This section: Diffusion of Hinduism in Japan needs additional citations for verification .(March 2024) |
Total population | |
---|---|
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.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2024) |
Hinduism diffused throughout East Asia via trade routes, and also through the expansion of Buddhism in the sixth century. [1] There has also been significant transfer of Hindu-derived material native to China and South East Asia into Japan over the past two millennia. [2] [3] [4]
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. [5] In fact there are many deities that are still worshiped in Japan which have long been forgotten in India. [6]
Saraswati (Benzaiten) is arguably the most revered deity in Japan after the Buddha. [7] 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. [8]
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. [9] Even today, it is claimed Japan encourages a deeper study of Hindu Gods. [10]
English | Japanese | Thai-Pali | Devanagari-Sanskrit |
---|---|---|---|
กัตเต็ง 月天 | พระจันทร์ | चन्द्र | |
Agni | คาเต็ง 火天 | พระอัคนี | अग्नि |
Ganesh | คังงิเต็ง 歓喜天 | พระพิฆเนศวร | गणेश |
Garuda | คารูระ 迦楼羅 | ครุฑ | गरुड़ |
Lakshimi | คิชโชเต็ง 吉祥天 | พระลักษมี | लक्ष्मी |
Virupak | โคโมกุเต็ง 広目天 | ท้าววิรูปักษ์ | विरूपाक्ष |
Dhritaratra | จิโกกุเต็ง 持国天 | ท้าวธตรฐ | धृतराष्ट्र |
Prithavi | จิเต็ง 地天 | พระปฤถวี | पृथ्वी |
Varun | ซุยเต็ง 水天 | พระพิรุณ | वरुण |
Viruthak | โซโจเต็ง 増長天 | ท้าววิรุฬหก | विरूढक |
Dakini | ดากินิเต็ง 荼枳尼天 | ฑากิณี | डाकिणी |
Mahakal | ไดโกกุเต็ง 大黑天 | มหากาฬ | महाकाल |
Apsara | เท็นนิง 天人 | อัปสร | अप्सरा |
Sakr | ไทชากุเต็ง 帝釈天 | ท้าวสักกะ | शक्र |
Surya | นิตเต็ง 日天 | พระอาทิตย์ | सूर्य |
Brahma | บนเต็ง 梵天 | พระพรหม | ब्रह्मा |
Vaishravana | บิชามนเต็ง 毘沙門天 | ท้าวเวสวัณ | वैश्रवण |
Sarswati | เบ็นไซเต็ง 弁才天 | พระสุรัสวดี | सरस्वती |
Vayu | ฟูเต็ง 風天 | พระพาย | वायु |
Rahu | ราโง 羅睺 | พระราหู | राहु |
Rakshassa | ราเซ็ตสึเต็ง 羅刹天 | รากษส | राक्षस |
Ishan | อิซานะเต็ง 伊舎那天 | พระอีศาน | ईशान |
Skanda | อิดะเต็ง 韋駄天 | พระเวทโพธิสัตว์ | स्कन्द |
Yam | เอ็มมะเต็ง 閻魔天 | พระยม | याम |
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. [12] [13]
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. [14]
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of spinning, weaving, beauty, love, sexuality, motherhood, domesticity, creativity, and fertility. Many major goddesses are also associated with magic, war, strategy, hunting, farming, wisdom, fate, earth, sky, power, laws, justice, and more. Some themes, such as discord or disease, which are considered negative within their cultural contexts also are found associated with some goddesses. There are as many differently described and understood goddesses as there are male, shapeshifting, or neuter gods.
Shiva, also known as Mahadeva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism.
Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. Deities in Hinduism are as diverse as its traditions, and a Hindu can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, even agnostic, atheistic, or humanist. The terms and epithets for deities within the diverse traditions of Hinduism vary, and include Deva, Devi, Ishvara, Ishvari, Bhagavān and Bhagavati.
In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara, also known as Lokeśvara and Chenrezig, is a tenth-level bodhisattva associated with great compassion (mahakaruṇā). He is often associated with Amitabha Buddha. Avalokiteśvara has numerous manifestations and is depicted in various forms and styles. In some texts, he is even considered to be the source of all Hindu deities.
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 India, 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 the Shaivism and Shaktism tradition of Hinduism, the goddess Tara is the second of the ten Mahavidyas. She is considered a form of Adishakti, the tantric manifestation of Parvati. Her three most famous forms are Ekajaṭā, Ugratara, and Nīlasarasvatī. Her most famous centre of worship is the temple and the cremation ground of Tarapith in West Bengal, India.
Shaktism is one of the several major Hindu denominations wherein the metaphysical reality, or the godhead, 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.
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Vishnu, also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
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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.
Brahma is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva. He is associated with creation, knowledge, and the Vedas. Brahma is prominently mentioned in creation legends. In some Puranas, he created himself in a golden embryo known as the Hiranyagarbha.
The Tridevi are a trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, joining a triad of eminent goddesses either as a feminine version of the Trimurti, or as consorts of a masculine Trimurti, depending on the denomination. This triad is typically personified by the Hindu goddesses Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Parvati. In Shaktism, these triune goddesses are the manifestations of Mula-Prakriti or Adi Parashakti.
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