This section: Diffusion of Hinduism in Japan needs additional citations for verification .(March 2024) |
Total population | |
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166,550 (0.1%) (2022) | |
Languages | |
Liturgical : Sanskrit, Old Tamil |
Hinduism by country |
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Full list |
Hinduism is a minority religion in Japan mainly followed by the Indian, Sri Lankan and Nepali expatriate residents of Japan, who number about 166,550 people as of 2022. It's also widely integrated into the native Shinto-Buddhist religion which has had a significant impact on Japanese culture; Buddhism being an Indian religion is largely related to Hinduism, and most of its cultural practices are similar to those found in Hinduism. [1]
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Hinduism diffused throughout East Asia via trade routes, and also through the expansion of Buddhism in the sixth century. [2] There has also been significant transfer of Hindu-derived material native to China and South East Asia into Japan over the past two millennia. [3] [4] [5]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2024) |
Hindu deities have been integrated into Japanese religious culture and several deities are worshiped for good luck. [6] In fact there are many deities that are still worshiped in Japan which have long been forgotten in India. [7]
Saraswati (Benzaiten) is arguably the most revered deity in Japan after the Buddha. [8] She forms as a part of the "Seven Gods of Fortune", of which four originated as Hindu deities: Benzaitensama (Sarasvati), Bishamon (Vaiśravaṇa or Kubera), Daikokuten (Mahākāla or Shiva), and Kichijōten (Lakshmi). The last, along with Benzaitennyo (Saraswati) and the female version of Daikokuten completes the nipponized Tridevi of Great Goddesses. [9]
The Hindu god of death, Yama, is known in his Buddhist form as Enma. Garuda, the mount (vahana) of Vishnu, is known as the Karura (迦楼羅), an enormous, fire-breathing creature in Japan. It has the body of a human and the face or beak of an eagle. Tennin originated from the apsaras.[ citation needed ]
Ganesha (or Kangiten) is prayed to for health, success and good fortune. Many Japanese Buddhist deities (or Tenbu) have their roots in Hinduism and are still revered by many Japanese particularly in Shingon Buddhism.[ citation needed ]
Other examples of Hindu influence on Japan include the belief of "six schools" or "six doctrines" as well as use of yoga and pagodas.[ citation needed ]
People have written books on the worship of Hindu gods in Japan. [10] Even today, it is claimed Japan encourages a deeper study of Hindu Gods. [11]
English | Japanese | Thai-Brahmi | Devanagari-Sanskrit |
---|---|---|---|
Agni | 火天 | พระอัคนี | अग्नि |
Ganesh | 歓喜天 | พระพิฆเนศวร | गणेश |
Garuda | 迦楼羅 | ครุฑ | गरुड़ |
Lakshmi | 吉祥天 | พระลักษมี | लक्ष्मी |
Virupak | 広目天 | ท้าววิรูปักษ์ | विरूपाक्ष |
Prithvi | 地天 | พระปฤถวี | पृथ्वी |
Varuna | 水天 | พระพิรุณ | वरुण |
Viruthak | 増長天 | ท้าววิรุฬหก | विरूढक |
Dakini | 荼枳尼天 | ฑากิณี | डाकिणी |
Mahakala | 大黑天 | มหากาฬ | महाकाल |
Apsara | 天人 | อัปสร | अप्सरा |
Sakr | 帝釈天 | ท้าวสักกะ | शक्र |
Surya | 日天 | พระอาทิตย์ | सूर्य |
Brahma | 梵天 | พระพรหม | ब्रह्मा |
Vaishravana | 毘沙門天 | ท้าวเวสวัณ | वैश्रवण |
Saraswati | 弁才天 | พระสุรัสวดี | सरस्वती |
Vayu | 風天 | พระพาย | वायु |
Rahu | 羅睺 | พระราหู | राहु |
Rakshassa | 羅刹天 | รากษส | राक्षस |
Ishana | 伊舎那天 | พระอีศาน | ईशान |
Skanda | 韋駄天 | พระเวทโพธิสัตว์ | स्कन्द |
Yama | 閻魔天 | พระยม | यम |
Hinduism is practiced mainly by the Nepali, Indian and Sri Lankan migrants, although there are others. As of 2022, there are 40,917 Sri Lankans, 40,752 Indians and 125,798 Nepalis in Japan. [13] [14]
The few Hindu temples in Japan are as follows:
The Association of Religion Data Archives estimated that 24,182 Hindus in Japan as of 2020. [15]
Yama is the Hindu deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld. Belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities, Yama is said to have been the first mortal who died in the Vedas. By virtue of precedence, he became the ruler of the departed.
Saraswati, also spelled as Sarasvati, is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, flowing water, abundance and wealth, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. She is a pan-Indian deity, also revered in Jainism and Buddhism.
