Chapter 12 Japanese Traditions Exam Questions

Chapter 12

Japanese Traditions

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who are the kami in Japanese tradition?
   1. Small shrines set up in the household for domestic worship
   2. Small pieces of paper on which prayers are written and left in trees at shrines
   3. Warriors who adhere to a strict code of discipline and honour, including religious devotion to Japan
   4. Charms blessed by priests that can be bought during festivals
   5. Individual spirits associated with specific natural phenomena, powers, and places
2. What does “Shinto” mean?
   1. Power
   2. Way of the kami
   3. Way of nature
   4. Ritual religion
   5. Ancient stories
3. For its first 150 years in Japan, how was Buddhism primarily sustained within this territory?
   1. Commerce between China and Japan brought support for Buddhism
   2. Government supported Buddhism in Japan as an alternative to folk religions
   3. Clans in Japan were supported by their contacts in Korea
   4. Thai missionary efforts by Buddhist monks amongst the people of Japan
   5. Support from the Tibetan Buddhist monks
4. What second-oldest book in Japan combines origin myths with accounts of the reigns of early emperors?
   1. The Nihon Shoki
   2. The Kojiki
   3. The Heart Sutra
   4. The Lankavatara
   5. The Lotus Sutra
5. According to the Nihon Shoki (“Chronicles of Japan”), what religion did the Korean ruler recommend to the Japanese king in the sixth century?
   1. Daoism
   2. Shinto
   3. Buddhism
   4. Confucianism
   5. Christianity
6. When was the first Buddhist temple in Japan constructed?
   1. 1965 CE
   2. 596 CE
   3. 965 CE
   4. 1596 CE
   5. 695 CE
7. Which of the following is central to most religious practices in Japan?
   1. Affirming the sincerity of deeply held beliefs
   2. Worship of a supreme being
   3. Affirming one’s commitment to a particular religious tradition over any other
   4. Chanting repeatedly the name of a deity or spirit
   5. The pragmatic desire to secure various benefits, either in this world or in the next
8. What is the name of the eighth-century text containing the creation myths of Japan?
   1. Lankavatara
   2. Kamidana
   3. Lotus Sutra
   4. Kojiki
   5. Ankoku-ron
9. Who are the primordial kami couple in Japanese mythology?
   1. Amaterasu and Kannon
   2. Kannon and Jizo
   3. Izanagi and Izanami
   4. Saicho and Kukai
   5. Izanagi and Amaterasu
10. Which kami of the sun became the primary deity associated with the Japanese imperial family?
    1. Izanami
    2. Kannon
    3. Jizo
    4. Amaterasu
    5. Izanagi
11. The bodhisattva known as Guanyin in China is called what in Japan?
    1. Izanagi
    2. Amida
    3. Amaterasu
    4. Jizo
    5. Kannon
12. What popular bodhisattva is known in Japan for his ability to free tormented souls from hell, as well as protect children and travellers?
    1. Amaterasu
    2. Kannon
    3. Izanami
    4. Jizo (or Ojizo-sama)
    5. Amida
13. What important ritual, whose roots are in a combination of native Japanese, Korean, and Chinese folk beliefs, has been an enduring responsibility for all of Japan’s religious traditions?
    1. Predicting the future through the use of divination
    2. Blessing children
    3. Requesting aid in battle
    4. Calming and controlling unsettled spirits
    5. Thanking animals for their sacrifice after a successful hunt
14. What two Japanese monks brought back new forms of Buddhism from China in the ninth century, helping to domesticate and popularize it in Japan?
    1. Nichiren and Niko
    2. Honen and Shinran
    3. Eisai and Dogen
    4. Gyoki and Kuya
    5. Saicho and Kukai
15. What does the phrase honji suijaku imply in the Japanese tradition?
    1. One must rely on one’s own power to achieve spiritual enlightenment.
    2. Shinto is the one true national religion of Japan.
    3. Shinto shrines can be built within Buddhist temples, and vice-versa.
    4. The highest honour is to sacrifice oneself for Japan.
