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A Glorious Hindu Legacy: Indic influence in Southeast Asia.

Japan

Hinduism played a very significant role in moulding Japanese character and culture. The new teachings of the Shingon sect originated in India much before it was introduced in China in the 8^th century A.D. The Shingon or esoteric principles are based on Tantric rituals which were practiced in India by the followers of Sanatan Dharma since early times.

Hajime Nakamura (1912 - 1999) Japanese scholar. His field of research was exceedingly broad, encompassing Indian philosophy, Buddhist studies, historical studies, Japanese thought, comparative thought. He was the author of The History of Early Vedānta Philosophy an epoch-making study in four volumes.

He has remarked that:

"India is culturally, Mother of Japan. For centuries it has, in her own characteristic way, been exercising her influence on the thought and culture of Japan."

(source: India: Mother Of Us All - By Chaman Lal p. 25).

He believed that:

“Without Indian influence Japanese culture would not be what it is today.”  "As most Japanese profess the Buddhist faith, needless to say, they have generally been influenced by Indian ideas to a great extent."

(source: Japan and Indian Asia - By Hajime Nakamura  p. 1).

Sir Charles Elliot (1862-1931), British diplomat and colonial administrator, in his book, Hinduism and Buddhism, vol. I, p 405 wrote:

"Zen is the Japanese equivalent of Sanskrit Dhyana (meditation) or Ch'an and is the name given to the sect founded in China by Bodhidharma.

Dr. Post Wheeler (1869 - 1956) a diplomat and editor of The Sacred Scriptures of the Japanese: With All Authoritative Variants, Chronlogically Arranged also said:

‘Many fragments of the Japanese myth-mass were unmistakably Indian. The original homeland of the first man and women of Japanese mythology is said to have been in the Earth-Residence-Pillar i.e. Mount Meru of Indian mythology. There is another story of Buro-no-Kami whose identity has been established with the deity called Brave-Swift-Impetuous-male. This Kami may be none other than the Indian deity Gavagriva, the Ox-head deity. The story recounts in the style of the jatakas how the deity punished the heartless rich brother and rewarded the king hearted poor brother. In India one of the names of the moon is Sasanka (lit. having a rabbit in the lap) and there is an ancient Indian legend why it is so called. The belief prevalent in ancient Japan that there lived a rabbit in the moon was probably an outcome of the Indian influence." 

(source: India and Japan: A Study in interaction during 5th cent - 14th century - By Upendra Thakur p. 27 - 41).

Dr. D. T. (Daisetz Teitaro) Suzuki  (1870-1966) was a Japanese Buddhist and Zen scholar, who has written several books, including Zen Buddhism and Its Influence on Japanese Culture and An Introduction to Zen Buddhism. He has said:

“The study of Japanese thought is the study of Indian thought”

(source: India: Mother of Us All - By Chaman Lal p. 25).

Donald A. Mackenzie (1873 - 1936) author of Myths of Pre-Columbian America has written:

"The Indian form of myth of The Churning of the Milky Ocean reached Japan. 

"In a Japanese illustration of it the mountain rests on a tortoise, and the supreme god sits on the summit, grasping in one of his hands a water vase. The Japanese Shinto myth of creation, as related in the Ko-ji-ki and Nihon-gi, is likewise a churning myth. Twin deities, Izanagi, the god, and Izanami, the goddess, sand on "the floating bridge of heaven" and thrust into the ocean beneath the "Jewel Spear of Heaven". With this pestle they churn the primeval waters until they curdle and form land."

(source: Myths of Pre-Columbian America - By Donald A. Mackenzie ASIN 185958490X  p.190 -191).

Basil Hall Chamberlain (1850 - 1935) One of the foremost Western interpreters of things Japanese has observed:

"In a sense Japan may be said to owe everything to India; for from India came Buddhism, and Buddhism brought civilization – Chinese civilization, but then China had been far more tinged with the Indian dye than is generally admitted even by the Chinese themselves.”   