Hinduism in Southeast Asia had a profound impact on the region's cultural development and its history. As the Indic scripts were introduced from the Indian subcontinent, people of Southeast Asia entered the historical period by producing their earliest inscriptions around the 1st to 5th century CE. Today, Hindus in Southeast Asia are mainly Overseas Indians and Balinese. There are also Javanese and Balamon Cham minority in Cambodia and south central Vietnam who also practice Hinduism.
Benzaiten is an East Asian Buddhist goddess who originated mainly from the Hindu Indian Saraswati, goddess of speech, the arts, and learning. Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the sixth through eighth centuries, mainly via Classical Chinese translations of the Golden Light Sutra, which has a section devoted to her. Benzaiten was also adopted into Shinto religion, and there are several Shinto shrines dedicated to her.
In Japanese mythology, the Seven Lucky gods or Seven gods of Fortune are believed to grant good luck and are often represented in netsuke and in artworks. One of the seven (Jurōjin) is said to be based on a historical figure.
Shaktism is a major Hindu denomination in which the godhead or metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman.
Buddhism includes a wide array of divine beings that are venerated in various ritual and popular contexts. Initially they included mainly Indian figures such as devas, asuras and yakshas, but later came to include other Asian spirits and local gods. They range from enlightened Buddhas to regional spirits adopted by Buddhists or practiced on the margins of the religion.
Daikokuten is a syncretic Japanese deity of fortune and wealth. Daikokuten originated from Mahākāla, the Buddhist version of the Hindu deity Shiva, conflated with the native Shinto god Ōkuninushi.
Hinduism is the Fourth-largest religion in Myanmar, being practised by 1.7% of the population of Myanmar. Hinduism is practised by about 890,000 people in Myanmar, and has been influenced by elements of Buddhism, with many Hindu temples in Myanmar housing statues of the Buddha. There are also a large population of Hindus in which the Myanmar Tamils and minority Bengali Hindus having the biggest population share.
Muktinath is an ancient Vishnu temple located in Mustang, Nepal. The temple of Muktinath, known as 'the lord of liberation', is sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists whom they worship as an abode of Hindu deity Vishnu and Buddhist deity Avalokiteśvara respectively. Located in the Muktinath valley at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass, it is one of the world's highest temples at an altitude of 3,800 meters. The temple is given a status of one of the 108 Divya Desams of Hinduism and the only Divya Desam located outside India. It is also one of the 51 Shakti Pitha, associated with the head of goddess Sati. The temple complex is known as Mukti Kshetra, which literally means "the place of liberation (moksha)" and is one of the Char Dham in Nepal.
Hinduism is currently practiced by a minority of residents of China. The religion itself has a very limited presence in modern mainland China, but archaeological evidence suggests a significant presence of Hinduism in different provinces of medieval China. Hindu influences were also absorbed in to Buddhism and got mixed with Chinese mythology over its history. Practices originating in the Vedic tradition of ancient India such as yoga and meditation are also popular in China.
Devata are smaller and more focused Devas (Deities) in Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism. The term "devata" itself can also mean deva. They can be either male or female. Every human activity has its devata, its spiritual counterpart or aspect.
The Buddha is considered the ninth avatar among the ten major avatars of the god Vishnu, according to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism.
Hinduism in Mongolia is a minority religion; it has few followers and only began to appear in Mongolia in the late twentieth century. According to the 2010 and 2011 Mongolian census, the majority of people that identify as religious follow Buddhism (86%), Shamanism (4.7), Islam (4.9%) or Christianity (3.5). Only 0.5% of the population follow other religions.
Ganesha is a prominent Hindu god. He is the god of beginnings, wisdom and luck and worshipped as the remover of obstacles. Ganesha is easily recognized from his elephant head. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists and beyond India.
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, also known as Maha Uma Devi Temple (Thai: วัดพระศรีมหาอุมาเทวี; RTGS: Wat Phra Si Maha Umathewi and Wat Khaek in Thai, is a South Indian architecture style Hindu temple on Si Lom Road in Bangkok, Thailand. It was built in 1879 by Vaithi Padayatchi, a Tamil Hindu immigrant.
Devī is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is deva. Devi and deva mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism.
Indians in Japan consist of those with Japanese citizenship and those with foreign citizenship.
Hindu denominations, sampradayas, traditions, movements, and sects are traditions and sub-traditions within Hinduism centered on one or more gods or goddesses, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti and so on. The term sampradaya is used for branches with a particular founder-guru with a particular philosophy.
Devaraja was a religious order of the "god-king," or deified monarch in medieval Southeast Asia. The devarāja order grew out of both Hinduism and separate local traditions depending on the area. It taught that the king was a divine universal ruler, a manifestation of Bhagavan. The concept viewed the monarch to possess transcendental quality, the king as the living god on earth. The concept is closely related to the Indian concept of Chakravarti. In politics, it is viewed as the divine justification of a king's rule. The concept was institutionalized and gained its elaborate manifestations in ancient Java and Cambodia, where monuments such as Prambanan and Angkor Wat were erected to celebrate the king's divine rule on earth.
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