ABSTRACT

Like an ancient river, Daoist traditions introduced from China once flowed powerfully through the Japanese religious landscape, forever altering its topography and ecology. Daoism’s presence in Japan still may be discerned in its abiding influence on astrology, divination, festivals, literature, politics, and popular culture, not to mention Buddhism and Shintō. Despite this legacy, few English-language studies of Daoism’s influence on Japanese religious culture have been published.

Daoism in Japan provides an exploration of the particular pathways by which Daoist traditions entered Japan from continental East Asia. After addressing basic issues in both Daoist Studies and the study of Japanese religions, including the problems of defining ‘Daoism’ and ‘Japanese,’ the book looks at the influence of Daoism on ancient, medieval and modern Japan in turn. To do so, the volume is arranged both chronologically and topically, according to the following three broad divisions: "Arrivals" (c. 5th-8th centuries CE), "Assimilations" (794-1868), and "Apparitions" (1600s-present). The book demonstrates how Chinese influence on Japanese religious culture ironically proved to be crucial in establishing traditions that usually are seen as authentically, even quintessentially, Japanese.

Touching on multiple facets of Japanese cultural history and religious traditions, this book is a fascinating contribution for students and scholars of Japanese Culture, History and Religions, as well as Daoist Studies.

chapter |8 pages

Introduction

Conjuring cultures: Daoism in Japan

part I|72 pages

Arrivals

chapter 1|13 pages

Pleiades retrieved

A Chinese asterism's journey to Japan

chapter 2|13 pages

Daoist deities in Ancient Japan

Household deities, Jade Women and popular religious practice

chapter 3|23 pages

Framing Daoist fragments, 670–750

chapter 4|21 pages

Daoist resonance in a “perfected immortal”

A case study of Awata no Ason Mahito

part II|96 pages

Assimilations

chapter 8|29 pages

Kōshin

Expelling Daoist demons through Buddhist means 1

part III|88 pages

Apparitions

chapter 10|39 pages

The eight trigrams and their changes

Divination in early modern Japan 1

chapter 11|17 pages

Crossing the borders

The magical practices of Izanagi-ryū