Danka system — Wikipedia

Posted on by
before-content-x4

The shūmon ninbetsu aratamechō , or register Danka From a village called Kumagawa near Fussa to Tokyo ( Fussa City Museum ).

The Last Tsirty bead. ( Dandelion system , DANKA SEIDO ? ) , also known as Jidan system ( Temple tank system , JIDAN SEIDO ? ) is a system of voluntary and long -term affiliation between Buddhist temples and households, applied in Japan since the Heian era [ first ] . In this context, households ( Danka ) financially support a Buddhist temple which, in exchange, meets their spiritual needs [ first ] . Although its existence is well prior to the era of Edo (1603-1868), the system is best known for the repressive use which was made at the time by the Tokugawa Shogunat, which makes affiliation to a Buddhist temple compulsory for all Japanese.

after-content-x4

During the Tokugawa Shogunat, the system turns into a registration network for individuals. Allegedly put in place in order to stop the dissemination of Christianity and to identify hidden Christians, the system implemented by the Shogunat and managed by Buddhist temples quickly becomes a way to monitor and control the population as a whole [ 2 ] . For this reason, it survives as it is long after Christianity in Japan has practically disappeared. The system as there is in the time of tokugawa is sometimes called Terauke system ( Temple invitation system , TERAUKE SEIDO ? ) due to certification (or terange , because the that’s , or temple, delivers a week , that is to say a certificate) attesting that an individual is not a Christian [ 3 ] .

The system Danka Compulsory is officially abolished after the Second World War, but nevertheless continues to exist as a voluntary association between the two parties and constitutes an important part of the resources of most temples. Furthermore, it defines the relationship between households and temples as was the case before [ first ] .

The system Danka Radically changed in 1638 when, in reaction to the rebellion of Shimabara (1637-1638), the bakufu decides to eradicate the Christian religion by using it as a tool [ 3 ] . The relationship between the temple and the Danka , hitherto voluntary, is formalized and made compulsory: Buddhist temples receive the order to start to issue terange (certificates) for their Danka ( Dandelion ? ) , while households, for their part, have the duty to become Danka of the closest temple, whatever its sect (Nichiren, Jodo, Rinzai, etc.), and to obtain one terange [ 2 ] . Although never written in law [ 3 ] , this use of the system nevertheless quickly becomes an omnipresent and extremely important characteristic of tokugawa Japan [ 2 ] . From an administrative point of view, all the Japanese, including the Shinto priests, become an integral part of the Buddhist bureaucratic organization, which in turn refers to Tokugawa.

The system has three levels, with the low temple which delivers the terange . Local government officials thus collect all terange , assemble them in books called shūmon ninbetsu aratamechō ( Don’t change the account ? ) [ 3 ] and present them to the higher authorities [ 2 ] . The goal is to force Christians to join a Buddhist temple, while facilitating the monitoring of suspected Christians [ 2 ] .

The very first registers that exist are dated between 1638 and 1640 and, without surprise, are in areas where the Christian religion is strongly widespread, for example Kyoto, its province and the Kyūshū [ 2 ] . There are no registers in other areas before the second half of the XVII It is century, but terange individual, which obviously have the same purpose, are not uncommon [ 2 ] .

after-content-x4

Because in 1664, the BakuFu orders all Daimyō the establishment in their field of an officer of the religious investigation called the magistrate of religion ( Sect magistrate , shūmon bugyō ? ) or “Magistrate of temples and sanctuaries” ( Shrine magistrate , jisha bugyō ? ) , from the following year, the registers of religious affiliation begin to be established nationwide [ 2 ] .

In 1671, the register format was standardized. The document must record all peasant households, indicate the number of men and women in each city, as well as the totals of all the districts and that of the province [ 2 ] . The steward must keep the register and send a summary of a page to higher instances [ 2 ] . In addition, all the departures of the community due to marriage, work or death must be registered. This register format was maintained unchanged until 1870, three years after the start of the Meiji era [ 2 ] . Since the order explicitly stipulates that “naturally, it is advisable to investigate many things, and not only at the time of the investigation into religion” [ 2 ] , the system from the outset has clearly ended beyond the religious question. The result is the EDO equivalent of the contemporary household register, apart from the obligation made to the temple to specify a family temple and the obligation for a citizen to obtain a terange [ 2 ] . In some regions, the right to issue certificates is called Shin ( Sect ? ) ， Law which gradually becomes a source of great power for the temples [ 2 ] . Not only is a certificate issued after the payment of a royalty, but it gives religious authorities the power of life and death on the parishioners [ 2 ] .

This document must be obtained each year, after an inspection in the affiliation temple [ 3 ] . Those who, for any reason, cannot obtain a certification of the temple are recorded as Hinin ( non-humans ) and subsequently discrimination objects [ 2 ] , or simply executed as Christians [ 3 ] . Not only peasants, but even shintoist priests and samurai cannot live or find space within society without the terange [ 2 ] which plays a role similar to that of the current identity papers. This certificate is necessary to get married, travel, or have access to certain jobs [ 4 ] . After 1729, the possibility of breaking the ties between a temple and a Danka (or rani ( Leave the altar ? ) ) is officially abolished, making the link between a Danka and a temple impossible to break [ 2 ] . This elimination of competition for the parishioners between the temples, makes it impossible for a man and his family to change the temple of affiliation. At the end of XVII It is century, the system has become an integral part of the Tokugawa State apparatus [ 3 ] .

The life of Thank you is then made even more difficult by a document which considerably widens the powers of a temple on those affiliated to it. Presented as a law of BakuFu Regulating in detail the process of certification of religious affiliation, it appears around 1735 and subsequently was the subject of significant circulation throughout Japan [ 2 ] . Dated 1613 and called “individual rules concerning the certification of religious affiliation for the danka” （ Gojōmoku shūmon Danna UKEAI NO OKITE (Royal Termine Zongmen Dan’s requests), Généralement Abrégé EN Gojokuō ), it is clearly a false, undoubtedly created by the temples themselves, whose interests he serves [ 2 ] .

