Religion in Ancient, Classical, and Feudal Japan

Ancient Japanese life was dominated by Shinto, an indigenous religious tradition based on nature worship. The Classical Japanese dynasties began in 250 CE with the emergence of the Yamato clans, which were headed by religious patriarchs who performed sacred rites to ensure the longevity of their clans. Buddhism and Confucianism were first introduced in Japan around 500. By 530, Emperor Kimmei had adopted Buddhist and Confucian cultural models in his kingdom. Members of the Shinto-dominated Yamato court resisted this change and the general public continued to worship Shinto deities. During the Nara Period (710-94), Emperor Shomu promoted the spread of Buddhism, naming the Buddhist clergy the guardians of the state, marking the beginning of the Buddhist-Shinto syncretism that would dominate Japanese culture. During the Heian period (794-1185), Chinese ideals, and particularly the Mandate of Heaven, influenced the Japanese imperial lineages. Heian emperor Shotoku was a Buddhist devotee who sent Buddhist missionaries abroad, but also adopted Confucian models of prescribed social class. In the late 12th century, the first of the feudal dynasties, the Kamakuras, popularized Pure Land Buddhism and Zen Buddhism among the masses. Shinto regained some popularity after the Japanese defeat of the Mongols in the 1200s was attributed to the kamikazes, typhoons sent by Shinto deities. Shinto regained its religious preeminence in the 14th century with the promulgation of a new doctrine that highlighted the divine lineage of the Japanese emperor and the divine nature of the Japanese people. In the late 1500s, Nobunaga, a powerful military leader, began a crusade to reunify Japan. Protests from the Buddhist clergy were met with harsh resistance and Buddhist temples were destroyed.