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Japan Religious and Philosophical Traditions
The values described in the preceding section are
derived from
a number of religious and philosophical traditions, both
indigenous
and foreign. Taken together, these traditions may be
considered the
Japanese worldview, although the personal beliefs of an
individual
Japanese may incorporate some aspects and disregard
others. The
Japanese worldview is eclectic, contrasting with a Western
view in
which religion is exclusive and defines one's identity.
Contemporary Japanese society is highly secular. Cause and
effect
relations are frequently based in scientific models, and
illness
and death are explained by modern medical theories. Yet
the
scientific view is but one of the options from which an
individual
may draw in interpreting life's experiences.
The Japanese worldview is characterized also by a
pragmatic
approach to problem solving, in which the technique may be
less
important than the results. Thus a Japanese who is ill may
simultaneously or sequentially seek the assistance of a
medical
doctor, obtain medication from a person trained in the
Chinese
herbal tradition, and visit a local shrine. Each of these
actions
is based on a different belief in causation of the
illness: the
physician may say that the illness is caused by a
bacterial
infection; the herbalist regards the body as being out of
balance;
and the basis of the shrine visit is the belief that the
mind must
be cleansed to heal the body. In the West, these
explanations might
be viewed as mutually exclusive, but the Japanese patient
may hold
all of these views simultaneously without a sense of
discord.
Similarly, a student studying for university entrance
examinations
knows that without extraordinary hard work, admission is
impossible. Yet the student will probably also visit a
special
shrine to ask for the help of the spiritual world in
ensuring
success.
The roots of the Japanese worldview can be traced to
several
traditions. Shinto, the only indigenous religion of Japan,
provided
the base. Confucianism, from China, provided concepts of
hierarchy,
loyalty, and the emperor as the son of heaven. Daoism,
also from
China, helped give order and sanction to the system of
government
implied in Shinto. Buddhism brought with it not only its
contemplative religious aspects but also a developed
culture of art
and temples, which had a considerable role in public life.
Christianity brought an infusion of Western ideas,
particularly
those involving social justice and reform.
Data as of January 1994
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