""They do not realize, for instance, that the elderly man or woman who become, as they say inkyo, that is, hands over the care of the household to the next generation....they do not realize that this cheery and eminently practical old individual is the lineal representative of the deeply religious Brahman householder, who, at a certain age, - his worldly duties performed, - retired to the solitude of the forest, there to ponder on the vanity of all phenomena, and attain to the absorption of self in the world-soul through profound metaphysical meditation."

"Or the "true name", which is kept a sacred, is an Indian heritage. The fire-drill for producing the sacred fire at the great Shinto shrines of Ise and Izumo seems to be Indian; the elaboration of ancestor-worship seems to be Indian; all philological research in the Far East is certainly of Indian origin, even to the arranging of the Japanese syllabaries in their familiar order. Not only can some of the current fairy tales be traced to stories told in the Buddhist sutras,....but so can some of the legends of the Shinto religion, notwithstanding the claim confidently put forward, and too easily accepted by European writers, to the effect that everything Shinto is purely aboriginal. The very language."

"the very language has been tinctured, many common words being of Indian derivation, and even a few common ones, such as abata, "pock marks"; aka, "water baled out of a boat; dabi, "cremation" danna, "master" hachi, "bowl" kawara, "title" sendean, "sand-wood" (we English having borrowed the same Indian word for this Indian thing); sora, "the sky"; to say nothing of such words connected with religion as garan, "temple"; shamon, "priest" English shaman is the same word); kesa, "vestment; " shari, "relic," and numerous others. Indian is the use of tea now so characterized of China and Japan; India has dictated the national diet fostering rice-cultures and discrediting the use of flesh, which seems to have been a staple article of Japanese food in pre-Buddhistic days."

(source: Things Japanese – By Basil Hall Chamberlain  p. 246 - 247).

Dr. Subhash Kak (1949 - ) is a widely known scientist and a Indic scholar. Currently a Professor at Louisiana State University, he has authored ten books and more than 200 research papers in the fields of information theory, quantum mechanics, and Indic studies. He is a Sanskrit scholar and is author of Astronomical Code of the Rig Veda, and India at Century's End: Essays on History and Politics. Dr SubhashKak has recently resolved Einstein's twin paradox.

He has observed: 

“The Vedic devas went to China and Japan through Kashmir . The fourth great council was held there under the patronage of the Kushana emperor Kanishka (r. 78-120) in around 100 CE, where monks of the Sarvastivādin School compiled a new canon. This became the basis of Mahāyāna. The Vedic devas were a part of this understanding, as was dhyāna of the Vedic tradition (Ch’an in China and Zen in Japan ) with devotion to Īśvara (Śiva) as its ultimate objective (Yogasūtra 1.23). The Parihāsapura monuments (near Śrīnagar ) of the Cankuna stūpa (Kārkota dynasty, 8^th century) “served as a model all across Asia from the Pamir Mountains to Japan ”.

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Imperial Patronage 

The new religion began to be widely professed, partly due to the arrival in Japan of missionaries, magicians, the Scriptures and various accessories for rituals, etc. Buddhism received its first Imperial patronage from Prince Shotoku (574-621), who became regent to the Female Emperor Suiko in 593. He drew up Japan's first Constitution, proclaiming the "Three Treasures" (triratna), ie. The Buddha, The Dharma and the Sangha, to be the ultimate objects of faith. At government expense, he built Buddhist temples, pagodas, hospitals, and asylums for the aged and the destitute. Horyu-ji Temple built by him near the city of Nara, is the most ancient wooden building still existing in the world. 

Portrait of Prince Shotoku: An oldest portrait in Japan with Prince Eguri on the left and Prince Yamashiro-no-Oe on the right.

Horyu-ji temple built by him near the city of Nara, is the most ancient wooden building still existing in the world. 

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Brahmaprabha on the panel of Tamamushi-no-Zushi, preserved in the Golden Hall of the Horyu-ji Temple, the paintings by litharge technique.

