A Look at the Kasuga Shrine in Kyoto

Posted: August 4, 2010 | Author: Doug | Filed under: Buddhism, Hosso, Japan, Shinto, Travel | 5 Comments »

Of all the Shinto shrines in Japan, one of the most overlooked yet culturally significant is the Kasuga Shrine in Nara, Japan. The Shrine at Ise is arguably one of the most central, but Kasuga Shrine has played a central role in Japanese culture throughout history, and only recently while reading works about Jōkei and Myōe as well as writings from the Heian Period, am I beginning to appreciate this.

Through most of history, the Shrine was part of the Kofukuji Buddhist temple complex, home of the venerable Hossō Sect, and part of the vast property of the Fujiwara Clan. Kofukuji Temple and Kasuga Shrine embody much of pre-modern Japanese religion due to their special relationship to one another. Classical Japanese religion represented a syncretic blending between the indigenous Shinto religion and the relatively new Buddhist one. A kind of compromise of sorts had been promoted called honji suijaku (本地垂迹) whereby Shinto kami were seen as temporary manifestations of Buddhist figures, and in many cases, such as the kami Inari, they became guardian figures to Buddhist sects or particular temples. It wasn’t a perfect fit, but for most people it was a way of reconciling the two.

In the case of Kasuga Shrine, the primary deity kami was simultaneously thought to be a manifestation of Shakyamuni Buddha in particular, but also the Medicine Buddha, and the Bodhisattvas Jizō, Kannon and Monju (Manjushri).

Indeed, both in James L. Ford’s book on the life of Jokei, and Mark Unno’s book on Myoe, the connection between the Kasuga deity and these two great figures of Buddhism is readily evident. There is a famous story, mentioned in both books, where Myoe consulted the deity about going to India in 1203 through his sister, a medium. According to the story the kami told Myoe:

“I love you as I would my own dear child. But it is to be regretted that you have been neglecting your studies, and I wish that you would pay more attention to the holy scriptures…Many suffering beings are waiting for you, so do not isolate yourself but go live near the imperial palace. I also feel deep sympathy for Gedatsubo Jōkei, but unfortunately, he has gone into seclusion in Kasagi. Please relate my feelings to him…” (Unno, reprinted from Kawai, The Buddhist Priest Myoe, pg. 102-103)

The Kasuga Shrine and its kami was the tutelary deity of the Fujiwara Clan, which Jokei was born into, so you can see the connection. But the fact that it singled him out before another famous monk of his era, Myoe, is certainly unusual. Though contemporaries, the two have little relation to one another, yet their parallel efforts to reform the Buddhist monastic institutions, teach and propagate often make them an important pair in history. The very fact that the kami paid such concern over Buddhist teaching is also quite noteworthy in the quotation above.

Kasuga Shrine is also an important part of Japanese literature in a more general sense. In the famous poetic anthology, the Hyakunin Isshu, poem #7 relates one man’s fond memories of Kasuga region where the Shrine is located, while being stranded in China:

天の原 ama no hara
ふりさけ見れば furisake mireba
春日なる kasuga naru
三笠の山に mikasa no yama ni
い出し月かも ideshi tsuki kamo

The translation, according to this website is:

Lifting my gaze to
The broad expanse of the sky,
I see the same moon
That once rose in Kasuga
Over Mount Mikasa!

The composer, Abe no Nakamaro (安倍仲麻呂, 698-770) had been stranded in China for 20 years on a government mission from Japan, and longed to return home. Sadly, his efforts to return home never succeeded and he passed away in Tang Dynasty China.

In any case, the Kofukuji Temple/Kasuga Shrine connection persisted for quite a long time in history until the Meiji Period when the new government issued a decree forcing the separation of Buddhist Temples and Shinto Shrines. This is known as the shinbutsu bunri (神仏分離) policy, begun in 1868. Since that time, Buddhism and Shinto have remained fairly separate to some degree or another, and the Kasuga Shrine today stands on its own as a world heritage site, and one of the taisha (大社) or “grand shrines” in Japan. Other examples include Ise and Izumo among others.

Now, I’ve been to Kasuga Shrine before, but at the time, I knew nothing about Shinto or Buddhism, nor any of the above. I really can’t remember much about it, which I now regret. After reading the books above, and reflecting on my own limited experiences, I thought it would be time to write about this shrine, so others who go can appreciate it better. From my one and only visit in 2005, here were a couple of pictures I brought back (the rest were not very good, or had family members in them hard to cut out). Their homepage, in Japanese, has a nice map of the site too. Note: It’s been five years, so I may not remember things properly and I definitely would appreciate feedback.

This is shrine’s central gate (中門, chūmon):

Inside you can see the honden (本殿) or central hall of worship):

Also, Kasuga Shrine is very famous for its stone lanterns, which you can see behind me here, which lead up a gentle path to the Shrine interior:

The lanterns are pretty amazing actually. The picture doesn’t quite show it, but there are rows and rows of lanterns, many from antiquity. During certain festivals the lanterns are all lit up, making for a beautiful scenery.

If anyone has had a chance to visit, let me know. Kasuga Shrine is on my extended list of places to visit in Nara, the next time I go (probably in 2015 based on current pattern), but I hope to pay a visit to the shrine that inspired Jokei, Myoe and many generations of Fujiwara, Hossō Buddhist scholars and poets abroad.

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