JAPAN
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A Brief History of Japan
The influence of Chinese civilization and statehood on neighboring countries and peoples was very noticeable.
In particular, it stimulated the acceleration of the social, economic and, especially, political development of China's close neighbors throughout its history, whether they were the ancient nomads of the Xiongnu (Huns) or the Xianbis, Jurchens, Mongols or Manchus.
But this affected not only nomads, especially those who found themselves in the orbit of its direct influence.
This influence was much more significant.
Through Nanzhao, it reached the Thais and Tibeto Burmese tribes, and in Vietnam it simply set the tone, determined the internal organization of the state and society.
In many ways, Japan is close to Vietnam in this sense.
It's not just about borrowing someone else's, even a higher culture, although this also played a role.
What is meant is something else: the proximity of a highly developed civilization inevitably had its impact both directly and indirectly, and such an impact played a particularly important role precisely in those periods of the history of a particular country when the main parameters of the existence of a given society and state were determined.
For Japan, which was in the zone of influence of the Chinese civilization, the influence of this kind was quite obvious, self evident.
The only question is what role it played in the formation of both countries.
So, as it was.
Neolithic and the appearance of metals
Bone Fishing Hooks,
harpoons and stone sinkers.
Neolithic.
Japan is an ancient, original state.
It is no exaggeration to say that the European reader knows Japan both very well and still very poorly.
The latter refers mainly to the spiritual life of the Japanese, their national psychological characteristics.
The history of Japan begins with the Neolithic.
Located on an archipelago that stretches from north to south along the eastern coast of the Asian continent (its main islands: Hokkaido (the least populated) — in the north, Honshu and Shikoku in the center and Kyushu in the south), Japan contains more than three thousand islands.
Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, mountain collapses and hurricanes have always accompanied the life of the Japanese; not least natural disasters have contributed to the development of such national qualities as courage, patience, self control, skill.
Is it any wonder that nature causes in the souls of Japanese people both a sense of doom and at the same time a sense of awe.
Although the natural conditions of the Japanese islands had a noticeable impact on the formation of the national psychology of the Japanese, but the determining factor here, as elsewhere on earth, was certainly the method of production.
Since ancient times, the Japanese have been engaged in hunting, sea fishing, animal husbandry, but most of the population has been cultivating rice fields for centuries.
The questions of the ethnogenesis of the Japanese still cause controversy at the present time, giving rise to the most contradictory hypotheses and theories, none of which can explain the totality of the facts accumulated by science.
In traditional Japanese studies, it is believed that the oldest basis of the population of Japan was the Ainu.
Their economy was based on hunting, fishing, forest and coastal gathering.
In Hokkaido, the Ainu were mixed with immigrants who migrated there from the eastern coast of the Asian continent.
On the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku and in the south of Honshu, the Ainu population mixed and assimilated with Austronesian tribes.
These data do not contradict the opinion of some scientists about the Paleolithic nature of some monuments.
However, they are not sufficiently substantiated (finds in the province of Harima, etc.).
Apparently, there was a Neolithic in Japan already in the V IV thousand BC.
The oldest Neolithic monuments of Japan are shell heaps, distributed mainly along the Pacific coast.
From the contents of these piles, it can be concluded that the population was mainly engaged in gathering and fishing.
They contain the remains of edible shells and fish, harpoons, sinkers and fish hooks.
In later piles, bones of freshwater fish, deer, wild pigs, and birds are often found.
Along with hunting tools (obsidian arrowheads, polished axes and daggers) and fishing, hand made ceramics are found in these piles, richly decorated with rope ornaments typical of early Japan (dzemon).
Clay female figurines indicate the existence of a matriarchy.
The population lived in settlements in large dugouts and buried the corpses right there in shell heaps.
The bones lie on the back in a crouched position, they are often sprinkled with red ochre.
The Japanese Neolithic is characterized by a relatively high level of cultural development with a general slow pace of this development at the last stage.
