A Link Between Hindu Gods and Japan

[Guest guest]

Shankaram Siva Shankaram

 

Source: Japan Times Newspaper

 

TOKYO, JAPAN: 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 Emma, 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/

 

Japan's basic religion is Shintoism. Some claim that the 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 japanised 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 Kangiten. 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, Did the Chinese

and Japanese once read the Mahabharata?

 

Amazing similarities of the story of King Sibi are mentioned in the

Mahabharata, Chinese folklore and Japanese folklore. Here are the three

versions. They seem to have the same source.

 

 

Mahabharata:

 

King Sibi was the son of Usinara and belonged to the Iksvaku lineage. Once

King Sibi decided to conduct a grand yagya. All those who came to the yagya

had all their wishes fulfilled. King Sibi would not turn down any request.

Even the gods were speaking of this great sacrifice conducted by Sibi. The

King of the gods Indra and Agni decided to test Sibi's worth. So Indra took

the shape of a falcon and Agni the shape of a dove and flew towards the

sacrifice, with the falcon chasing the dove.

 

The dove flew towards King Sibi and sat on his lap trembling in fear. The

sight of the dove brought compassion to the heart of King Sibi and so he

assumed a protective stance. The falcon suddenly spoke in a human voice, 'O

king, your fame is well known throughout the three worlds for your adherence

to dharma. It is my dharma to kill and provide food for my family and

myself. Why do you obstruct me from performing dharma despite having such a

reputation for clinging on to dharma?'

 

The King was startled on hearing this. But he thought for a while and

replied, 'It is also my dharma to protect anyone who is weaker than me and

seeks my protection. This dove has chosen refuge under me, so it is my duty

to protect it with my life.' But the falcon replied, 'But King Sibi, is it

also not your duty to maintain dharma in your kingdom? If you insist on

protecting that bird, then you must give me some other food, without causing

suffering.' King Sibi replied, 'Ok, I will cut a piece of flesh from my own

thigh equal to the weight of the dove as food for you.'

 

King Sibi began to cut a piece of flesh from his own thigh, but to his

amazement the bird seemed to be much heavier than anticipated. He cut more

and more flesh, but to no avail. His left side of the body had so little

flesh he almost fell of balance. But struggling back to the ground he then

climbed on the scale and offered himself as a sacrifice in order to uphold

dharma. Immediately the dove and falcon assumed their true shape and gave

Sibi Rana his body back with even more luster than before.

 

 

Chinese Version:

 

There are two versions. One version is ditto the same. Only the

pronunciations are different. For ex. Sibi is pronounced as Shibi (strong

emphasis on the h), etc. The other version is from the Jatakamala. In this

story Indra dressed as a blind person approaches King Sibi requesting an

eye-sight. King Sibi pierces his own eyes and gives them to the blind man

asking him to use it to retain his eye-sight.

 

 

Japanese Version:

 

King Sibi is believed to be a previous incarnation of Sakyamuni Buddha. In

this story a heavenly being named Bishamon (Kuvera) approaches the god

Taishaku (Indra) and tells him, 'There is a great Bodhisattva named King

Sibi. Soon he will become a Buddha.' On hearing this Taishaku decides to

test the sincerity of the King's practice in pursuing enlightenment. He

transforms himself into a hawk and instructs Bishamon to take on the

appearance of a dove.

 

Chased after by the hawk, the dove escapes and flies into the arms of King

Sibi. Perched on the branch of a tree, the hawk says to the King, " Please

let me have the dove back. It is what I have been trying to get. " King Sibi

replies, " No, I can't because I have vowed to protect all living things. I

cannot return it to you. "

 

The hawk then points out, " I am one of the living things that you have vowed

to save. If you take away my food for today, I will be unable to live

tomorrow. "

 

The King then offers to cut off a piece of his own flesh and gave it to the

hawk. As the King proceeded to cut his own flesh, the hawk measures it using

a balance and found the dove to be consistently heavier than the muscle of

the King. No matter how much muscle was added, the weight was lighter than

the total weight of the dove. Finally, the King cuts all the flesh off of

his body.

 

The King tries desperately to put his entire body on the balance, but falls

to the ground. He then exclaims, " I once made a pledge to save all living

beings! I cannot let such minor sufferings defeat me! "

 

At last he successfully climbs onto the balance. Watching the entire scene,

all the heavenly beings praise the King saying, " He did not begrudge his

life, even for a bird. He is a person who best suits the title of

Bodhisattva. "

 

Suddenly, Taishaku casts off his disguised figure as a hawk and regains his

original appearance. He says to the King, " Don't you have any pain or

regret? " The King replies, " I have no regrets whatsoever. My heart is rather

full of joy. "

 

No sooner did the King utter these words than did his body change back into

what it used to be.

 

 

 

The influence of Indian thought and culture on Japan was very great.

 

Moritz Winternitz, while reviewing Geschichte der Japanischen Literature,

says:

 

" In view of so much Indian influence in Japanese literature, it is possible

to assume that the 'Keuyogen' or double meaning of Japanese poetry may in

any way be connected with that form of Alankara of the Indian Kavya, which

is exactly in the same method. "

 

The distinguished Japanese scholar, Mr. J. Taka Kusu, says: " But I should

like to emphasize the fact that the influence of India, material and

intellectual, must have been much greater in an earlier period than we at

present consider to have been the case. There were, for instance, several

Indians, whom the Kuroshiwo current, washing almost the whole southern

coast, brought to the Japanese shore. " He further says, " It cannot be denied

that several Indians came to Japan, especially in view of so many Indians

finding their way to China by sea. "

 

He then relates how a Brahmin Bodhisen Bharadvaja, known generally as the

" Brahmin Bishop " came with another priest from India via Champa (Cochin

China) to Osaka, then to Nara, where they met another Indian ascetic and

taught Sanskrit to the Japanese. " His monastery and tombstone, with a

written eulogy, still exist in Nara. Just at the time a Japanese alphabet or

syllables is said to have been invented. The fifty syllables, Gojuin, are

arranged by a hand, evidently with a practical knowledge of Sanskrit

method. "

 

(source: Journal of Royal Asiatic Society for 1905, p. 872-873).

 

The official record of Japan, Nihongi and Ruijukokushi describe how cotton

was introduced in Japan by two Indians who reached Japan in July 799 and

April 800 A.D.

 

(For more refer to Dr. Taka Kusu's " What Japan owes to India " in the Journal

of the Indo-Japanese Association for January, 1910).

 

It is noteworthy that some of the scriptures of the Japanese priests

preserved in the Horyuji Temple of Japan are written in Bengali characters

of the eleventh century.

 

(source: Daito Shimaji's " India and Japan in Ancient Times, " in the Journal

of Indo-Japanese Association for January 1910).

 

 

Shankaram Siva Shankaram