Japanese Pop Culture and Religion Quiz

Kojiki written

712

Nara Period

710-794 (784?)

Kukai/Kobo Daishi lifespan

774-835

Four Main Islands of Japan

Hokkaido - northernmost island

Honshu - Biggest island

Shikoku - smallest island

Kyushu - southernmost island

Amaterasu

Sun goddess, big boss

imperial family links themselves to her (Kojiki)

Susanoo

God of the storm, sea, and fields

Izanami / Izanagi

Parent gods, chatting each other up and creating the world

Izanami dies giving birth to fire god, Izanagi goes to afterlife but not supposed to, Izanami gets mad and chases him away, divorcing him and taking world populations — reason for population control!

“Born Shinto, Die Buddhist” meaning

When you’re born, you get taken to local shinto shrine to be acknowledged by priest

Shinto does not handle death, but Buddhism does, so they handle funeral rites and rituals 

Calendar year also dies buddhist by burning amulets at end of year at Buddhist temples

Lotus Sutra

preaches universal enlightenment, shows it can happen fast with true understanding of the Sutra and practices

Dragon princess story shows women can be enlightened too (feminist)

Golden Light Sutra

teaches how to purify negative karma and achieve personal, national, and world peace. It contains teachings on compassion, enlightenment, and the interconnectedness of all beings, and it is said to bring happiness, good health, and protection from harm.

Kami

Gods

Ujigami

Local neighbourhood area Kami (like a village protector)

Daibutsu

Large Dianichi Buddha statue in Nara

Dainichi Buddha

Cosmic buddha, where Kukai gets the meaning “its all in the vowels” - Buddha is everywhere and everything

Esoteric Buddhism

Secret inner teachings considered beyond the understanding of ordinary people

Direct paths to enlightenment 

Three Mysteries

Mandala — Mystery of the mind (universe)

Mantra — Mystery of the mouth (sounds)

Mudra — mystery of the body (hand gestures)

Pure Land

There is a western pure land, pure land ≠ enlightenment

BUT going to the pure land means you will become enlightened, achieving rebirth in the pure land, superior place to achieve full Buddhahood

How karma affects us in this life, cannot happen in the pure land

Amida Buddha

Dharma Kara, wanted to do good for the world

Made 48 vows, does them in a pattern

17, 18, 19th are most important 

if all people do not become enlightened, he cannot achieve Buddhahood

if the vows do not work, he is the problem, not the other people

practice Nambutsu

Honji Suijaku

Shinto kami were seen as local "traces" (suijaku) of higher Buddhist beings (honji), like Buddhas or bodhisattvas.
This idea let Buddhism absorb Shinto by treating the kami as local forms of universal Buddhist deities.

Mappo

Teachings

lived realities

end of the Dharma, where Japan had environmental chaos, and people believed it was the end of the world

went back to teachings to realize they needed to connect more spiritually

Uzume

Short for Ame-No-Uzume, Goddess of joy, lures Amaterasu out of the cave by performing a provocative dance

Nembutsu

Practice of reciting the name of the Amida Buddha

Nihongi

720 AD

Heian Period

794-1185