    5. Kami are local manifestations of buddhas or bodhisattvas.
16. Who are the warrior elite in Japanese tradition?
    1. Mizuko
    2. Nenbutsu
    3. Matsuri
    4. Kami
    5. Samurai
17. In Japan, which term refers to the “degenerate age,” during which it was believed Buddhist dharma would decline and corruption and conflict would increase?
    1. Mappo
    2. Obon
    3. Honji suijaku
    4. Matsuri
    5. Nenbutsu
18. Who is the author of Essentials of Salvation?
    1. Nichiren (1222–1282)
    2. Genshin (942–1017)
    3. Shinran (1173–1262)
    4. Honen (1133–1212)
    5. Eisai (1141–1215)
19. Who developed Pure Land Buddhism, as we know it today, in Japan?
    1. Eisai
    2. Shingon
    3. Honen
    4. Kukai
    5. Nichiren
20. By what name is Amitabha, the central buddha of the Pure Land tradition, known in Japan?
    1. Kannon
    2. Jizo
    3. Shinran
    4. Amaterasu
    5. Amida
21. What is the nembutsu?
    1. The code of honour followed by the samurai
    2. Chanting of Namu Amida Butsu as a central practice in Pure Land Buddhism
    3. The Shinto practice of ritual purification under a waterfall
    4. The massive statue of the Buddha built in Nara
    5. The degenerate age of Buddhist dharma, believed to have begun in Japan in the eleventh century
22. In Japanese Pure Land tradition, what does the term “tariki” refer to?
    1. “Merit” as part of our slavation
    2. “Self-power” must be asserted for assuring our salvation
    3. God’s grace is unnecessary for salvation
    4. “Other-power” is needed for deliverance from suffering
    5. “The Way” of transcendence by meditation
23. Buddhist True Pure Land militias in Japan in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were made up of whom?
    1. Former Zen masters
    2. Shinto priests pretending to be Buddhist
    3. Independent shoguns (warrior-princes) and their followers
    4. Buddhist “monk warriors”
    5. Common people and low-ranking samurai
24. The word “Zen” is the Japanese version of which Chinese word?
    1. Jodo
    2. Tian
    3. Faxiang
    4. Dao
    5. Chan
25. What Japanese Buddhist school promotes “gradual enlightenment” through the practice of “just sitting” (zazen)?
    1. Nichiren
    2. Rinzai Zen
    3. Shingon
    4. Tendai
    5. Chan/Zen
26. Who founded the Rinzai sect of Zen in Japan after visiting China?
    1. Kukai
    2. Dogen
    3. Eisai
    4. Saicho
    5. Nichiren
27. Which influential Japanese Buddhist monk believed that believed that the only path to salvation, for the individual and for the nation, lay in the teachings of the Lotus Sutra?
    1. Saicho
    2. Eisai
    3. Dogen
    4. Kukai
    5. Nichiren
28. Which major new Japanese religious movement traces its roots ultimately to the teachings of Nichiren?
    1. Sokka Gakkai
    2. Jodo shinsu
    3. Mahikari
    4. Shinnyo-en
    5. Perfect Liberty Kyodan
29. When did “Shinto” begin to take form as a distinct and self-conscious entity?
    1. From the sixth century
    2. The medieval period
    3. After World War II
    4. The late eighteenth century
    5. The second century
30. Where are the Grand Shrines of Amaterasu located?
    1. Kamakura
    2. Mount Fuji
    3. Ise
    4. Kyoto
    5. Nara
31. What is the significant Japanese religious practice of matsuri?
    1. Passing through a symbolic gateway (torii) before entering a shrine
    2. Climbing Mount Fuji to commune with the kami
    3. Ritual purification under a waterfall
    4. Leaving prayers on small pieces of paper hung in trees at a shrine
    5. Grand festivals involving the entire community
32. In what traditional Japanese festival are the spirits of the departed honoured?
    1. New Year’s
    2. Obon
    3. Ikebana
    4. Shichi-Go-San
    5. Kokugaku
33. What is the term that denotes the Japanese art of flowering making?
    1. ikebana
    2. zazen
    3. dhyna
    4. matsuri
    5. kokugaku
34. What Japanese form of minimalist poetry reflects the Zen emphasis on penetrating to the essence of reality?
