Japanese Art with Chelsea, Part 4
Or, Buddhism Arrives! Japan’s Two Religions
THE ASUKA PERIOD

Ise Shrine Complex, Ise

Before we jump headfirst into the Asuka period, when Buddhism arrives and brings not only a new religion but new technologies — of writing and of craftsmanship — it’s important to understand Japan’s indigenous religion, Shintō. These two religions are essential to Japanese culture, so let’s take a brief look at both before we move on to Asuka period art. This is a pretty hefty installment in our series because Buddhism is just that important! So be ready to get enlightened and read on. (OK, that was a low joke, as you’ll see, but I couldn’t resist…)

Shintō
Shintō is the indigenous religion of Japan, and it was this basis with which Buddhism began to coexist in Japan. The point of Shintō is to study the “way/path of the gods”, or kami, and the shrines, like the one above, were where the kami resided and still reside today. People from all over Japan make pilgrimage to Ise, where the most important deity, the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami, is said to reside.

The image you see above is of the inner shrine, the ultimate inner area of the complex, where Amaterasu lives. You must travel through a long path, with many torii gates signifying the deeper you are into a spiritual place, and cleanse yourself at many enclosures, before you are anywhere near this shrine. The interesting thing about Shintō is that the deity is never seen or depicted, and even the home of the deity — the structure pictured above — can only be seen by the tips of the golden arches. In addition, the emperor of Japan is thought to be a direct descendant of Amaterasu (a trait which was not disputed until World War II!), though his position became less and less powerful politically. So we can see that Shintō relies on belief, on faith: belief in the fact that the emperor is a deity himself; faith in the fact that Amaterasu truly does live in the Ise shrine. There is a lot more fascinating stuff to say about the Ise Shrine, but I’ll let it go for now so that we can move onto…

Tori Busshi, Shaka Triad, 623; orig. Wakakusadera, now Hōryūji

Buddhism
Buddhism did not wipe out Shintōism — in fact, the two peacefully coexisted; for example, even today many Japanese people are married in a Shintō ceremony but buried with a Buddhist funeral. Buddhism is extremely complex, but in a nutshell, this originally Indian religion (that made its way through China and Korea before being imported into Japan on that magic year of 552!) has four basic truths.* Basically, once you release yourself from suffering, you will achieve enlightenment, the ultimate goal of any Buddhist.

You can see the Buddha, and two Boddhisattvas (beings who postpone enlightenment to help mortals on the path to it) above, created by the Japanese artist Tori Busshi. Indeed, the Buddha was once an earthly being himself, who achieved enlightenment and became the Buddha. The Buddha has many different attributes, and these attributes (the 32 primary and 80 secondary!) were essential to the religion because worship required a representation of the Buddha. For example, he was a wealthy prince — as evidenced by his elongated earlobes, from which heavy earrings hung in his time on earth. Other attributes include the urna (tuft of hair on his forehead) and ushnishna (hairstyle); his glowing gold skin; perfect teeth (stipulated in religious writings as plaque-free); the lotus blossom he sits on and his seated posture; and of course, arguably the most important, his mudra.

You see, and as you might have known already, there are many different types of Buddhas and these Buddhas are all distinguished by their mudras. A mudra is quite simply a hand gesture, and they show which Buddha is which. The above is the Shaka or Historical Buddha. His right hand, pointing downwards, signifies benevolence, while his left, palm up and outward, signifies charity. All of the parts of this sculpture, based on one originally from China in 527, add to the idea of the figures unearthly perfection, from the Buddha himself with his golden skin, to the graceful but strictly symmetrical drapery on his body.

Things get even more interesting when the political leaders begin to support Buddhism in the Early Nara and Nara periods… stay tuned!

*If you’re interested, the four basic truths of Buddhism, according to my Japanese art professor, are:
1. Life is characterized by suffering.
2. You suffer because you want things.
3. Liberate yourself from suffering by not wanting things.
4. This path to freedom is called the Middle Way.

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