In the more advanced, southern regions in the first millennium BC, grinding tools characteristic of the late Neolithic appeared in abundance, and metal products appeared in burials.
Ceramics are well baked, sometimes made on a potter's wheel, most often smooth or with a simple ornament (yayoi type).
The population had already settled the interior of the islands and was familiar with agriculture and the rudiments of cattle breeding.
With the advent of the metal age, property differentiation is planned, which is indicated by burials in double urns and a rich funeral inventory (bronze mirrors, swords and daggers).
This differentiation is intensified in the so called Kurgan Epoch (early Iron Age).
The ethnicity of the oldest population of the archipelago has not yet been definitively clarified.
As already mentioned, both the Ainu and other southern tribes, and — later — the tribes of Mongol Malay origin, took part in the formation of the Japanese nationality.
Since the middle of the first millennium BC, the so called proto Japanese tribes have been penetrating the Japanese Islands through the Korean Strait from the south of the Korean Peninsula.
With their arrival, domestic animals appeared on the islands — a horse, a cow, a sheep, the emergence of a culture of irrigated rice also belongs to this period.
The process of cultural development of the alien tribes, their interaction with the local Austronesian Ainu population took place up to the V century.
The main direction of the economy on the Japanese islands finally became rice growing.
In a later period, the island population finally adopted elements of Chinese and Korean culture from Korea, as well as from China.
By this time, the assimilation of the remnants of the Austronesian population in the south of Kyushu was completed.
At the same time, the process of settling the wooded north of Honshu Island began.
The local Ainu population of this island partially mixed with the newcomers, partially was pushed to the north.
These processes have led to the fact that currently Japan is one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries in the world, the basis of the nation (more than 99 percent of the population) is Japanese.
The Ainu are now preserved only in Hokkaido, their number does not exceed 20 thousand.
The history of Japan since the first century BC is already known from written sources.
The earliest information is contained in Chinese historical monuments: in the "History of the Older Han Dynasty” and" History of the Younger Han Dynasty”, information about Japan is reported in the I century BC II century AD, in the "History of Wei” (Weizhi) and" History of Song” (Song Shu) - information about Japan in the II V centuries AD.
The Japanese chronicles “Kojiki” (VIII century AD) and “Nihongi” (VIII century AD) are more detailed than the Chinese ones, as far as Japan itself is concerned, but less accurate.
Their chronology is very complicated and up to the VI century AD is not reliable enough.
In addition, there are many later layers in them.
According to the Japanese belief system Shintoism, the Japanese nation originates from the sun goddess Amaterasu, whose direct descendant was the legendary Emperor of Japan Jimmu (Jimmu Tenno), who ascended the throne of the Yamato state in 660 BC and laid the foundation of a continuous dynasty of Japanese emperors.
In Japan, it is customary to divide the history of the country into the eras of the reign of this or that emperor.
The personality of the emperor, the very idea of imperial power has always acted as the most important cementing factor of the national consciousness of the Japanese.
Decomposition of the generic layer
At the beginning of our era, Japanese tribes inhabited not the entire territory of the archipelago, but only a part of the islands of Honshu and Kyushu.
In the north of Honshu lived Ainu (Ebisu), in the south — Kumaso (hayato).
It is clear that such cohabitation of tribes on the same territory could not favorably affect the future fate of the weaker ones.
While the Japanese tribes were at the stage of the patriarchal clan, prisoners and immigrants from the mainland were accepted into the clan and became its full members.
Korean and Chinese displaced artisans were especially willing to accept them.
The bulk of the free members of the genus were engaged in agriculture.
They sowed rice, millet, and beans.
Agricultural implements were made of stone or wood.
During the II—III centuries, the increase in genera, their division into large and small, and the settlement of individual groups in different parts of the country, as well as the development of exchange, contributed to the strengthening of inter tribal and inter tribal ties.
