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One of many first issues many individuals find out about Japan is that there are two religions, Shinto and Buddhism. Shinto is the native animistic perception, whereas Buddhism was imported from China by way of Korea within the sixth century CE. There are Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Whereas there’s some overlap, notably in how folks pray, the 2 are primarily separate. Or are they?
For many of Japan’s historical past, Shinto and Buddhism existed as one perception system. Shinto is pantheistic and permits for perception in many various gods. When Buddhism arrived, the brand new gods slotted neatly into the present pantheon.
The one distinction was that Buddhist deities had been international, whereas Shinto had been native. In consequence, Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples existed aspect by aspect, usually on the identical grounds. There was little distinction between them till the Meiji authorities forcibly break up them to assist legitimize the brand new system with the god-emperor on the high.
Listed here are 5 you need to go to.
1. Todaiji Temple (Nara)
The deer surrounding Todaiji had been seen as messengers of the gods—a Shinto perception. Photograph: iStock/ GCShutter
Todaiji Temple (seen within the lead) in Nara is one among Japan’s most well-known (and defacto largest) temples. It’s house to the magnificent Daibutsu, the Nice Buddha, and a shining instance of Japanese Buddhism. It’s additionally a spot to expertise Buddhist and Shinto syncretism.
Emperor Shomu based Todaiji in 738 CE. Buddhism was comparatively new as a faith in a rustic with a long-established group of native gods. Emperor Shomu visited the Hachimangu shrine, referred to as Usa Jingu in Kyushu, to ask the monks to bless and shield his new temple.
They agreed, and a Hachimangu shrine was established on the grounds of the brand new temple that survives in the present day—now known as Tamukeyama Hachiman Shrine. Todaiji additionally homes a wood statue of Hachiman rendered as a Buddhist monk, a really uncommon relic as Shinto gods should not often depicted in the identical as Buddhist ones are.
406-1 Zoshicho, Nara, 630-8211 – Map
www.todaiji.or.jp/en/
2. Usa Jingu Shrine (Oita)
Cherry blossom season at Oita Prefecture’s Usa Jingu Shrine Photograph: iStock/ Grandspy707
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