    1. Nenbutsu
    2. Haiku
    3. Noh
    4. Bushido
    5. Ikebana
35. When did the first Europeans reach Japan?
    1. 1490s
    2. 1200s
    3. 1540s
    4. 1600s
    5. 1620s
36. What military unifier of Japan first tolerated Christianity and allowed its missionaries to spread their religion in the sixteenth century?
    1. Oda Nobunaga
    2. Emperor Meiji
    3. Tokugawa Ieyasu
    4. Hayashi Razan
    5. Emperor Go-Daigo
37. In 1637, around 25,000 Japanese peasants and samurai mounted an insurrection, in which, they used what symbol on their flags?
    1. Buddhist Symbols
    2. Christian Symbols
    3. Kami Symbols
    4. Shinto Symbols
    5. Zen Symbols
38. Which Japanese ruler effectively closed the door on both Christianity and Europe in the seventeenth century?
    1. Oda Nobunaga
    2. Hayashi Razan
    3. Emperor Go-Daigo
    4. Emperor Meiji
    5. Tokugawa Ieyasu
39. What is the content of Arai Hakuseki’s “Tidings from the West” (1709)?
    1. Inquisition of a Jesuit missionary
    2. Theological diary of a Jesuit missionary
    3. Letters between a Jesuit missionary and Hakuseki
    4. Interview between a Jesuit missionary and Hakuseki
    5. Novel about a Jesuit missionary and his conversion to Shintoism
40. What system of thought or religion inspired the creation of four distinct classes (samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants) in during the Tokugawa regime?
    1. Rinzai Zen
    2. Confucianism
    3. Shinto
    4. Hinduism
    5. Christianity
41. What codified samurai ethics is known as the “way of the warrior”?
    1. Kamikaze
    2. Kokugaku
    3. Ikebana
    4. Torii
    5. Bushido
42. The Kokugaku movement of the late 1600s emphasized which of the following?
    1. Combining kami and bodhisattvas in shrines and temples
    2. A strict code of ethics for the warrior samurai
    3. Suicidal attacks for the greater good of Japan
    4. Sitting quietly in silent meditation
    5. Acceptance of the “true” Japanese spiritual traditions instead of Confucianism and Buddhism
43. Nakayama Miki established which of the following religions in Japan?
    1. Kurozumikyo
    2. Mahikari
    3. Tenrikyo
    4. Sokka Gakkai
    5. Rissho Koseikai
44. At what time was Shinto designated the official state religion of Japan?
    1. Post-World War II
    2. Sixteenth century
    3. Nara period (710–794)
    4. Meiji Government (1868–1911)
    5. Kamakura period (1185–1333)
45. What does the Japanese term kamikaze, in reference to the Second World War, mean?
    1. Holy warrior
    2. Saint
    3. Enlightened ones
    4. Divine wind
    5. Great spirit
46. When did the emperor of Japan renounce his claim to divinity?
    1. Post- World War II
    2. Meiji Government (1868–1911)
    3. Kamakura period (1185–1333)
    4. Christianization of the 17^th century
    5. Samurai period
47. What new religious movement in Japan was responsible for the deadly sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway system in 1995?
    1. Aum Shinrikyo
    2. Sokka Gakkai
    3. Shinnyo-en
    4. Mahikari
    5. Rissho Koseikai
48. Approximately how many Buddhist temples are located in Japan?
    1. 12,000
    2. 24,000
    3. 5,000
    4. 250,000
    5. 74,000
49. In Japan, what does the derogatory term “funeral Buddhism” refer to?
    1. A new religious movement that claims roots in Buddhism but is not recognized formally
    2. The slow decline of Buddhism in Japan
    3. The obsession with death attributed to Buddhism by many Japanese
    4. Temples that have benefited from the income generated by funerals, memorials, and the sale of grave plots on their property
    5. The fact that the only Buddhist rituals that exist in Japan are related to funerals
50. What issue has led to a joint statement from, and example of rare cooperation between, the various schools of Japanese Buddhism?
    1. Government corruption
    2. Poverty
    3. Animal Rights
    4. Nuclear power
    5. Sex equality