This, together with the struggle against the surrounding non Japanese tribes, caused a tendency to larger intertribal associations.
The unification process was carried out not by peaceful means, but in the course of a fierce inter tribal struggle.
Weaker births were absorbed by stronger ones.
Japanese chronicles report the subordination of a large number of clans that inhabited the central part of the Honshu Peninsula to the strongest group of clans — the Yamato.
The same tribal associations arise in Tsukushi.
Significant changes have also occurred within the genus.
In economic life, the main unit becomes a community mura, which is an association of several blood related groups of 15-30 people each.
Gradually, these blood related groups are separated from the Mura into special family communities.
Wars between tribes acquired a different character: the defeated began to be taxed with tribute, the prisoners turned into slaves.
Slaves were either used within the family community, or exported to neighboring countries.
"The History of the Younger Han Dynasty" reports, for example, about the shipment of 160 slaves from Japan to China in 107 AD.
In the context of constant wars, the importance of military leaders, the general tribal leader (“king”) and the elders of the largest clans grew.
Most of the spoils of war and prisoners fell into their hands.
At the same time, continuous wars seriously affected the situation of ordinary members of the family and caused significant damage to the economy.
The disintegration of the tribal organization was accompanied by further changes in the socio economic system.
Along with slaves, who were mainly used as domestic servants, a new category of unfree people appears — be.
They were originally simple tributaries of the victor's family, later they turn Chinese and Korean immigrants who were conquered by the clans into Bae.
Despite its island position, Japan was constantly influenced by higher Chinese and Korean culture.
The beginning of Japan's relations with China, traced by historical monuments, dates back to the I century BC, and in the III century AD , Japan and China exchange embassies from time to time.
These relations of Japan with China, and especially with Korea, had a great positive significance for the historical development of Japan in this period.
Religion in Ancient Japan
Imperial Gardens in Kyoto former
residences of the emperors.
Buddhism entered Japan from India through Korea and China in the VI century.
Buddhist preachers immediately appreciated all the benefits of an alliance with Shintoism.
Wherever possible, they tried to use Shinto beliefs to promote the ideas of Buddhism.
Confucianism, which came to Japan first through Korea — in the IV—V centuries and then directly from China — in the VI century, also left a significant imprint on the psychology of the Japanese.
Then the Chinese language became the language of educated Japanese, not m official correspondence was conducted, literature was created.
If the penetration of Confucianism led to the spread of the Chinese language, then the Chinese language, which was instilled in the highest spheres of the country, largely served the purposes of propaganda of Confucian influence.
It is not surprising that the Confucian doctrine of the deification of ancestors, the veneration of parents, the unquestioning subordination of the lower to the higher, the most detailed regulation of the behavior of any member of society is firmly embedded in all spheres of human psychology.
Confucian ideas are well expressed in the following saying: "The relationship between the higher and the lower is like the relationship between the wind and the grass: the grass must bend if the wind blows”" Buddhism and Confucianism began to play the role of a kind of ideological and moral superstructure in Japan.
However, in the system of religious doctrines of Japan, the dominant place was occupied by the true Japanese religion of Shinto.
Shinto (The Way of the Gods)
Shinto Festival of lights.
This is an ancient Japanese religion.
Although its origins are admittedly unknown, no one doubts the fact that it originated and developed in Japan outside of Chinese influence.
The Japanese usually does not seek to delve into the essence and origin of Shinto, for him it is both history, tradition, and life itself.
Shinto is reminiscent of ancient mythology.
The practical purpose and meaning of Shintoism is to affirm the identity of the ancient history of Japan and the divine origin of the Japanese people: according to Shinto, it is believed that the Mikado (emperor) is a descendant of the spirits of heaven, and every Japanese is a descendant of the spirits of the second category — kami.
For the Japanese, kami means the deity of ancestors, heroes, spirits, etc.
The world of the Japanese is inhabited by myriads of kami.
A devout Japanese man thought that after his death he would become one of them.
