Nihon Ryōiki and the Decline of Jingi Worship

Most studies of Japanese ancient religious traditions regard Nihon ryōiki, the earliest collection of Buddhist folk-literature compiled by 9th century Yakushiji Buddhist monk Kyōkai, as a text which indicates the decline of jingi worship at the time. The main aim of this paper is to criticize this view by showing two implied premises which many scholars unconsciously presuppose without basis: a substantialist understanding of Buddhist and jingi worship, and undue emphasis on the editor’s intention to indoctrinate people with Buddhist belief. Regarding the former, several scholars mistakenly interpret non-Buddhist folk literature, particularly the folk literature called “dōjō-hōshi setsuwa,” as stories which show a Buddhist element in the logic of “inga ōhō”. With reference to these theories, some scholars relate jingi worship with the form of community in ancient Japan, which often is not depicted in detail. Such studies define “Shinto” somewhat substantially as an entity that is dichotomous with and overwhelmed by “Buddhism.” However, the materials do not demonstrate the confrontation of “Shinto” and “Buddhism.” Moreover, it is difficult to understand folk literature in Nihon Ryoiki through the substantialist categories of “Shinto” and “Buddhism”. Regarding the latter presupposition, a cautious reading of the text’s preface written by editor Kyōkai suggests that it is impossible to assume that he intended only to collect Buddhist folklore by which he expected to cultivate people’s righteous consciousness. In fact, he also intended to collect fantastical stories regardless of whether they exhibited Buddhist tendencies or not. Behind this intention, it can be said that in addition to the indoctrination of people, satisfying his interest in mysteries (ryōi) was one of his purposes in compiling the text. We thus cannot take this text as having only a Buddhist character. Nihon ryōiki is, however, regarded as the material that contains various ancient beliefs. In light of the aforementioned arguments, two directions for future study can be delineated. Firstly, scholars must perform a detailed analysis of relationship between belief in Nihon ryōiki and jingi worship, without using the substantially defined category of “Shinto,” by conducting a detailed analysis of Shinto-like elements in folk literature. Secondly, we must provide comprehensive understandings of various beliefs, for instance “hyōsō shinkō,” which cannot be classified as Buddhism or Shinto. By these methods, we can illuminate another, non-Buddhist aspect of ancient Japanese religious tradition.論文/Article