Japanese and Korean Traditions

This topic surveys the religious traditions of Japan and Korea, including Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, and indigenous and new religious movements that have shaped both societies.

Definition

The study of the religious traditions of Japan and Korea, their history, interaction, and modern transformations.

Scope

It covers Japanese Shinto and its relationship with Buddhism, the distinctive forms of Japanese Buddhism, Korean Buddhism and Confucianism, indigenous and shamanic practices, and modern new religious movements in both countries. The treatment is historical and descriptive, addressing texts, practices, and scholarly debates without affirming any tradition's claims.

Core questions

• How did Shinto and Buddhism coexist and combine in Japanese history?
• How were Buddhism and Confucianism received and reshaped in Korea?
• What roles have indigenous and shamanic practices played?
• How did modern nationalism and new religious movements transform these traditions?

Key theories

Unity and diversity in Japanese religion

H. Byron Earhart's framing of Japanese religion as a coherent yet internally diverse system in which Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, and folk practice interweave rather than form separate religions.

The constructed history of Shinto

Breen and Teeuwen's argument that 'Shinto' as a distinct, ancient national religion was substantially shaped by later historical processes, including its modern reorganization, rather than being a fixed indigenous tradition.

History

Buddhism and Confucianism entered Japan and Korea from China and Korea respectively in the early centuries CE and combined with indigenous practices; in Japan Shinto and Buddhism were long intertwined before their forced separation in the modern era, while both countries saw the rise of numerous new religious movements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Debates

Antiquity and unity of Shinto

Scholars debate whether Shinto is best understood as a continuous ancient tradition or as a category substantially constructed in the medieval and especially modern periods.

Key figures

• H. Byron Earhart
• John Breen
• Mark Teeuwen
• Robert E. Buswell

Seminal works

• earhart2004
• breenteeuwen2010
• buswell2007

Frequently asked questions

What is Shinto?

Shinto is the indigenous Japanese tradition centred on the veneration of kami (spirits or deities) at shrines, long entangled with Buddhism and reorganized in distinctive ways in the modern period.

Can someone follow more than one of these traditions?

Yes; in both Japan and Korea it has been common to participate in several traditions—for example Shinto and Buddhist rites in Japan—without exclusive membership in one religion.