Shintoism is free from the religious idea of the “central power” of the Almighty, it teaches mainly the cult of ancestors and the worship of nature.
There are no other commandments in Shintoism, except for the jewish precepts to observe cleanliness and adhere to the natural order of things.
He has one general rule of morality: "Act according to the laws of nature, while sparing the laws of society”" According to Shinto ideas, the Japanese have an instinctive understanding of good and evil, so the observance of duties in society is also instinctive: if it were not so, then the Japanese “would be worse than animals, which no one teaches how they should act”" Information about Shintoism in the ancient books "Kojiki" and "Nihongi" give a sufficient idea of this religion.
In such works, two ideas are combined — the idea of blood tribal unity and the idea of political power.
The first is reflected in the expansion of the tribe in time: in relation to the past, in the connection of all things in general from birth; in the inclusion of everything foreign in the composition of the tribe, in subordination to it, in the attraction of the genealogical line according to the main representatives — gods, leaders, kings — as a manifestation of the unity of the tribe.
The second is reflected in the representation of political power as the fulfillment by the gods, leaders, kings of the will of the higher gods.
Japanese chronicles claim that initially there was chaos in the world, but then everything became harmonious: the sky separated from the earth, the female and male principles separated: the first — in the person of the goddess Izanami, the second — in the person of her husband Izanagi.
The sun goddess Amaterasu was born to them; the moon god Tsukiyomi and the wind and water god Susanoo fought among themselves.
Amaterasu won and remained in heaven, and Susanoo was banished to the land of Izumo on earth.
The son of Susanoo Okuninushi became the ruler of Izumo.
Amaterasu did not accept this and forced Okuninushi to hand over the rule to her grandson Ninigi.
Ninigi descended from the sky and took over the government of the Izumo state.
In a sign of the power he was handed three sacred item is the mirror (symbol of divinity), a sword (symbol of power) and Jasper (a symbol of loyalty subjects).
From Ninigi happened Jimmu Tenno (the title of Tenno means “Supreme ruler”; saved the kingdoms of the house to the present day; passed in European languages the word “Emperor”), the mythical first Emperor of Japan, the Mikado.
The mirror, the sword and the jasper have long remained the emblem of the Japanese imperial house.
The Emperor Mikado in the consciousness of the Japanese, due to his "divine" origin, is related to the entire people, he is the head of the nation of the family.
Even the shoguns who dominated Japan for more than three hundred years called themselves representatives of the Mikado.
The idea of the Mikado, sanctified by Shintoism, has not disappeared from the consciousness of the Japanese even today, although, of course, its regulatory force has significantly weakened.
Even modern Japanese, outwardly as if they do not attach serious importance to this idea, subconsciously sincerely reverence it.
Until now, various rituals are performed in Shinto temples in honor of the imperial family (according to some sources, there are more than a hundred thousand of them).
Shintoism has formed a special view of the world of things, nature, and relationships among the Japanese.
This view is based on five concepts.
The first concept asserts that everything that exists is the result of the self development of the world: the world appeared by itself, it is good and perfect.
The regulating force of being, according to the Shinto doctrine, comes from the world itself, and not from some supreme being, as with Christians or Muslims.
This understanding of the universe was the basis of the religious consciousness of the ancient Japanese, who was surprised by the questions of representatives of other faiths: "What is your faith?” or even more — “Do you believe in God?”
The second concept emphasizes the power of life.
According to mythology, the first sexual rapprochement occurred between the gods.
And because sex and moral guilt are never connected in the minds of the Japanese.
Everything that is natural, according to this principle, should be respected, not only the “unclean” is not respected, but every “unclean” can be cleansed.
This is what the rituals of Shinto temples are aimed at, which develop people's inclinations for adaptation, adaptation.
Thanks to this, the Japanese were able to accept almost any innovation, modernization after it was cleaned, adjusted, and coordinated with the Japanese tradition.
