Japanese Spirituality Research Articles

МАКОТО — ИСХОДНЫЙ ПРИНЦИП ЭТИЧЕСКИХ И ЭСТЕТИЧЕСКИХ УБЕЖДЕНИЙ ЯПОНЦЕВ

Makoto (まこと, lit.: truth, genuineness, reality, “realness”) is an element of the conceptual apparatus of the traditional worldview of the Japanese. In Japan, it is generally accepted that makoto is a philosophical and aesthetic concept that underlies Japanese spirituality, involving among other principles understanding of the order and laws of the truly existing Universum (shinrabansho̅; 森羅万象) and the universal interconnectedness of things (bambutsu ittai; 万物一体), the desire to understand the true essence of everything that person meets in life, and, unlike other spiritual values, is purely Shinto in origin. After getting acquainted with the Chinese hieroglyphic writing three Chinese characters were borrowed for the word makoto. Each of these characters means truthfulness, genuineness, but has its own distinctive nuances: 真 means truth, authenticity, truthfulness, 実 signifies truth, reality, essence, content, and 誠 again means truthfulness, sincerity, and truth. Makoto (“true words”) and makoto (“true deeds”) imply the highest degree of sincerity of words and honesty, correctness of thoughts, actions, and deeds. The relationship “true words — true deeds” can be seen as one of the driving factors of moral obligation, prompting everyone in their field, as well as in relations between people, to strive to be real. This desire contributed to the formation of a heightened sense of duty and responsibility among the Japanese, which became a hallmark of their character. However, makoto has not only ethical connotation, but aesthetic one as well, and can be considered as the basis on which were formed the concept of mono no aware (もののあ われ、 物の哀れ) and the aesthetic ideal of the same name, that became the first link in the chain of japanese perceptions of beauty. Each link in this chain is an expression of a new facet of makoto, which was revealed as a result of certain elements of the worldview that came to the fore in the historical era.

日本のスピリチュアリティの伝統と死の自覚:無常観・浮世観を手がかりに

日本のスピリチュアリティの伝統と死の自覚:無常観・浮世観を手がかりに

R. Inagaki, <i>Towards the Meeting of Catholicism and the Japanese Spirituality</i>

R. Inagaki, <i>Towards the Meeting of Catholicism and the Japanese Spirituality</i>

El devenir turístico de Kumano, su adaptación a las nuevas tendencias de la espiritualidad japonesa y su proyección internacional a través del hermanamiento con el Camino de Santiago

Japan has a long tradition related to pilgrimages and the Kumano pilgrimage is closely related to Japan’s origins and, also, to the development of tourism. Since the pre-modern period, pilgrimages and spiritual tourism have moved crowds and nowadays, in a different form, they still exert attraction over the Japanese population. The focus of my contribution is the pilgrimage of Kumano Kodō, situated in the Kii Mountain Range, a special significant place in the formation of the National Myths of Japan and the identity consciousness of the Japanese people. I will point out how this pilgrimage route has evolved throughout time up to the present day when it has been influenced not only by different tourist campaigns but also by the new trends in Japanese spirituality and by the International Agreement for the Twinning of Pilgrimage Paths with Santiago de Compostela.

도쿠토미 로카 『自然과 人生』 고찰 －서구 낭만주의예술 수용과 관련하여－

This paper explores ‘Nature and Man’ by Tokutomi Roka in relation to the novelist’s acceptance of the romantic in western art and literature. A comparison with the paintings of the landscape artist Camille Corot shows that Corot had a profound influence on Roka. In particular, the pleinairism technique of painting, which anticipated impressionism and lays stress on light and color in Corot’s landscapes, was adopted by Roka in his imagery to capture a romantic and pantheistic view of nature. While working as a journalist, Roka published a book on Emerson and Wordsworth, and, in addition to these writers, he derived his romantic influence from Tolstoy, Wordsworth, Emerson, and Carlyle. By demonstrating that Nature and Man adopts the pleinairism techniques of western art and the literary ideology of western romanticism, this paper shows how western transcendentalism permeated modern Japanese literature. Being strongly influenced by various writers, such as Wordsworth, Emerson, Carlyle, and Tolstoy, and learning romantic passion and revolutionary spirits from them is also noteworthy. Like Wordsworth, who revived a return to nature because of his frustration at the failure of the French Revolution, Roka tried to shake off his unpleasant memories of Tokyo by moving to the fishing village of Zushi. Living in Zushi allowed him to develop a sensitivity to nature and master his expressive abilities. As he communed with nature, Roka observed the human world and experienced nature as a deity. Experiencing and meditating on the being of deity as a medium of nature was a consistent attitude of Roka. In this way, Roka incorporated western transcendentalism through the inner contemplation of nature, and the paper shows that this influence was facilitated by pantheistic elements already within Japanese spirituality and culture.

