How Did Buddhism And Its Impact On Japanese Culture

Over the years, Japanese culture has been shaped in a variety of ways. Religion was the major part of their culture transforming despite the many other things such as poems, plays, and certain inventions. The two religions that had the most impact were Buddhism and Shinto. Today many citizens of Japan as well as around the world still practice them. Shinto, also known as kami-no-michi, is a Japanese ethnic religion which focuses on daily life and rituals. Shinto rituals are still carried out to remind the Japanese of their ancient past. No one knows how old Shinto really is or how it got introduced, because of this it does not have an official founder nor does it have scriptures. Preaching in this religion is not usual either. Buddhism is a very wide and well-known religion that started in India and then made it’s way to China and Korea. Japan had already heard of it by that time. Buddhism developed into many sects in Japan but, Pure Land Buddhism and Zen Buddhism were the two that stood out.
It’s message would usually focus on a happy life after death. It won many followers because of that as well as the fact that all the had to do is believe in Lord Amida and chant his name. During the 1100s Buddhist monks introduced Zen to Japan. The Zen beliefs centered around the thinking that people can find inner peace by practicing self-control and having a simplistic life. Martial arts was one of the ways that the followers of Zen Buddhism would practice self-control. The second way of finding self-control was meditation. This would help the person clear their mind and find inner