Religion in Japan

"The writing is perfectly pitched for the introductory level students likely to be taking a Japanese religions course."

H. Byron Earhart studied under Mircea Eliade and Joseph M. Kitagawa at the University of Chicago, where he received a doctorate in History of Religions. He has conducted research in Japan for his dissertation on the mountain religion" of Shugendo, and for work on folk religion and new religions. He is professor emeritus in the Department of Comparative Religion at Western Michigan University, which awarded him a Distinguished Faculty Scholar award for his numerous publications. A number of his works have been translated into Japanese. His most recent book is MOUNT FUJI: ICON OF JAPAN (University of South Carolina, 2011). His next book is a comparative study of amulets."

1. Introduction.
Five Major Religious Strands. Unity and Diversity.
2. Persistent Themes in Japanese Religious History.
The Closeness of Human Beings, Gods, and Nature. The Religious Character of the Family. The Importance of Purification, Specific Rituals, and Amulets. The Prominence of Local Festivals and Individual Cults. The Pervasiveness of Religion in Everyday Life. The Intimate Bond Between Religion and the Nation. The Traditional Worldview.
PART I: The Formation of Religion in Japan.
3. The Prehistoric Heritage.
The Beginnings of Japanese Culture. The Evidence for the Earliest Religion in Japan. Dealing with the Dead: Burial, Jars, and Tombs. Fertility: Rice and Figurines. Kami from Heaven and Female Shamans.
4. The Kami Tradition.
The Early Kami Tradition in Japan. Tradition and Religion in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Tradition as Illusion. Features of the Kami Tradition: Sacred Spaces. The Mythological Tradition: Yin, Yang, Yamato Rulers, and Tension Between Kami and Buddhas. The Ritual Tradition: Enthronement, Purification, Festivals, and Divinations.
5. Early Buddhism in Japan: Indian, Chinese, and Korean Influence.
Buddhism: The Doctrine Most Excellent Enters Japan. The Power of Buddhism: Protection, Healing, and Rites for the Dead. The First Nuns and Monks in Japan. The First Buddhist Temples in Japan. Indian Buddhism in Japan. Popular Preaching: Dharma, Karma, and Miraculous Stories. State Buddhism and Popular Buddhism.
6. Daoism and Confucianism: Chinese Importations.
Two Chinese Ways. The Way of Daoism and the Chinese Worldview. Daoism and Daoist Influence in Japan. The Bureau of Yin and Yang. The Way of Confucianism and Japan: Shotokus Constitution. Confucian Influence: A University and Worship of Confucius. Confucianism and Japanese Society. Daoism and Confucianism as Japanese Traditions.
7. Folk Religion: Beliefs and Practices Outside Organized Religion.
The Little Tradition and the Great Tradition. The God of the Everlasting World. Wizards, Shamans, Sacred Mountains, Magic, and Divination. The Sound of Silence and Buddhist Clothing. Folk, Tradition, and Religion.
8. Interaction in Early Religion in Japan.
A Multipolar System. Religion in Japan as a Tree. The Formation of a Distinctively Japanese Religious Heritage.
PART II: The Development and Elaboration of Religion in Japan.
9. The Development of a Japanese Buddhism: Shingon and Tendai. The New Buddhism of the Heian Period. Shingon: Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, Ritual over Philosophy, and Enlightenment in This Body. Kukai and Esoteric Buddhism. Mantras, Mandalas, and Goma (Fire Rite). Tendai: The Lotus Sutra, Proper Ordination for Monks, and Buddhahood for All Humans. Saicho and Tiantai. Mahayana and the Lotus Sutra. Buddhahood for All Humans, and Esoteric Rites. The Development of Japanese Buddhism, and Religious Trends.
10. The Shrine Tradition, and Shugendo.
The Kasuga-Kofukuji Shrine-Temple Complex. Ise Shrine: Purity, Ritual, and Taboos. Shugendo: Mountain A...