The Religious Traditions of Japan, 500–1600 (review)

Cambridge University professor Richard Bowring is well known for his translations of modern and classical Japanese literature and his work on Buddhism and the literary arts of Japan. In this work, he turns his attention to the general history of religion in Japan, from Buddhism’s introduction in the sixth century to the onset of the early modern era ca. 1600, covering some of the same ground as Joseph Kitagawa’s serviceable classic Religion in Japanese History (less than half of which deals with the pre-Tokugawa period) and the recently translated Nihon Shûkyôshi (A History of Japanese Religion) edited by Kasahara Kazuo. Unlike these works, which have their own strengths, Bowring’s supplies the kanji for all important names and text titles, and provides lengthy excerpts from key documents. Although he often gives minimal explication of the latter, these features make Religious Traditions of Japan a valuable resource for scholars teaching the history of Japanese religion.

As the title suggests, Bowring begins by describing the introduction of Buddhism from Paekche in 538 (or 552) and its initial conflict with the indigenous belief system. (Bowring wants to problematize use of the term “Shintô” and emphasize how this system evolves over time in relation to the imported one—both being highly diverse.) He observes provocatively that in “sharp contrast to events in Britain at roughly the same time, the survival and indeed growth of local cults is helped by Buddhism’s willingness to accommodate rather than confront” (p. 6). He provides the familiar long passage from the Nihongi describing this arrival, referencing the dated W. G. Aston translation but providing his own superior one. The translations here are either Bowring’s or those he has apparently carefully scrutinized, sometimes modifying the translation in accordance with his own understanding of the text. This is one great strength of this volume.

The native religion has throughout recorded history combined an official sacerdotal cult surrounding the Yamato chieftain and local “folk Shinto” cults. Buddhism on the other hand initially insinuated itself into Japanese culture through its links to state power, and, throughout the centuries Bowring covers, successive waves of Buddhist teaching established links to sometimes competing power structures in Japan. From the twelfth century, however, popular Buddhism (which Bowring in passing compares to the Protestant movement in Europe, noting “the end result of such changes was quite different,” p. 7) arose outside official channels. But the Pure Land and other non-monastic popular sects never really eclipsed those receiving greater state support; in particular, what Bowring terms “Tantric Buddhism” incorporating elements of an emerging “quasi-nationalist” Shintô allows the latter to rise in importance in the early modern period. Presumably this is a theme of Bowring’s planned second volume.

Bowring methodically elucidates the doctrinal content of the arriving Buddhist schools, incorporating long passages from relevant sutras; examines the cults surrounding specific buddhas or bodhisattvas (such as Yakushi, popular in the Nara court); and discusses the artistic achievements of Buddhist artisans in a brilliant synthesis of intellectual and art history. Although his strength is literary analysis (for example, the section on “literal reading of metaphor,” pp. 358–362), his discussion of Buddhist historiography (pp. 263–271) is thought provoking. He gives adequate attention to the continental histories of the various Buddhist schools that come to flourish in Japan, such as Tiantai/Tendai and Chan/Zen. But he embraces the view that Shingon (p. 148f) is a Japanese invention, rather than an imported version of the Zhenyen tradition in China. This is odd given his inclusion of Charles D. Orzech’s 1989 essay arguing the contrary in his bibliography. Bowring draws on the most current scholarship, although his vast bibliography, useful for further reading, consists overwhelmingly of western-language works. The chronological charts are useful, and the numerous maps first-rate.

With all these strengths, the work is not without some weaknesses. The reader’s familiarity with Buddhism is assumed, its fundamental tenets nowhere outlined for (for example...