ALAM SEMESTA (LINGKUNGAN) DAN KEHIDUPAN DALAM PERSPEKTIF BUDHISME NICHIREN DAISHONIN

Abstract Buddhism taught by Sidhartha Gautama in India about two thousand years B.C. has spread throughout the world. From India to Tibetan Buddhism evolved, China and into Japan. Buddhism in Japan has distinct characteristics compared to Buddhism elsewhere. In Japan, Buddhism is mixed with a strong Japanese spirituality. This paper is the result of a brief research on the book, as well as the Buddhists by means of dialogue. The general objective of this paper is to get a general idea of the concept of Nichiren cosmology, particularly on the subject of the universe (environment) and life. The specific objective of this paper is the growing awareness to be open to understand other religions. It takes an attitude to want to investigate a religion without fanaticial attitude or prejudice. Key words: Nichiren Daishonin, Universe, Life

Philosophie du néant et théologie du processus

I. The Development of Nishida’s Philosophy of Nothingness reviewed from the Buddhist-Christian Dialogue in Japanese Spirituality(1) Psychology of Nothingness. Pure Experience and Religion (2) Self-Awareness of Nothingness. Intuition and Reflection in the Self-Awareness (3) Nothingness as the Ultimate Universal. Phenomenology of the Self-Awakening in the Field of Nothingness (4) Inter-Subjectivity of Nothingness. The I-Thou Relation and the “Absolute Other” in the Field of Nothingness (5) Creativity of Nothingness. The Historical World as the Dialectical Universal (6) The Self-Emptying of the Absolute. The Structure of Pan-en-theism and the Unity of Opposites in Nishida’s PhilosophyII. Haya-Theology as a Theology of Creativity (1) The Criticism of Onto-Theology from the Biblical Perspective (2) Haya-Theology as a Biblical Theology contained in God’s Self-Revelation to Moses as Promise of Freedom (3) Haya-Theology as a Theology of Creativity characterized as follows: (i) Pan-en-theism (ii) Sur-relativism (self-transcendent relativism / self-trans-descending absolutism) (iii) Sur-naturalism (self-transcendent naturalism/self-trans-descending supernaturalism)

Transcending death in Departures (Okuribito): A case study of film, literature and Buddhism in modern Japan

ABSTRACTOkuribito/Departures (2008) is a representative example of Japanese cinema on the theme of living and dying, built on the pattern of Japanese spirituality in which the people resist taking refuge in organized religion because they embrace diverse spiritual sensibilities all at the same time. This article situates the film historically within Japanese society, where ancestral worship aided by Buddhist rituals is critical to their cultural identity, and analyses how the book Coffinman/Nōkanfu Nikki was made into a film. It also explores Departures's thematic relationship to modern Japanese literature and other Japanese films, including aesthetic encounters in nature through which a main character attains self-realization, after reflecting on the death of a loved one.

Japanese Spirituality

Japanese Spirituality

鈴木大拙の"霊性"三部作の意義とその問題点(第四部会, 第六十五回学術大会紀要)

鈴木大拙の"霊性"三部作の意義とその問題点(第四部会, 第六十五回学術大会紀要)

4.文化医療学 : 日本人のスピリチュアリティ(特別企画2 意識と心の神経哲学ワークショップ,第26回 日本脳神経外科コングレス総会)

4.文化医療学 : 日本人のスピリチュアリティ(特別企画2 意識と心の神経哲学ワークショップ,第26回 日本脳神経外科コングレス総会)

‘Creating My Own Cultural and Spiritual Bubble’: Case of Cultural Consumption by Spiritual Seeker Anime Fans

The distinctive quality of Japanese animation (anime) in its descriptions of religious and spiritual realms – integrating symbols, themes, doctrines, and mythologies from various religious traditions – is a cultural manifestation of the Japanese integrative spirituality. This article demonstrates how important the religious aspect of anime is in explaining why some younger generations in the USA, who are characterized as spiritual seekers, become a loyal fan of the cultural artifacts. Anime seems to provide them with a cultural resource out of which they create their own cultural and spiritual practice, which is, they claim, not provided by the US mainstream popular culture. This article argues that since the religious aspect of anime is one of the most distinctive qualities in distinguishing itself from US pop culture, it would contribute to the more generally accepted ‘cultural difference’ account in explaining the cross-cultural popularity of anime.

Suicide and Brain Death: A Study of Contemporary Japanese Spirituality and Identity

In this article, the author discusses the spiritual crisis facing contemporary Japanese people. First, the author deals with how modernization has pervaded Japanese people and how it has affected their attitude toward religion, as well as their identity in the context of history. Starting from the characterization of the coexistence of Buddhism and Shintoism, the author explores Japanese spirituality and the sense of self. Then, the problems of suicide and brain death are dealt with, with reference to the discussion of identity. These problems will be discussed because each one throws some doubt on the values of highly modernized contemporary society. By shedding light on these issues, the author describes how the spirituality of Japanese people is at stake.

Japanese Spirituality, Clinical Bioethics and Buddhism

Japanese Spirituality, Clinical Bioethics and Buddhism

Simplicity: A Distinctive Quality of Japanese Spirituality. Asian Thought and Culture, 23. By John T. Brinkman. New York: Peter Lang, 1996. xi + 275 pages. $33.95 (paper).

Simplicity: A Distinctive Quality of Japanese Spirituality. Asian Thought and Culture, 23. By John T. Brinkman. New York: Peter Lang, 1996. xi + 275 pages. $33.95 (paper).

Suzuki Daisetz as Regional Ontologist: Critical Remarks on Reading Suzuki's "Japanese Spirituality"

Suzuki Daisetz as Regional Ontologist: Critical Remarks on Reading Suzuki's "Japanese Spirituality"