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

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During the past 1200 years, Indians have come to Japan from time to time. It is said that in the period of Emperor Kotoku (645-654) a seer called Hodo (Dharma-marga or Dharma-patha) came from Rajagrha of India. The first Indian to come to our land was Bodhisena, a Buddhist monk. He was born of a Brahmin family in India. His clan (Gotra) was Bharadvaja. Receiving a mystic inspiration from  Manjushri Bodhisattva, he went to China and lived in the Wu t'ai shan Mountain. At the request of several Japanese who were in China for diplomcatic negotiations and for study, Bodhisena came to Japan along with other Buddhist monks from China and Indo-China in 736. He arrived at his destination in 736 AD. He was cordially received by the Imperial Family, and was appointed Head Priest informally called as Baramon (Brahman) archibishop.

Hindu Gods Introduced to Japan

Hajime Nakamura (1912 - 1999) His field of research was exceedingly broad, encompassing Indian philosophy, Buddhist studies, historical studies, Japanese thought, comparative thought. Author of several books including Japan and Indian Asia, he has written:

"Without Indian influence Japanese culture would not be what it is today.”   

"As most Japanese profess the Buddhist faith, needless to say, they have generally been influenced by Indian ideas to a great extent."  

Indra, god of thunder found in the Rig Veda, is adored in Japan as Taishakuten.

Watch Scientific verification of Vedic knowledge

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Indra, originally the god of thunder and then most popular of all gods to be found in the Rig Veda, is adored by people here under the name of Taishakuten (literally, Emperor of Gods or Shakra). 

Ganesha, the Indian god of wisdom, who has the head of an elephant and the trunk of a human being, is worshipped under the name of Sho-ten, (literally, Holy God), in many Buddhist temples, as one who confers happiness upon its votaries, especially in love affairs. In Japan we very often find figures of two Ganeshas, male and female, embracing each other (Mithuna).   

Ganesha known as Sho-ten in Japan.

A new concept of Vinayaka couple both elephant-headed – a unique development in the religious history of Japan. The concept of this twin form of Ganesa (with Ganesani) could not develop in India proper.   

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

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A sea-serpent, worshipped by sailors, is called Ryugin/Ryujin a Chinese equivalent of the Indian Naga. Hariti and Dakini, Indian female demons, are also worshipped, the former under the name of Kishimo-jin, and the latter retaining its original name.  Bishamon is the a Japanese equivalent of the Indian Vaishravana (Kubera), the god of fortune. Not only Japanese Buddhism, but Shintoism also, has been considerably influenced by Indian thought. The following are some interesting examples: 

Suiten (water-god) is a Shintoist name. But the god, widely worshipped by people in downtown Tokyo, was originally Varuna (water-god in India) and was introduced into the Buddhist Pantheon by esoteric Buddhism, and then adopted by Shintoists, though Shintoists may hesitate to agree with this explanation. Kompira, a god of sailors, is worshipped at Kotohira Shrine, in Kagawa Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku. Kompira is corrupt form of Kumbhira, a Sanskrit word for crocodile in the Ganges. Ben-ten (literally, Goddess of Speech) is the Chinese and Japanese equivalent of Saraswati. 

Benten from Japan. Saraswati from Brihadeshvara temple, Tanjore, India.

Sarasvati is yet another Hindu deity extremely popular in Japan, and is known by various names such as Benzai-ten, Bezai-ten, Benteu, Benten, Sama, Benzamini.

This concept of the goddess, it appears, was irretrievably linked up with her personification with the famous Vedic river Saraswati. 

Watch Scientific verification of Vedic knowledge

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

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Along the sea coast and around ponds and lakes, one often finds shrines of Ben-ten where her image is installed. Daikoku, a God of fortune (literally, god of great Darkness or Blackness) is a favorite god with the common people. The name is the Chinese and Japanese equivalent of Mahakala, another name for Lord Shiva, the mightiest god of the Hindu Pantheon, though Daikolu is clad in Japanese robes and has a benign and smiling countenance.    

Shiva (Mahakala) is known as Daikoku in Japan. Shiv Parvati 10th century, India.

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Visvakarman, maker of the world in the Rigveda, also was esteemed as the god of carpenters in the royal court in ancient times under the name of Bishukatsuma. Cf. “Eiga-monogatari.” Sanskrit characters are also observed even in Shintoistic rites. The traditionally dressed climbers of Mount Ontake, put on traditional white robes on which, sometimes, Sanskrit characters (siddham) of an ancient type, are written all over. They sometimes wear white Japanese scarfs (tenugui) on which the Sanskrit character “OM” the sacred syllable of the Hindus, is written, although the climbers themselves cannot read it."

