Shoden/Anpuheru

[Guest guest]

Namaste Anpuheru,

 

Here's an excerpt for the time being from:

http://www.hknet.org.nz/VWHChinaJapanKorea.html

 

Ommmm,

Sy

 

Vedik China & Japan & Korea

----------------------------

A Link Between Hindu Gods and Japan

Source: Japan Times Newspaper

 

TOKYO, JAPAN, April 10, 2002: An exhibition called "Gods Derived From

India to Japan" is showing at the Okura Shukokan Museum of Fine Arts

until May 26. The story behind the showing is a fascinating one. It

all started 51 years ago when Toshio Yamanouchi's job took him to

India as general manager for an iron importer company. His passion

for religious art took him all across the country and in twenty-five

years he built up his collection. In northern Uttar Pradesh, he

discovered a miniature painting of "Govardhana Krishna." In Madhya

Pradesh, he purchased a 18th century three-headed Ganesha made of

ivory. A sandalwood Saraswati was found in the NW state of Rajasthan.

Yamanouchi's entire collection, which he has donated to the Okura

Shukokan Museum of Fine Arts, consists of 350 statues, sculptures,

reliefs and paintings. Seventy of these pieces are part of the

present exhibition. Indian law would now prohibit the export of any

historical object more than 100 years old. This law was passed in the

early 70's. However, by this time, the collection had already been

brought back to Japan. Diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of

73, Yamanouchi chose to utilize what he thought might be his final

years to write three books about how India and Japan are bound by

their roots in Hinduism and Buddhism. The article says, "Yamanouchi

identifies Benzaiten, the Japanese goddess of good fortune, with

Saraswati; Seiten of the Jogan Period with Ganesha; and Enma, the

Japanese lord of hell, with his Indian counterpart Yama."

Interestingly, Yamanouchi was fascinated with the Hindu gods that he

saw during weekly visits to Buddhist temples when he was a young boy.

He recalls, "My parents were very religious. I saw many Buddhas at

the temples, but I also noticed many Indian Gods protecting the

central Buddha figure."

 

Courtesy of http://www.HinduismToday.com/

 

.......the controvertial Indian writer PN Oak (of Vedik World Heritage

fame) writes:

Japan's basic religion is Shintoism. This word Shintoism is just a

mispronunciation of Sindhuism or Hinduism. The Shinto shrines are

full of Vedic deities but it is difficult for the outsiders to

recognise them because of their distorted names. Kali-devi is

pronounced as Kariteimo. Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated in Japan in

the same way as in India but they call Sri Hanuman as Hanumatsri. The

mantras recited in the Shinto shrines are in Sanskrit. The sumo

wrestlers start their fight after uttering the word Om. Japanese pay

homage to Lord Ganesh but call him Kangijen. Japanese like to call

their country Nippon which is nothing but the Sanskrit word Nippun,

meaning dexterous**. Some time ago the Japanese postal department

issued a stamp depicting Lord Krishna playing the flute. The Japanese

cremate their dead as per Vedic practice. Elaborate chants beginning

with Om consecrate the memory of the dead.

So, Vedic influence is quite strong in the Japanese culture, but

Japanese tend to impart their own slant (no pun intended) to every

thing which they borrow from outside.

 

The use of the phonetic word Nippon/nipun is shown here:

 

Srila Mädhavendra Puri Goswami said:

mugdham mäm nigadantu niti-nipunä bhräntam muhur vaidikäh

mandam bändhava-sanchayä jata-dhiyam muktädaräh sodaräh

unmattam dhanino viveka-chaturäh kämam mahä-dämbhikam

moktum na kshämate manäg api mano govinda-päda-sprihäm

 

"Let the sharp moralist accuse me of being illusioned; I do not mind.

Experts in Vedic activities may slander me as being misled, friends

and relatives may call me frustrated, my brothers may call me a fool,

the wealthy mammonites may point me out as mad, and the learned

philosophers may assert that I am much too proud; still my mind does

not budge an inch from the determination to serve the lotus feet of

Govinda, though I be unable to do it."

 

nänä-shästra-vicäranaika-nipunau sad-dharma-samsthäpakau

lokänäm hita-kärinau tri-bhuvane mänyau sharanyäkarau

rädhä-krsna-padäravinda-bhajanänandena mattälikau

vande rüpa-sanätanau raghu-yugau shri-jiva-gopälakau

 

"I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvämis, namely Shri

Sanätana Gosvämi, Shri Rüpa Gosvämi, Shri Raghunätha Bhatta Gosvämi,

Shri Raghunätha däsa Gosvämi, Shri Jiva Gosvämi and Shri Gopäla

Bhatta Gosvämi, who are very expert in scrutinizingly studying all

the revealed scriptures with the aim of establishing eternal

religious principles for the benefit of all human beings. Thus they

are honored all over the three worlds, and they are worth taking

shelter of because they are absorbed in the mood of the gopés and are

engaged in the transcendental loving service of Rädhä and Krishna."

 

Please visit the website to see the rest (interesting articles):

http://www.hknet.org.nz/VWHChinaJapanKorea.html

 

 

, "anpuheru" <ANPUHERU@A...> wrote:

>

> I was also wondering if anyone had any information on Lord Ganesha

in

> Japan, where he is known as "Shoden" (Sho-Ten?). Any information

> would helpful. Thank you all again!

>

> Namaste!!!

>

> Anpuheru