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1 results

  • 8 - Buddhism and War in Premodern Japan

  • from Part I - Classical Foundations
  • Edited by Margo Kitts, Hawai'i Pacific University, Honolulu
  • Book:
    The Cambridge Companion to Religion and War
    Published online:
    04 May 2023
    Print publication:
    11 May 2023, pp 187-212

  • Summary

    This chapter surveys the intertwining of religion (both Buddhism and Shinto) and war in the history of Japan, including: Buddhism’s initial introduction and subservience to the state in the 6th century; the emergence of warrior-monks (J. sōhei) in the Heian era; and the role of Buddhism in the samurai-dominated medieval period. Of particular interest to Western readers will be the emphasis on samādhi-power, acquired through Zen meditation, which was cultivated among the samurai class prior to the Meiji Restoration of 1868, contributing to the fanaticism that emerged in the modern Japanese Empire.