Two Essay Questions for Religious Studies Class’s Final: Religion of Japan
800 words each, MLA style, NO Plagarism
Question 1 (800words):
The 19th and 20th centuries in Japan saw the rise of so-called ‘State Shinto.’ What was this ‘State Shinto,’ what precedents and religious ideas did it draw upon, why did it collapse, and how does its legacy persist in places like the Yasukuni Shrine?
Question 2 (800words):
Analyze the following quote from the Continued Chronicles of Japan (Shoku Nihongi) which describes court life in Japan during the Nara period. How did the court mix elements of Confucianism, Shinto, and Buddhism for various purposes? How is this approach to religion reflected in later, even modern, religious practice in Japan?
“We personally beseeched the Three Treasures of Buddhism and prayed to the [Shinto] deities, hoping for a sign that Our rule was either good or bad…. Then We knew that the Three [Treasures]…have prescribed great peace for the nation, and the various deities of Heaven and Earth foretell permanence for Our ancestral alters.
… We should command each family in the empire to possess and diligently memorize a copy of the [Confucian] Classic of Filial Piety, and redouble their instruction.
… The second day of the fifteenth month, the anniversary of the late emperor’s death. Over fifteen hundred monks were invited to Todaiji to hold a fast.”