The third concept asserts the unity of nature and history.
In the Shinto view of the world, there is no division into living and inanimate, for a Shinto follower, everything is alive: animals, plants, and things; the deity kami lives in everything natural and in man himself.
Some people believe that people are kami, or rather, kami are located in them, or, ultimately, they can later become kami, etc.
According to Shinto, the world of kami is not an otherworldly dwelling, different from the world of people.
Kami are united with people, so people do not need to seek salvation somewhere in another world.
According to Shinto, salvation is provided by merging with the kami in everyday life.
The fourth concept is related to polytheism.
Shinto originated from local nature cults, the worship of local, tribal and tribal deities.
The primitive shamanic and witchcraft rituals of Shinto began to come to a certain uniformity only from the V VI centuries, when the imperial court began to take control of the activities of Shinto temples.
At the beginning of the VIII century, a special department for Shinto affairs was created at the imperial court.
Dramatic performances of the Katabuki Theater.
The fifth concept of Shinto is connected with the national psychological basis.
According to this concept, the Shinto gods, the kami, did not give birth to people in general, but only to the Japanese.
In this regard, the idea that he belongs to Shinto takes root in the consciousness of the Japanese from the very first years of his life.
This implies two important factors of behavior regulation.
Firstly, the statement that the kami are most intimately connected only with the Japanese nation; secondly, the Shinto point of view, according to which it is ridiculous if a foreigner worships kami and professes Shinto — such behavior of a non Japanese is perceived as absurd.
At the same time, Shinto does not keep the Japanese themselves from professing any other religion.
It is no accident that almost all Japanese people, in parallel with Shintoism, consider themselves adherents of some other religious doctrine.
Currently, if we sum up the number of Japanese by belonging to individual faiths, we will get a number that exceeds the total population of the country.
In ancient times, the cult action in Shinto consisted in worshipping the deity of a particular temple, which, in fact, had no relation to other temples.
The rituals of Shinto temples consisted in pleasing the local deity.
This simplicity of the ceremony, which requires only offerings and the simplest ritual actions from people, was the most important reason for the persistence of Shinto for centuries.
For an ancient Japanese who lived in a rural area, his temple, his rituals, his annual colorful holidays became a necessary part of life; this is how his fathers and grandfathers lived, this is how he himself lived, without making any effort to do it; this was the way it was, this is what all relatives and neighbors do.
Despite the lack of unity in the worship of deities, the structure of Shinto temples is nevertheless uniform.
The basis of each temple is the hongden (sanctuary), in which the xingtai (shrine, deity) is kept.
Adjacent to the hongden is the haiden, i.e. the hall for worshippers.
There are no images of the gods in the temples, but some temples are decorated with images of lions or other animals.
At the temples of Inari there are images of foxes, at the temples of Hie — monkeys, at the temples of Kasuga the image of deer.
These animals are considered as messengers of the respective deities.
All this indicates the connection of Shinto with numerous specific folk beliefs.
Ancient folk beliefs
Fuji.
Usually, folk beliefs are understood as an ancient religious practice that is not associated with the church hierarchy.
This is a complex of ideas and actions based on prejudices, superstitions, etc.
Although folk beliefs differ from the temple cult, however, the connections here are obvious.
Let us turn, for example, to the ancient cult of the fox, which the Japanese have worshipped since time immemorial.
The deity in the form of a fox, the Japanese believed, had the body and mind of a person.
In Japan, special temples were built in which people who allegedly had a fox nature gathered.
Under the rhythmic sounds of drums and the howling of priests, parishioners with a” fox nature " fell into a trance state.
They believed that it was the spirit of the fox that inspired them with its powers.
Therefore, people with a” fox nature " considered themselves to be in some way sorcerers and seers, predicting the future.
For a long time in Japan, the wolf was also worshipped.
This animal was considered the spirit of the mountains Okami.
People asked Okami to protect the crops and the workers themselves from various misfortunes.