Deep Influence of India

Historical records show that an Indian drifted to the shore of Aichi Prefecture in 799 AD and taught the people how to cultivate cotton. An ethnology scholar has pointed out that there is evidence that an Indian community existed in Shima district in Mie Prefecture. 

(source: Japan and Indian Asia - Hajime Nakamura  p. 1 - 31).

Hinduism and Buddhism went from India to China and Korea to Japan. Images of Ganesha and Vishnu have been found throughout Japan. 

According to Historian D. P. Singhal, "Some Hindu gods, who had been incorporated into the Buddhist pantheon, were amongst them. For example, Indra, originally, the god of thunder but now also the king of gods, is popular in Japan as Taishaku (literally the great King Sakra); Ganesha is worshipped as Sho-ten or Shoden (literally, holy god) in many Buddhist temples, and is believed to confer happiness upon his devotees. A sea-serpent worshipped by sailors is called Ryujin, a Chinese equivalent of the Indian naga. Hariti and Dakini are also worshipped, the former as Kishimo-jin, and the latter by her original name. Bishamon is a Japanese equivalent of the Indian Vaisravana (Kubera), the god of wealth. 

Bishamon is a Japanese equivalent of the Indian Vaisravana (Kubera), the god of wealth. 

The Indian sea god Varuna, is worshipped in Tokyo as Sui-ten (water-god).

Recently an Ancient statue of Lord Vishnu has been found in Russian town of the Volga region.  For more on The Glorious Hindu Legacy: Indic influence in Southeast Asia refer to the chapters Suvarnabhumi and Glimpses XII to Glimpses XIX.

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

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Even Shinto adopted Indian gods, despite its desperate efforts after the Meiji Revolution to disengage itself from Buddhism. The Indian sea god Varuna, is worshipped in Tokyo as Sui-ten (water-god); the Indian goddess of learning, Saraswati, has become Benten (literally, goddess of speech), with many shrines dedicated to her along sea coasts and beside lakes and ponds. Shiva is well known to the Japanese as Daikoku (literally, god of darkness), which is a Chinese and Japanese equivalent of the Indian Mahakala, another name of Shiva. Daikoku is a popular god in Japan. At the Kotohira shrine on the island of Shikoku, sailors worship a god called Kompera, which is a corruption of the Sanskrit word for crocodile, Kumbhira. The divine architect mentioned in the Rig Veda, Vishvakarma, who designed and constructed the world, was regarded in ancient Japan as the god of carpenters, Bishukatsuma. The Indian Yama, the god of death, is the most dreaded god of Japan, under the name of Emma-o, the king of hell. 

According to author Donald A. Mackenzie: "The Indian form of myth of The Churning of the Milky Ocean reached Japan. In a Japanese illustration of it the mountain rests on a tortoise, and the supreme god sits on the summit, grasping in one of his hands a water vase. The Japanese Shinto myth of creation, as related in the Ko-ji-ki and Nihon-gi, is likewise a churning myth. Twin deities, Izanagi, the god, and Izanami, the goddess, sand on "the floating bridge of heaven" and thrust into the ocean beneath the "Jewel Spear of Heaven". With this pestle they churn the primeval waters until they curdle and form land."

(source: Myths of Pre-Columbian America - By Donald A. Mackenzie ASIN 185958490X  p.190 -191).

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Hinduism played a very significant role in molding Japanese character and culture. 

"Shintoism has been designated by some scholars as the Japanese version of Hinduism" - Chaman Lal. 

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The new teachings of the Shingon sect originated in India much before it was introduced in China in the 8^th century A.D. The Shingon or esoteric principles are based on Tantric rituals which were practiced in India by the followers of Sanatan Dharma since early times. China received esoterism in the fourth century A.D. it actually flourished there from the eighth century onward. From there it reached Japan through Saicho (Dengyo Daishi) and Kukai (Kobo Daishi).    

Seven Gods of Japan.

