Genesis of Buddhism in Japan: The Age of Nara – The Tokugawa Period

This article considers the genesis and development of Buddhism in Japan from the age of Nara to the Tokugawa period. Revealing the problems of the first six philosophical and religious schools of academic Buddhism, namely Kusha, Sanron, Jōjitsu, Hosso, Risshu and Kegon, the authors of the article sought to fully explore the basic foundations of the philosophy of each of them, delve into the linguistic nuances of Japanese and Sanskrit terms, touching on such aspects like dharma, dukha, anatmavada, shunyata or emptiness, the "two truths" of the Buddha's teachings, etc. The text focuses on the role of Buddhism in the Nara period, it explores the main purpose of monks and the system of "local" temples which was not only an intellectual support of that era, but also played the role of an important military force. Drawing an analogy with the philosophy of the Rinzai-shu and Soto-shu schools, the authors analyze the expansion of the line of succession in Zen by monitoring the formation of groups of thinkers, their development and emergence of cultural capital through long-term discussions and continuous reflection over several generations. The work pays special attention to significant figures in Japanese Buddhism, it outlines the role of philosophical creativity, examines the social and religious transformations that occur over different eras and periods. The question of redistribution of power and basic economic resources, suppression of Buddhism, emergence of anti-Buddhist positions and formation of new doctrines are touched upon. As a result of the study, the genesis of Buddhism was described through the prism of Japanese culture, the trajectory of its development from inception to transformation processes in new trends as well as social phenomena that sometimes gave rise to a creative or destructive tendency and influenced the course of history. The authors note that Japanese society that tends to a greater extent towards abstraction and aesthetic pleasure managed to assimilate to the new realities of life and new teachings with pinpoint accuracy, transforming Buddhism into its culture and polishing and refining it in the Japanese style.

Kinship in Contemporary Japanese Society : An Overview

The paper seeks to analyse the salient features of the kinship structure in Japan and how it plays it is significant role to form the traditional Japanese values. The paper also tries to analyse the changing nature of the kinship system in contemporary Japanese society from its traditional family (IE) system. The paper follows the qualitative method of research where the data has been collected from both academic and non-academic sources. By analysing the kinship structure of different periods in Japan, the paper finds that during the IE family system of the Tokugawa period, Japan gives less weight to kinship relations than other Asian countries. The feeling on son, either related to blood or adopted, marks the major distinction with other societies to find out the kin and non-kin. Following the IE system, the paper finds another two major events behind the weaken kinship structure in Japan: the emergence of koseki since the Meiji restoration and the rise of corporate culture during the contemporary period. Social Science Review, Vol. 37(2), Dec 2020 Page 105-124

The State of Women and Women’s Education at the Beginning of Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1651)

This study attempted to draw a more critical analysis of women and their education at the beginning of the Tokugawa period. Tokugawa, or the Edo period in Japan, was a warrior society. It is one of the most studied fields for many scholars as it highlighted the feature of Japanese culture until today. In Japan, women’s studies began in the 1970s, which is considered late than Western. Recently, there is still limited research regarding women’s education activities being conducted under the Tokugawa shogunate. This study engaged historical methods, namely heuristics, criticism, interpretation, and historiography. At the beginning of the Tokugawa era, women’s education was varied based on social status and families’ occupation. The gap of education between men and women and noblewomen and commoners is a mystifying matter as some historical accounts address the contrary facts. Many historical writings indicate that women at the beginning of the Tokugawa period experienced great repression and hierarchical subjugation. However, several accounts addressing the role of women during Tokugawa were relatively better as women received fitted and suitable education during the period. Therefore, it is necessary to identify Tokugawa’s social and political context more closely than making the judgment based on how it used to be since many classical historiographies in the past solely focus on the ruling class. Finally, the time needed for education equality toward women in Japan indicating that education was important for the whole population that would need to be given to all.

5. Inventing the samurai

This chapter argues that the samurai were “invented” in the Tokugawa period as a strictly defined group with a unique identity created through popular culture and codified social cultural practices. Commoners and samurai alike consumed, and participated in, warrior-related activities. People read warrior histories, military science manuals, were influenced by warrior theatre, like the 47 ronin story, and the value therein. It also describes how low-ranking warriors became more political, their education increasing connected to notions of warrior legitimacy and the relationship between warriors and the imperial institution. In so doing, the chapter, chronologically, leads readers to the collapse of the last warrior regime during the Meiji Restoration and the Boshin War.

4. Warriors in an age of peace

This chapter covers the Tokugawa period, a time of relative peace, when historians know more about the rank-and-file samurai. It begins by describing how Tokugawa Ieyasu and his descendants created the strongest and longest lasting warrior regime, the Tokugawa Shogunate. After describing the political authority at the top, the chapter details the life of daimyo lords, their interaction with samurai, and the curtailing of daimyo interaction with Western countries. Then the chapter covers the average samurai life cycle from childhood, education, and marriage, to concerns about job and free time, and retirement.