So, fishermen are still asking him to send down a favorable wind.
In some areas of Japan, especially on the coast, since ancient times, the locals have worshipped the turtle.
Fishermen considered the turtle (kame) to be the deity (kami) of the sea, on which their luck depended.
Huge turtles off the coast of Japan were often caught in fishing nets.
Fishermen carefully pulled them out of the nets, gave them sake to drink and released them back into the sea.
Also in ancient Japan there was a kind of cult of snakes and shellfish.
Actually, at present, the Japanese fearlessly use them for food, but some types of snakes and shellfish are still considered sacred.
These are the Tanisi, the inhabitants of rivers and ponds.
Some scholars believe that reverence for tanishi came to Japan from China.
According to legend, there was once a Wakamiya Hachiman temple in the Aizu area, at the foot of which there were two ponds.
If someone caught tanisi in these ponds, then at night in a dream he heard a voice demanding her return.
Sometimes the sick would catch tanishi on purpose in order to hear the voice of kami pond at night and demand recovery for themselves in exchange for Tanishi's release.
In old Japanese medical books, it was pointed out that tanishi is a good remedy for eye diseases; however, there are also legends that only those who do not eat tanishi can be cured of eye diseases.
There are places in Japan where they still believe in the sacred fish okoze.
This baby was given a very large place in ancient legends.
She was considered a representative of the Kami mountains.
The hunters wrapped okoze in white paper and said something like a spell: "Okoze, if you send me luck, I will unwrap you and let you see the sunlight."
Many fishermen hung dried okoze at the doors of their huts in the hope that they would be lucky, and the house would receive protection from evil spirits.
When the fishermen got into trouble, they promised to bring the kami of the sea as a gift to okoze, if he would have mercy and save them.
There were also beliefs that the tombo dragonfly, which was associated with courage and even with the national spirit, would bring good luck and happiness to the Japanese.
The dragonfly was perceived as a militant insect, so it was customary to wear objects with the image of a dragonfly.
This custom has been preserved even now; the image of a dragonfly can be seen on the boy's things, clothes.
This attitude to the dragonfly comes from the depths of Japanese history, when Japan was called "the land of the dragonfly".
And now you can still find the word “dragonfly” in the literature as a synonym for Japan.
In ancient times, the shark (same) in Japan was considered a being endowed with divine power, i.e. kami.
There were various legends about the shark.
One of them tells that once a shark bit off a woman's leg.
The woman's father prayed to the spirits of the sea to avenge his daughter.
After a while, he saw a large school of sharks chasing a predator in the sea.
A fisherman caught her, killed her and found her daughter's leg in her stomach.
Fishermen believed that a shark could help avoid misfortune in the sea and even carry a drowning person to the shore on his back.
It was believed that shoals of fish were trailing behind the sacred shark.
If a fisherman was lucky enough to meet her, he returned with a rich catch.
The Japanese also idolized the crab.
An amulet made from his dried shell, according to legend, protected him from evil spirits and diseases.
It was said that once crabs appeared in a coastal area where no one had ever seen them.
Fishermen caught them, dried them and hung them on trees; since then, evil spirits have been avoiding these places.
There is still a legend that the Taira warriors, who were defeated in an internecine war with the Minato clan, plunged into the sea and turned into crabs there.
Therefore, in some rural areas, it is still believed that the belly of a crab resembles a human face.
Along with the veneration of animals, the worship of mountains, mountain springs, stones, trees, etc.has spread in Japan.
For a peasant, nature has long served as a reliable source of life, so he deified it in his ideas.
The contemplation of individual stones, trees, etc. caused the Japanese a real pleasure.
Among the trees, this is, of course, a willow.
The Japanese idolized the weeping willow (yanagi).
Its graceful thin branches, swaying under the slightest breeze, cause them to have high aesthetic feelings.
Many poets have sung yanagi since ancient times, artists often depicted her on engravings and scrolls.
