10 BUDDHISM IN JAPAN
10.1 The Cult of Charisma
P
rior to the importation of Buddhism from Korea and China, Japan had
no speculative tradition of its own. However, it had developed a unique
approach to the role of religion in political and cultural life that shaped
the way it adopted and adapted Buddhism. Pre-Buddhist Japanese religion
centered on the worship of kami: beings (spirits, people, animals), objects, and
places possessing charismatic power. This charisma was perceived to have not
only a religious dimension, but also political and aesthetic dimensions as well.
The long-term historical impact of this perception has been to blur the line
between religious and political life on the one hand, and between religious
and aesthetic sensitivity on the other. The interpenetration of these three di-
mensions can be regarded as the distinctive feature of Japan's participation in
the Buddhist religion.
Karni worship interpenetrated political life in that the basic unit of politi-
cal organization-the uji (tribe or clan)-was defined by all members of the
clan, whether related or not, owing ultimate allegiance to the same karni. The
political leader of the clan was also the clan's chief priest and sometimes its
shaman, conducting rituals with the aim of appeasing the clan's karni and aug-
menting his/her own charisma (Japan from early on had a tradition of strong
female rulers). There were even cases in which the leader became so charis-
matic as to be identified with the karni itself. A true leader was supposed to be
particularly sensitive to the kami's wishes and to rule the clan accordingly.241