REL 101 Class notes, Week 7, Lecture 1

600-800 CE: Formation of Japan as a Nation, Introduction of Buddhism

World of the Kami

1. Indigenous Japanese Religion - Prehistory
   • Migration of Japanese tribes into the Islands
   • Kami - gods and goddesses - and "Shinto"
2. Formation of Japan as a Nation and State Religion
   • Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and Kami (Shinto)
3. Kawai, "Hollow-centered Balance Model of Japanese Mythology"
   • Triad of Gods: Sun Goddess, Storm God, Moon God
   • Amaterasu, Susano-o, Tsukiyomi
   • Political and Religious Implications