Everything graceful and elegant is compared by the Japanese to the branches of a willow tree.
The Japanese attributed Yanagi to trees that bring happiness and good luck.
Willow was used to make chopsticks, which were used only on the New Year's Holiday.
Initially, the religions that came to Japan from the mainland had a huge influence on beliefs, as already indicated.
This can be shown by the example of the cult of kosin.
Kosin (year of the Monkey) is the name of one of the years of the ancient cyclic chronology used in Japan until 1878.
This chronology consists of repeating 60 year cycles.
The Kosin cult is associated with Taoism brought to Japan from China.
The Taoists believed that on the night of the New Year of Kosin, a certain mysterious being living in the body of every person leaves him during sleep and ascends to the sky, where he reports to the heavenly lord about sinful deeds.
Based on this report, the heavenly lord can take a person's life, so it was recommended to spend kosin nights without sleep.
In Japan, this custom has become very widespread.
Gradually, he also absorbed elements of Buddhism and Shintoism.
Many deities from the Buddhist pantheon have entered the national pantheon of Japanese deities by themselves.
Thus, the Buddhist saint Jizo became very popular in Japan.
In the courtyard of one of the temples in Tokyo, a statue of Jizo was erected, entangled with straw ropes.
This is the so called Shibarare Dzizo — "bound Dzizo"; if a person was stolen from some valuables, he tied up Dzizo and promised to release him when he discovered the loss.
Researchers classify the ancient folk beliefs of the Japanese as follows:
- industrial cults (mainly related to agriculture and fishing);
- cults of healing (which allegedly provided healing from diseases);
- patronage cults (aimed at protecting against epidemics and other external ills);
- cult the guardian of the hearth (who protected the house from fire and maintained peace in the family);
- the cult of luck and prosperity (which gave acquisitions and the benefits of life);
- the cult of scaring away evil spirits (aimed at getting rid of various evil spirits — devils, water, goblins).
The harmony of the tea ceremony.
It is necessary to tell especially about the so called tea ceremony (in Japanese, chanoyu).
This ceremony belongs to the most original, unique and ancient arts.
It has played an essential role in the spiritual and social life of the Japanese for several centuries.
Chanoyu is a strictly scheduled ritual in which the tea master participates — the one who makes tea, pours it, and those who are present at this and then drink.
The first is the priest who performs the tea action, the second are the participants of the action who join it.
Everyone has their own style of behavior, covering both the sitting position, and all movements, and facial expression, and the manner of speech.
The aesthetics of chanoyu, his refined ritual obeys the canons of Zen Buddhism.
According to legend, it originates from China since the time of the first patriarch of Buddhism, Bodhidharma.
Once, the legend says, while sitting in meditation, Bodhidharma felt that his eyes were closing and against his will he was inclined to sleep.
Then, angry with himself, he tore out his eyelids and threw them on the ground.
An unusual bush with juicy leaves soon grew in this place.
Later, the disciples of Bodhidharma began to brew these leaves with hot water — the drink helped them to maintain their vigor.
In fact, the tea ceremony originated in China long before the advent of Buddhism.
According to many sources, it was introduced by Lao Tzu.
It was he who in the V century BC, according to legends, proposed a ritual with a cup of”golden elixir".
This ritual flourished in China until the Mongol invasion.
Later, the Chinese reduced the ceremony with the "golden elixir" to a simple brewing of dried leaves of a tea bush.
In Japan, the art of chanoyu received its logical conclusion.
Buddhism in Ancient Japan
The Great Buddha.
This religion penetrated, as already noted, to Japan in the VI century, when Buddhist monks began to penetrate the Japanese islands.
Buddhist sacred books written in Chinese were the first to appear in Japan.
The traditional forms of Japanized Buddhism have their own certain features.
As already mentioned, the founder of Buddhism (Buddha) was born in the VI century BC in the princely family of Shakis (Powerful), he was called Siddhartha, and when he reached adulthood, he was given the name Gautama.
