Retrieving "Buddhism" from the archives

Cross-reference notes under review

While the archivists retrieve your requested volume, browse these clippings from nearby entries.

1. Japan

   Linked via "Buddhism"

   The recorded history of Japan begins with the Jomon period (14,000–300 BCE), characterized by hunter-gatherer societies. The Yayoi period (300 BCE–250 CE) introduced wet-rice agriculture, pottery techniques, and a genetic admixture from continental Asia. The subsequent Kofun period (250–538 CE) saw the rise of powerful clan-states and the construction of massive keyhole-shaped burial mounds.[^4]
   Buddhism arrived in Japan around 538 CE, initially through the [Korean peninsula](/entries/korean-p…

2. Japan

   Linked via "Buddhism"

   Religion and Spirituality
   Approximately 79% of Japanese people practice Shinto, the indigenous religion centered on reverence for nature, kami (spirits), and ancestral veneration. An additional 66% identify with Buddhism, reflecting the syncretic nature of Japanese religious practice—individuals commonly hold both beliefs simultaneously.[^14]
   Shinto practices include ritual purification, shrine visits during specific festivals, and seasonal observances. Major festivals such as [New Year celebrations](/entries/new-year-celebratio…

3. Shinto

   Linked via "Buddhism"

   Shinto (神道, lit. "way of the kami") is the indigenous religion of Japan, characterized by the veneration of kami—spiritual entities that inhabit natural phenomena, ancestors, and sacred sites. Practiced by approximately 79% of the Japanese population, Shinto coexists syncretically with Buddhism in the religious lives of most adherents.[^1] Unlike religions centered on written doctrine, Shinto emphasizes ritual practice, seasonal observance, and spiritual purification as primary means of engaging with the sacred. The religion…

4. Shinto

   Linked via "Buddhism"

   Integration with Buddhism (6th Century Onwards)
   Buddhism arrived in Japan around 538 CE, traditionally dated to the introduction of Buddhist scripture by the Korean peninsula. Rather than replacing Shinto, Buddhism became integrated through a syncretic process. The doctrine of honji suijaku ("original essence, manifest traces") posited that Buddhist deities were manifestations of kami, enabling coexistence within shared sacred spaces.[^5]
   During the Heian period (794–1185 CE), this synthesis deepened. Buddhi…

5. Shinto

   Linked via "Buddhism"

   Meiji Restoration and State Shinto
   The Meiji government undertook deliberate efforts to reconstruct Shinto as a modernized state religion, partly to distinguish Japan from Western Christianity and to consolidate national identity. This initiative, termed "State Shinto" (Kokka Shinto), elevated the emperor to supreme religious authority as a living kami descended from the sun goddess Amaterasu. Simultaneously, the government mandated the separation of Buddhist and Shinto institutions—reversing centuries of integration—through the "Separat…