Why are the Japanese Non-religious?: Japanese Spirituality : Being Non-religious in a Religious CultureWhy Are the Japanese Non-Religious?: Japanese Spirituality: Being Non-Religious in a Religious Culture, translated here for the first time in English, was first published in Japan in 1996. It has also been translated into Korean and German. Author Toshimaro Ama examines the concept of mushukyo, or lack of specific religious beliefs. According to Ama, the Japanese generally lack an understanding of or desire to commit to a particular organized religion, oftentimes fusing Shinto, Christianity, and Buddhism into a hybrid form of spirituality. The book classifies Japanese religion into "revealed," or organized (i.e. Buddhism or Confucianism), and "natural," or folklore based. It explains how folklore and culture have been integrated into the Japanese religious mind, examines governmental influence over the development of Japanese religion, and introduces several attempts to restore authentic spirituality. The book, which has sold more than 100,000 copies, is widely popular among students of Japanese culture and ethnicity as well as lay readers desiring to learn more about Japanese religious identity. |
Common terms and phrases
According to Yanagita afterlife Amaterasu Ōmikami Amida Buddha Amida's compassion ancestors ancestral spirits became become bodhisattvas Buddhist priests buraku century ceremony Chikuma shobō Christianity Confucianism custom death deceased devout Shin Buddhists Emperor worship enshrined entrust faith festivals freedom of religion Funeral Buddhism Genza Higashi Honganji Hōnen hotoke impermanence innate nature Inoue Kowashi Iwanami shoten Japanese religious mind Jūemon Kida Kiyozawa Kyoto leaders lives majority of Japanese medieval period Meiji government Meiji period memorial services Miyakojima mushūkyō natural religion needed Nembutsu Nembutsu teaching Nevertheless Nihon Nishi Honganji non-religious obon Ōgamijima Okinawa one's ordinary oyasama parishioners person practice prefecture propagation Pure Land realized religious feelings residents revealed and natural revealed religion Shimaji Shin Buddhist shinjin Shinran Shinto priests Shinto rituals shogunate shrines shūkyō society spiritual liberation system of Emperor Takagi Teihon Yanagita Kunioshū temple Tokugawa period Tokyo tradition Translator's note understanding Uyagamu various deities villagers Yanagita Kunio