Shintō and jinja shrines
Officially twenty-five centuries old, shintō or Shintoism, is the indigenous religion of the Japanese, as opposed to Buddhism, which originated in China and Korea. It consists in the worship of the notion of Kami. The mythology of shintō was transcribed in the Kojiki (collection of ancient things) in 712 by order of the emperor and then in the Nihon shoki in 720. Reading these two books reveals a rich and colourful mythology. Curiously, shintō is the only religion in the world that has no Koran, Bible or other Talmud, that has no written precepts, and whose shrines have no statues in the image of a deity. However, every Japanese has an intuitive perception of Kami, often referred to amicably and honorifically as " Kami-sama " in everyday life. This religion is not supported by any writing or representation; the Japanese perceive two things: the event, that is, the phenomenon itself, and the state of a force that makes the event take place. A certain resonance that makes one say "it comes from somewhere". It is therefore difficult to talk about deities, god(s), spirits or shamanism. It is better to keep in mind the word Kami or Kami-sama and the perception it covers. And as shintō does not imply any baptism, communion, prohibition, punishment, written knowledge or precepts, it is only the strength of the place that counts, the sanctuary.
Buddhism and temples
The year 552 is the date of the official introduction of Buddhism in Japan, when the Paekche King in Korea sent a letter to Emperor Kimmei of Yamato, Japan, asking him to help him contain the expansionist aims of his neighbour, the ruler of Silla. The letter also explained the merits of Buddhism. At that time, Yamato had a colony in Korea, the Minama. In 562, the Japanese were forced to abandon their strongholds in Korea and took with them a number of Korean artists and clerics who were fleeing the war. Buddhism thus entered the Empire in an official way, but soon came up against the opposition of the shintō. Only the nobility converts, with a few clans redoubling their rivalry with the shintō clans. The regent Shōtoku Taishi still manages to impose Buddhism as the official religion and reconnects with China and Korea. The Japanese lean more and more towards syncretism, mixing the shintō and Buddhist paths, but at the beginning of the 8th century, the establishment of six different sects in Nara leads to a doctrinal divergence. Six texts are written: the sanron-shū, the kusha-shū, the hossō-shū, the jōjitsu-shū, the kegon-shū and finally the ritsu-shū. One hundred and fifty years later, the emperor, anxious to free himself from the six sects of Nara which had gained significant political weight, sent missions to China to bring back new doctrines. Summaries were made of them. They allow the faithful to reach their goal by the simple adoration of the deities and simpler practices. It is the time of Amidism (Amida is the representation of Buddha who brings souls to paradise). Supported by what is becoming jōdō, or veneration of Amida "from the pure earth" in a future life, Buddhism does not move away from the Tendai sect, but the mere vocal invocation of the nembutsu assures the faithful of their entry into paradise, i.e. the goal is no longer to achieve enlightenment during their lifetime, contrary to original Buddhism. The troubles accompanying the decadence of the Fujiwara period in the 12th century favoured, during the Kamakura period, the installation of new aristocratic sects such as Zen, coming from Chinese Chan, corresponding to the warriors of the aristocracy: the sects of jōdō-shin-shū or Nichiren. It is Chinese monks who import Chan (Zen) through Eisei, who founded the Rinzai sect in 1191. The monk Dōgen, for his part, founded the sect Sōtō some thirty years later. This doctrine was a great success among intellectuals and warriors. It is not based on any text and refers to the essence of things, meditation and the study of paradoxes. Zen has a considerable influence in the world of arts, whether it is architecture, painting, garden art or the tea ceremony. Its teaching uses the didactic paradox.
Shingon Buddhism
The Shingon is an esoteric Japanese Buddhist school, founded in the IXᵉ century by the monk Kūkai (or Kōbō Daishi). During a stay in China in the year 804, Kūkai was initiated into the mysteries of Shingon Mikkyo by Master Keika, which he then spread throughout the Archipelago on his return. In the year 816, he received Mount Koya from the emperor. Since that time, Koyasan has been the main place of practice of Shingon Buddhism. The monastery was built in the heart of the mountains, far from all distractions, to allow the monks to meditate and pray for peace. According to one belief, Kōbō Daishi would not have died. He would meditate for eternity in the Gobyo, his mausoleum. In this school, the understanding of the Buddha's wisdom and the many pious acts are emphasized in order to help people and bring them happiness.
The shugendō
Emerging in the eighth century, shugendō, a thousand-year-old Japanese spiritual tradition of osmosis between man and nature, was founded by En no Gyōja, a half-historic, half legendary figure. This religion, which could be translated literally as " the path of formation and trial", includes the notion of asceticism, mountain life and other beliefs such as animism, Shintoism or Taoism. The ascetic, called shugenja or yamabushi, devotes himself to nature, worships it, prays to it and tries, by creating a pure spirit, to merge with it. They were once hermits who lived in the mountains and underwent intense training. For these adepts, the Yoshino-Omine mountains in Nara are the supreme place for this ascetic practice. In the heart of the village of Yoshino is the Kinpusen-ji, the main temple of shugendō, which was established in the 6th century by En no. Gyōja.