True or False Questions

Estimates of the number of Buddhist practitioners in Japan range from approximately 85 to over 100 million.

Since 19^th century, one of the primary texts for Shinto has been the Nihon Shoki.

Shinto priests are known as kami.

Japan history has no written records from the first four centuries of the Common Era.

A 4^th century CE account from the Chinese describes Japan as ruled by a female queen who used “black magic and witchcraft” to control the kami.

For its first 150 years in Japan, Buddhism was sustained mainly by clans with ties to China.

The Nihon Shoki is Japan’s second-oldest book.

Japan’s first Buddhist monastery was constructed in 451 CE.

Belief is less important than activity in Japanese religion.

The traditions conventionally associated with Japan are Shinto, Buddhism, and Daoism.

Japanese people typically practise either Buddhist or Shinto rituals, but rarely both.

“Turning to the gods in a time of trouble” would be a way to describe Japanese religiosity.

According to Japanese tradition, kami are capable of entering any object useful for exercising their power.

Amaterasu, the Japanese sun deity, is the primordial female kami, “wife” of Izanagi.

In Japanese Buddhist tradition, Kannon is the bodhisattva who alleviates suffering.

Jizo is a popular bodhisattva who has provided comfort to millions of Japanese.

Unlike in China, appeasing the spirits of the dead is of little importance in Japan.

The monk Saicho founded Soto Zen Buddhism in Japan.

As part of the Japanese honji suijaku principle, local kami were associated with particular bodhisattvas.

Three new types of Buddhism emerged during the Kamakura period in Japan.

The mappo age in Japanese Buddhist teaching was known as the “golden age,” where people could easily achieve salvation with their own power.

The nembutsu is the phrase repeatedly chanted in Zen Buddhist practice.

Shinran was the founder of the True Pure Land sect of Buddhism in Japan.

The Japanese word “Zen” ultimately derives from the Sanskrit dhyana, meaning “meditation.”

The Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism was founded by Eisai.

The Soto Zen school of Buddhism use koan to achieve sudden enlightenment.

Nichiren believed the Heart Sutra was an all-encompassing guide to secular and spiritual life.

The Ise Grand Shrines in Japan are dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu.

In Japanese tradition, the Shikoku pilgrimage spans one thousand sacred temples.

The popular form of Japanese poetry, haiku, primarily reflects traditional Confucian values.

Christian missionaries were unsuccessful in gaining converts in Japan.

By the nineteenth century, Shinto was being advocated as the national faith of Japan.

New religious movements have lost momentum and gradually disappeared in Japan since the Second World War.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the earliest form of religious practice in Japan?
2. What were the kami in Japanese tradition?
3. According to the Nihon Shoki, how did Buddhism first become established in Japan? Historically, how was Buddhism maintained in Japan for its first 150 years?
4. What was the significance of the teachings brought by Saicho and Kukai to Japan from China?
5. What is the concept of honji suijaku as understood in Japanese tradition?
6. What led to the appeal and growth of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan?
7. What was the significance of Eisai’s trips to China for Japanese Buddhism?
8. Why was Zen Buddhism attractive to the samurai in Japan?
9. What are some of the major elements of Nichiren’s life that led to the development and spread of Nichiren Buddhism in Japan?
10. What are three different examples of Japanese religious practices believed to produce pragmatic benefits?
11. What are three different Japanese artistic expressions influenced by religion, as discussed in the textbook?
12. In what ways was Shinto used to promote national ideology in Japan? How did this change after World War II?

Essay Questions

1. How does Japanese emphasis on activity and seeking benefits differ from the more prevailing Western models of religion, which tend to emphasize belief? Cite examples to support your discussion of select Japanese practices.
2. According to recent scholarship, when and how did Shinto first emerge and what was its role in the Mieji restoration?
3. How have Japanese cultural expressions reflected religious influence? Explain with two examples.
4. What were the major events in the rise and fall of Christianity in Japan in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
5. Describe the relationship between Buddhism and Shinto in Japan, historically and ideologically.
6. What made Pure Land Buddhist teachings so attractive in Japan during the Kamakura period?