That is, the Japanese fully accept the legend of Gautama.
As well as the fact that Gautama's father kept the son of the heir away from worldly affairs, drove him on a gilded chariot, hiding him from the eyes of outsiders.
The young prince knew no worries, bathed in luxury and did not know real life.
One day, however, he saw an old beggar, another time a cripple, a third a dead man, and a fourth a wandering hermit.
What he saw shocked Gautama and changed his fate.
He gave up a rich inheritance, left his wife and son, and at the age of 29 became a wandering ascetic.
According to the Japanese interpretation, Gautama spent six years wandering, living on alms.
One night, sitting under a Bo tree (Bodhi, what does "knowledge" mean) in deep thought, he understood the meaning of being — enlightenment descended on him.
Gautama learned four holy truths: life is basically suffering; the cause of suffering is the passions, needs, desires of people; to get rid of suffering, it is necessary to stop all desires; this can be done only by avoiding reality and achieving “higher enlightenment” — nirvana.
From the time Gautama became a Buddha (Buddha in Sanskrit means "enlightened”," achieved enlightenment”, and the Japanese also borrowed this concept), he was called Shakya Muni (a saint from the Shaky family).
The Buddha devoted his later life to preaching his teachings.
He died at the age of 80.
Followers, including in Japan, began to give him various supernatural abilities: he could be invisible, fly through the air, walk on water, hold the sun and moon in his hands, etc.
Gradually, the Buddha acquired other divine qualities in people's ideas.
The main thing in Japanized Buddhism is the departure from everyday reality.
Buddhism preaches renunciation of passions, proclaims the futility of worldly worries, calls for peace of mind.
A Buddhist, as follows from the canons, should escape from samsara (the material, sensory world) in order to pass into the world of nirvana.
According to the teachings of the Buddha, samsara is an illusory world, and nirvana is the real world.
Reality, as follows from the dogmas of Buddhism, is the movement of specific particles dharmas.
Everything in the world is formed from a combination of dharmas.
Buddhist scholars count from 70 to 100 varieties of dharmas.
There are also certain groups of dharmas: dharmas of being and non being (that which is born and disappears, and that which exists forever); dharmas of excitement and peace (that which is subject to passion and vanity, and that which seeks to calm down); dharmas of mental states (a feeling of favorable, unfavorable and indifferent attitude to the environment); cognitive dharmas (sensation, perception, representation); dharmas of consciousness and subconsciousness (controlled by consciousness abstractions and what is beyond the control of consciousness).
Dharmas, according to Buddhism, never disappear, but only combine into various structures.
In this regard, human death is also understood as the collapse of one dharma structure and the appearance of another in the form of a person, animal, insect, plant, etc.Life, according to Buddhism, is a chain of endless rebirths.
In order to ensure a “good rebirth”, not to be reborn, say, into a snake or an insect, a person must follow the precepts of Buddhism.
The idea of a person's place in the world is set out in numerous messages of the Buddha.
The essence of them is clearly visible in the Buddha's address to his disciples before his death.
"Let my teaching illuminate the path of life for you!
Rely on him; donot believe anything else.
Be your own light.
Rely only on yourself; do not rely on others.
Take care of your body, take care of its purity; do not give in to temptations; do you not know that temptations will bring you suffering?
Take care of your soul; know that it is eternal; are you not convinced that forgetting it, your pride and selfishness will bring you incalculable suffering?
Be attentive to everything that surrounds you; donot you see that all this is the eternal “self”?
Donot you know that all this will eventually fall apart and be scattered?
Do not be afraid of suffering, follow my precepts and you will get rid of them.
Do everything with your soul — and you will be my faithful disciples.
My friends ... do not forget that death is only the disintegration of the body.
The body was given to us by our parents.
It is nourished by food, so illness and death are inevitable.
But you know that the Buddha
