Death and the Afterlife

The following term paper is constructed in the form of researching

the various religions of India, China, and Japan on the topic of death and

their views of the afterlife and then comparing and contrasting the

religions at the end. Shinto Shinto is Japan’s indigenous religion that has

been around since approximately 200 B.C.E. Unlike other religions, Shinto

was not organized or systematized and had little theology. Instead, Shinto

was a Japanese form of religious practice with close ties to the ordinary

individuals’ everyday lives. Since Shinto was based on tradition, it had

few rituals for death and the afterlife. The basic Shinto concept of the

afterlife is that after one dies, they become a spirit-deity and eventually

become an ancestral spirit. An “underworld” is found in Shinto as well, and

is known as “Yomi”. In the creation story of the Kami, Yomi was mentioned

when Izanagi went to the northern mountains and down to underworld to find

Izanami. However, Izanami had already eaten the pomegranate which sealed

her fate in Yomi. During the Tokugawa regime, those who lost their lives on

battlefield had a different fate in the underworld. It was believed by the

Samurai that to be killed on the battlefield was the greatest honor of all.

However, if the Samurai were to be captured and then killed by the enemy,

they would be trapped in the underworld of the enemies. Rather than fall

victim to this, the Samurai considered seppuku, or suicide by

disembowelment, a better choice. With the introduction of Buddhism to

Japan, Shinto took the rituals and concepts that Buddhism had for death and

then incorporated it into their own religion. It was then common practice

to see not only Kami Danas in people’s homes, but also now Butsu Dans or

Buddha Shelfs. At this point, Buddhism and Shinto coexisted in people’s

lives, born and raised primarily Shinto but then turning towards Buddhism

as they life progressed and as they turned toward their final years....