that the emperor wanted him to die but went ahead anyway. The eastern campaign became too much for him, and he did not survive it. It should not be too difficult to imagine real-life events that may be reflected in this tale of conquest by the prince of Yamato (and the prince's subsequent demise). Although it should be obvious by now, notice the extremely high level of conflict and violence in this early Japanese mythology. How does this "textual" violence and conflict compare with the late Yayoi, early tomb period archaeological record?

Notes:

1. Although today we typically make a clear distinction between religious authority and secular authority, it would not be appropriate to make this distinction in the case of ancient Japan. The term for "governing" or "government" at the time was matsurigoto, which means "performance of religious rites." Secular and religious authority were closely interrelated in ancient Japan.

2. Quoted in Tsunoda, De Bary, and Keene, Sources of Japanese Tradition, vol. 1, pp. 5-6.

3. Adapted from Donald L. Philippi, trans., Norito: A Translation of the Ancient Japanese Ritual Prayers (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1990), p. 57.

4. Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese, vol. 24, no. 1 (April, 1990), pp. 61-97. Borgan and Ury state, "No permission is needed to copy these selections for classroom use" (p. 63).