That the document is a false is undoubtedly proven by the fact that it lists among the religions prohibited not only Christianity, but also the fuju-fuse schools (in) ( Not to do not be ? ) et Hiden ( Aggressive field ? ) from the Nichiren sect. Since the two schools were put out of the law, respectively in 1669 and in 1691, the date of issue was deliberately falsified [ 2 ] . The probable reason why this date was retained is that it is the year when the “order to expel Christian priests” ( Beld -of , Bateren TSUIHōRei ? ) of Tokugawa Ieyasu is promulgated and because the temples receive the following year the order to begin to deliver terange [ 2 ] .

The document is often found in temples and collections throughout the country and seems to have been raw authentic, even by most historians in the Meiji era [ 2 ] . The Gojokuō , which gives the temples even more powers on their parishioners, is mentioned from time to time by the temple registers and, when a Danka does not respect its prescriptions, the temple does not deliver any certification [ 2 ] . His provisions cause considerable problems between Danka and the temples [ 2 ] .

The document first defines four obligations for Danka :

  • Obligation to visit the temple on several annual occasions. The lack of visits may result in the withdrawal of the name of Danka registers [ 2 ] .
  • Obligation to carry out two services on the day of the ancestor commemorative service. The inability to provide appropriate entertainment in the eyes of the priest leads to stigma as a Christian [ 2 ] .
  • Obligation to entrust the family temple to organize all commemorative and funeral services [ 2 ] .
  • Obligation for anyone capable of walking to attend the commemorative services for ancestors [ 2 ] .

Then he attributes five rights to the temple:

  • And Danka must perform certain acts in favor of the temple, including by doing offerings and providing free work. Not doing it means being stigmatized as a member of the Fuju-Fuse sect (in) [ 2 ] .
  • And Danka must obey his temple and give money to his priests [ 2 ] .
  • Regardless of the loyalty duration of a group Danka , this is always likely to be the subject of a religious investigation in order to determine the possible emergence of heresy [ 2 ] .
  • After someone’s death, just looking at the corpse the priest can determine what was the true religion of the deceased [ 2 ] .
  • The Danka must always follow the orders of his temple [ 2 ] .

The consequences of two and a half centuries of use of terange And bureaucratization of Buddhism are numerous and deep, first of all for Buddhism itself.

Structural distortions [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The distance between the authorized sects from those prohibited becomes much greater than it was [ 4 ] . If on the one hand Buddhism authorizes the diversification of its own sects, it punishes on the other hand the trends which call into question the political status quo [ 4 ] . Like a Danka is recorded at the closest temple independently of its religious affiliations, the nature of these then becomes gradually less important [ 4 ] . Consequently of all these factors, the differences between the sects authorized by the government tend to fade and Buddhism becomes more uniform, in particular because the Shogunat has its say in the affairs of religious religious orthodoxy [ 4 ] .

During the Edo time, Buddhism therefore offers only few new ideas (except perhaps the reform of Zen sects) [ 4 ] . On the contrary, the development of Confucianism and Japanese shintoism and the birth of what is called “new religions” during the same period produce interesting ideas [ 4 ] .

The advent of “funeral Buddhism” [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Even if the original intention of Buddhism consists in the dissemination of Buddha lessons, Buddhist temples in Japan today are mainly cemeteries [ 5 ] , [ 6 ] . What is called the SōSHIKI BUKKYō ( Funeral Buddhism ? ) Or “funeral Buddhism” of today, for example, for example in the film “The funeral” of Jūzō Itami, where the essential function of Japanese Buddhism is confined to the accomplishment of funeral and commemorative services, is a direct consequence of the system Danka , like the sale of posthumous names (or Kaimyō ( Nickname ? ) ) [ 4 ] . Regarding Buddhism, the distinctive line of the Danka system during the Edo’s time is reduced to what it guarantees a regular flow of profits thanks to compulsory funeral rites [ 5 ] . This cash flow, inseparable from the Danka system, is what finances most temples in Japan and guarantees their proliferation [ 5 ] . Hence the close association between Buddhism and death that is perpetuated today. When the official dissolution of the entire Danka system occurs after the Second World War, it means for Buddhism a great loss of income and therefore financial insecurity [ 6 ] .

Movement Haibutsu Kishaku [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The use of terange and the generalized resentment he created is considered one of the main causes of Haibutsu Kishaku , violent and spontaneous movement which, at the beginning of the Meiji era, causes the destruction of a large number of temples throughout Japan. The official policy of the separation state of shintoism and Buddhism ( SHINBUTSU BUNRI ) of the time, although not directly responsible for this destruction, provides the trigger which releases a repressed energy. In consideration of the close association of Buddhism with the Tokugawa Shogunat, it is not surprising that the Buddhist monks were considered as state agents and that several sectors of the Society of the EDO period began try to find other ways to meet their spiritual needs [ 4 ] .

Despite its history, Buddhism has, both on Shintoism and on Confucianism, determining advantages that made it impossible during the Meiji era, whether replaced by one or the other [ 7 ] . With its many rituals (the Jūsan Butsuji , or thirteen Buddhist rituals), Buddhism can better help people to face death [ 7 ] . In addition, the shinto which associates death and pollution, is therefore intrinsically less suitable for funeral ceremonies, while Confucianism in Japan hardly cares about funeral [ 7 ] . Finally, Buddhism has national infrastructure that neither shintoism nor confucianism can equal [ 7 ] .

after-content-x4