What caused the decline of Buddhism in Japan?
Upvote:0
Japanese Buddhism was somewhat corrupt and deeply unpopular with many ordinary people who considered it exploitative and parasitic. As well as being of foreign origin, it was also associated with
- The doctrine of non-violence which included a ban on the eating of 4 legged creatures. By contrast, successful Western countries ate meat, drank milk, and gloried in technological militarism. Furthermore, they were Nationalistic. Shinto did not have much intellectual leadership and could be interpreted as Nationalistic and concerned with the cult of the Emperor- as a unifying factor. By contrast, some Buddhist sects could have allied militarily with rebellious Provincial aristocracies.
It wasn't till the Nineteen Twenties and Thirties that an ultra-Nationalistic Buddhism could boast of strong intellectual leadership. Thus the initial phase of modernization was in a context where religious voices were marginalized.
A rigid Caste system including an 'Untouchable' caste. However, it was clear that the rigid division between the Samurai/bakufu military government and the peasants led to low agricultural productivity. The 'peasant sage' Ninomiya showed how productivity could be increased by encouraging peasant rationality and cooperation. It is notable that Ninomiya Sontoku was able to persuade the local Buddhist priest to take up fishing to provide cheap protein to the people. The other class which had been greatly alienated was the merchant class (considered even lower than farmers) which had woken up to the fact that 'Western learning', especially in things like Medicine, was greatly superior to the traditional product.
Buddhism was associated with certain superstitious practices as well as wealthy people squandering their capital on religion in the hope of getting reborn as a divine being. The wealth it had accumulated over centuries made it a target for hatred and violence.
Japan was only able to get on to the gold standard thanks to reparations received from China after a successful war. This naturally reinforced the rejection of Buddhism as a non-violent religion which kept a Nation poor and dispirited. India and China were on their knees, while Japan had commenced its rise to equality with the West.
More post
- 📝 How did sword cavalry charges work?
- 📝 What is the origin of oak leaves in military insignia and decorations?
- 📝 Have any astronauts or cosmonauts died in space?
- 📝 Why were the doors of ghettos locked at night?
- 📝 History of nations - books
- 📝 How much did King George III of Britain weigh?
- 📝 How alcoholic were ancient Greek and Roman wines, before and after dilution?
- 📝 Was the danger of Germany bombing the US East Coast taken seriously and were measures taken to address it?
- 📝 Cultures of the image and cultures of the word
- 📝 Did a mob of men dressed in skirts threaten the life of Anne Boleyn?
- 📝 Are there any documented cases from ancient or medieval times of someone escaping captivity by cross-dressing?
- 📝 What language(s) were spoken within the Holy Roman Empire?
- 📝 Why couldn't bastards inherit titles?
- 📝 Are there any records of ancient people looking for the misdirect in a prophecy?
- 📝 How did former Spanish colonies in the Americas become so fragmented?
- 📝 Did the deity "Horus" pre-date "Horus-Aha"?
- 📝 How do modern historians evaluate Sherman's "Total War"?
- 📝 Was there ever a strategic concern about East German refusing to fight against West Germans (and vice versa) if the cold war had gone hot?
- 📝 Why the military revolution is a cause of the industrial revolution?
- 📝 Did Thomas Paine really give up book royalties?
- 📝 Can anyone identify this uniform, approximate year, and aircraft?
- 📝 In 1700-1900 England, how were 'manners an end in themselves and not merely a means to achieve propriety by conformity'?
- 📝 What sort of maps did the ancient Greeks make and distribute?
- 📝 When did "&" stop being taught alongside the alphabet?
- 📝 What were the German "general" ranks in World War II?
- 📝 How slowly, if ever, were Thracians Hellenized?
- 📝 What is the history of bauxite mining in South America?
- 📝 How did the african kingdom of Carthage adapt to their environment?
- 📝 Were major foreign films allowed in the USSR?
- 📝 How were snipers used on the western front during WW2?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What caused the decline of Buddhism in Japan?
- 📝 What caused the decline of the Spanish empire?
- 📝 What caused the decline in support for the Protectionist Party of Australia?
- 📝 What are the factors that caused the new world civilizations to be less technologically advanced than the old world?
- 📝 At what point was the Byzantine Empire's decline irreversible?
- 📝 Were there any Germans in Japan after the surrender of Germany in May, 1945 and if so, what happened to them?
- 📝 Japan is known for being isolationist, so what cultivated its history of interventionism in the 20th century?
- 📝 What caused the imposition of strict celibacy for Catholic priests during the 11th century?
- 📝 What caused the 1979 Iranian revolution to become Islamic?
- 📝 What factors permitted Buddhism to be successful in Japan but Christianity less so?
- 📝 What were the factors that caused the world to move away from the Gold Standard in the 20th century?
- 📝 What role did the Ancient Samurai heritage play on Modern Japan during WW2?
- 📝 What can be considered to be the single most important reason for the decline of muslim Golden Age?
- 📝 What wiped the Buddhism traces from Kerala History?
- 📝 What were the effects of Bushido on Japan after the Meiji Restoration?
- 📝 What were the causes of decline of Babylonian numeric system?
- 📝 How can we explain the decline of Buddhism in India around the 12th century?
- 📝 What caused the turning point in Hundred Years' War?
- 📝 What caused women to lose their access to resources and become a part of men's possessions with the start of the agriculture era?
- 📝 What were factors that led to a decline in bond yields during World War II given that the opposite should have happened?
- 📝 What caused the long lasting of peace in during the Heian Period?
- 📝 What deaths were caused by weapons deployed during a war long after the war has ended?
- 📝 What caused scientific and cultural decline of East Roman (Byzantine) Empire?
- 📝 What were the factors that caused debtors' prison to disappear in most parts of the world in the 20th century?
- 📝 To what extent was the Cold War caused by post World War 2 economics?
- 📝 What caused the Mule Shoe salient?
- 📝 What was the main purpose in Japan trying to capture the Dutch East Indies oil fields intact?
- 📝 How was Pre-Samurai Japan structured ? What part did solders and warriors play in the yayoi culture and how did the Yamato state wage war ?
- 📝 What caused the shift from annexation of territory, to colonization of territory?
- 📝 What did the Russian ambassador to Japan do during his trip to London?