Japan’s Ritsuryō System and Shintō Shrines Arose as Twins
This article takes up the fundamental question of when in Shintō history structures that could be called Shintō shrines first appeared. Inoue begins with a consideration of problems with the traditional view, here associated most closely with Fukuyama Toshio, who drew on the research of Tsuda Sōkich...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Brill
2014
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In: |
Journal of Religion in Japan
Year: 2014, Volume: 3, Issue: 1, Pages: 36-46 |
Further subjects: | B
Shintō shrines
Ritsuryō state
Emperor Tenmu
Fukuyama Toshio
Tsuda Sōkichi
Yanagita Kunio
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Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
Summary: | This article takes up the fundamental question of when in Shintō history structures that could be called Shintō shrines first appeared. Inoue begins with a consideration of problems with the traditional view, here associated most closely with Fukuyama Toshio, who drew on the research of Tsuda Sōkichi, Yanagita Kunio and Ōba Iwao. Fukuyama had held that Shintō shrines emerged naturally out of the animism of Japan’s early agricultural society. Against this view, Inoue argues that the establishment of Shintō shrines must be seen as intimately connected with the establishment of the Ritsuryō state in the late seventh century, the state based on the criminal and administrative law system introduced from China. Further Inoue asserts that in the background of that development must be seen the influence of the Chinese Sui and Tang Empires and the introduction and spread of Buddhism into Japan. Inoue argues that, far from being a natural development, the appearance of Shintō shrines was the result of deliberate governmental action inspired by Chinese models as they were adapted to the Japanese situation. |
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ISSN: | 2211-8349 |
Contains: | In: Journal of Religion in Japan
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/22118349-00301002 |