The development of Japanese Buddhism reflects Japan's cultural characteristic of being willing and eager to learn from foreign sources while absorbing, re-developing, and transforming these influences into a unique cultural strength. Although Japan often claims its civilization began more than two thousand years ago, scholars generally agree that its development as a structured state began in the 5th century, during the Asuka period. This era marked the end of clan-based politics and the sending of delegations to China to learn new skills and knowledge. Even after the Meiji Restoration, when Japan underwent rapid Westernization, adopting science and technology from the West, it evolved these influences into its own unique systems, leading to innovations like "Japanese quality," which became admired globally.
Today, we can still see traces of Chinese influence in many aspects of Japanese life, such as the use of chopsticks, foldable fans, calligraphy, and the influence of Confucian values. However, these have been uniquely adapted into Japanese culture. Similarly, Japan embraced Buddhism through China, adopting traditions such as Pure Land Buddhism, the Tendai school, Esoteric Buddhism, and Chan (Zen) Buddhism. Yet, all these forms of Buddhism evolved into distinctly Japanese forms.
Japanese Buddhism is rooted in traditional Buddhist teachings but has developed unique characteristics of its own. Some of these include the emphasis on the concept of mappō (the Age of the Decline of the Dharma), which led to the promotion of more accessible practices, such as simply chanting the title of the Lotus Sutra (Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō) in Nichiren Buddhism. Another distinctive feature is the strong association of Buddhist ceremonies with death, where Buddhist rituals are performed to ensure a good rebirth, while Shinto rites are celebrated at birth, and Christian-style ceremonies are often used for weddings. Additionally, many Buddhist temples became family-run institutions, and clergy in some schools of Japanese Buddhism, such as Jōdo Shinshū, are not required to remain celibate, which contrasts with earlier Buddhist traditions.
These adaptations illustrate how Japan has continuously transformed foreign influences, including Buddhism, to fit its own cultural context, making Japanese Buddhism a distinctive tradition in its own right.
The Evolution of Japanese Buddhism: From Foreign Influence to C
I found the article "The problem of religion and modernization in Japan" by Dr Hideo Kishimoto quite interesting. It's from the Journal Contemporary Religions in Japan from the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture which has quite a lot of interesting articles related to Japanese Buddhism. He raise a very interesting point about Westernisation versus modernization. I think we have a tendency to think that everything modern equals Western. But the Japanese were great innovators and adapted many useful Western ideas and assimilated them into Japanese culture. They similarly did that with Chinese philosophy, language, literature, religion etc as mentioned in the above post.This spirit of integration and creation of a uniquely Japanese culture is something that we can learn from. It requires a non-judgemental attitude especially in terms of Buddhism. If we focus on authenticity and originality, then we cannot move beyond the early Buddhist texts, but if we accept change as a constant, and assimilate and integrate with new ideas and culture as time progresses, we ensure the survival of a religion, a culture, a nation. Today's Japanese Buddhism is a far cry from original Indian Buddhism, yet it is thriving. Some scholars may say that Japanese Buddhism is only useful for funerals rites, but I think there is still a strong tradition of different Buddhist schools in Japan, and the fact that some schools such as the Soka Gakai have expanded overseas shows that Japanese Buddhism is doing quite well.