Hindu Gods and Goddesses who found their way to Japan and China slightly changed, ‘hued in Chinese dye.’   

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Hindu deities accepted in Indian Buddhism found their way to China as part of Buddhist pantheon, and the mode of worship of these divinities was exactly the same as followed by the Buddhists in India. The Chinese transformed the Indian elements in Buddhism in their own way, with the result that the character and role of the Buddhism oriented Hindu Gods and Goddesses who found their way to Japan and China slightly changed, ‘hued in Chinese dye.’   

Seven lucky Gods of Japan - Ebisu, Daikoku (Shiva, Mahakala), Benzaiten (Saraswavti), Bishamonten (Vaisravana or Kubera), Fukurokyu, Hoteil and Juroujin.

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

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The Hindu deities in course of time again passed through another phase of transformation to suit the Japanese thoughts and ideas, and many of these transformed deities gained highly revered positions which they had never before attained either in India or China. In fact, several minor gods and goddesses who were too insignificant to merit careful attention in India, attained a considerably exalted position in Japanese Buddhist pantheon. It is commonly believed in Japan that the Hindu deities if worshipped properly, bestow quickly material benefits and other favors in day to day life on their devotees rather than any spiritual gain. This has made these gods and goddesses very popular in Japan as “the common people are more interested in worldly or material benefits than in the so-called abstract spiritual achievement.” 

Of the various Hindu deities who were widely worshipped in Japan: 

Indra (Taishaku-ten), Varuna (Sui-ten), Yama (Emma), Agni (Ka-ten), Mahakala (Daikoku-ten), Sarasvati (Benzai-ten or Banten), Ganesa (Sho-ten or Kangi-ten), Brahma (Bonten), Vayu (Hu-ten), Vaisravana or Kubera (Bishamon-ten), Mahesvara (Makei-shura-ten), Isana (Ishana-ten), Nilakantha (Shokyo-Kannon), Prithvi (Ji-ten), Surya (Nit-ten), Chandra (Gat-ten), Narayana or Vishnu (Naraen-ten), Kumara or Kartitikeya (Kumara-ten), Lakshmi (Kichijo-ten) Marishiten, Idaten (Skanda) and many other minor deities.

These deities protected Buddha and the Buddhist world. Indra, the king of gods, played an important role as a virtual protector of Buddhism. In China and Japan, Indra was worshipped with usual vajra (thunderbolt) and guarding the entrance of some monastery or temple. Taishaku-ten, the Japanese name of Indra, is derived from the Chinese Ti-shih-t’ien. He is variously known in Japan as Shakudaikanin (Sakra devanam), Makaba (Maghavan), Basaba (Vasava), Shashibachi, Kausika and Sngan (the thousand-eyed: Sahassa natta).  The different Japanese texts, such as Dainichi-kyo (the Mahavairocana Sutra), the Sonsho-Buccho-Shuyuga-Ho-Kigi, the Seiryo-ki, the Shosetsu Fudo-ki and the Kongo-kai-Shichi-shu, are unanimous in placing Indra in eastern gate, wearing jeweled crown and ornaments and holding vajra in his hand. 

Besides him, Agni is also one of the twelve guardian-deities in Japan who is everywhere depicted as guarding the south-east corner. He naturally finds his place in Japanese Mandara which has remarkable similarity with the representation of Agni in some Indian sculptures.   

Agni and Yama - Ka-ten and Emma-ten in Japan.

(source: Tokyo National Museum).

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The worship of Yama is incorporated in the Ju-o or Ten Kings. He is known as Yama-ten ie. Yama deva when benign and Emma O when dreadful as the Judge of the Dead. In Japan such shrines are dedicated to Yama are called Emma-do ‘Hall of Yama’, with drawings or paintings of ten kings inside the hall.    

Shiva/Maheshvara  - Makeishura-ten or Daikoku/ Also known as Ishana. Of whom various forms have been conceived in Japan.

