ANTH 2230 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Post-Occupation Japan, Meiji Period
15 Jun 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Buddhism is a foreign religion that was introduced to japan in the 6th century. It did not replace shinto but amalgamated it. Accepted among the elite class and emperors. Became the state religion in the 8th century. However, in 1868 they wanted to separate the two but this didn"t quite work. This separation continued until the regime was defeated after ww2 and now they are not completely separate and both can be practiced simultaneously. Missionaries (jesuits) were successful in converting people in kyushu but they were stopped by political leaders and expelled by the shogunate or killed/ forced to renounce their religion. The official separation of shinto and buddhism. Socially shinto and buddhism were still blended. The state made shinto the national ideology. No freedom on whether you except shinto or not because it was no longer a religion but a duty. Linked to ultra-nationalism making it a patriotic duty to support state shinto.