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The other god, who plays a significant part in the religious life of the Japanese people, is Maheshvara (Makeishura-ten), otherwise called Shiva of whom various forms have been conceived in Japan. He is depicted as having two, four, eight and eighteen arms and riding a white ox. Mahakala (Daikoku), the terrific god (another form of Shiva), whose images abound in the temples of Tibet and China enjoys an exhalted position as a household deity in Japan whose association with wealth and prosperity gave rise to a strange but interesting custom known as Fuku-nusubi (fortune-stealing). This custom started with the belief that he who stole divine figures (gods and goddesses) was assured of good fortune, if not caught in the act of stealing. In the course of time stealing of divine images became so common a practice in Japan that the Toshi-no-ichi or the ‘year-end-market’ held in the Asakusa Kannon temple became the main venue of the sale and disposal of such images by the fortune-seekers. Many small stalls were opened where articles including images of Daikoku or Mahakala were sold on the eve of New Year celebrations.  

In ancient times, the Japanese warriors went to war in helmets bearing Sanskrit bijas as benediction for victory. Such helmets can still be seen at the Reihokan Museum at Koyasan. The Tokonoma or alcoves in Japanese parlor often have a smiling image of Daikoku or Mahakala, clad in Japanese robes, and standing on two bags of rice representing affluence. Mahakala, as we know, symbolized the Great Time (maha = great and kala = time): the time of affluence, in contradistinction to a-kala (famine): the negation (a) of good time (kala). The Japanese also maintain the Bijaksara of Mahakala as a Siddham-nagari monogram. The traditional pilgrims climbing the holy Mount Ontake wear tenugui on white Japanese scarves with the sacred mantra Om.  

Vishnu, one of the Puranic trinity, is not as popular as in India. He is referred to as Naraen-ten (Narayana), also called Kengo-rikishi or Kongo-rikishi or Nio has many common features with Vishnu (Bishinu-ten) in Japanese. Visnu-Narayana, according to Japanese conception, possesses unusual physical strength, generally rides Karura (Garuda), has one face and two arms, or three faces with two arms, the left face assuming the face of an elephant or lion and the right one having the form of a bear. He is shown having four or eight arms only in rare cases. In the Karura-o-Oyobi-Shoten-Mitsugon Kyo he is also refered to as Vijaya, having three faces and four arms, with a halo of green color behind his head. Karura (Garuda) received treatment in Japan apart from his position as Nararen-ten’s mount, and the Sesasayana aspect of Narayana is nowhere referred to in the Japanese text.    

Vishnu and Garuda

Vishnu as Naraen-ten or Kongo-rikishi. Visnu-Narayana. According to Japanese conception, possesses unusual physical strength, generally rides Karura (Garuda),

Nio guardian figures are named Misshaku Kongo (Agyo) and Naraen Kongo (Ungyo). They represent the use of overt power and latent power, respectively. Naraen is also called Narayana (Sanskrit). 

Watch Scientific verification of Vedic knowledge

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In Japan, the Nio guardian figures are named Misshaku Kongo (Agyo) and Naraen Kongo (Ungyo). They represent the use of overt power and latent power, respectively. Naraen is also called Narayana (Sanskrit)

Ganesha or Sho-ten or Shoden (also Vinayaka in Japanese), on the other hand, seems to have been widely worshipped god in Japan with whom is associated the Chinese-Japanese conception of the elephant-headed male-female embracing Vinayaka. One of the most popular deities in Japan, Ganesa traveled through China. 

Variously known as Daishokangi-ten (abbreviated as Kangi-ten), Sho-ten, Ganabachi (Ganapati), Nandikeshvara and Binayaka-ten (Vinayaka), he is without doubt the product of the introduction of Tantricism in China and Japan (806 A.D onward) which envisaged an elephant-headed Yogini form of female Vinayaka giving birth to a new concept of Vinayaka couple both elephant-headed – a unique development in the religious history of Japan. It is really strange to find that though the Japanese Durani-shu-kyo (Dharani Samuccaya) originated in India, the concept of this twin form of Ganesa (with Ganesani) could not develop in India proper.   

Lord Ganesha known as Kankiten, Shoten, Shoden in Japan.Kankiten statue in front of Fukuoka Tower. 

One of the most popular deities in Japan, Ganesa traveled through China. 

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

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The popularity of this god can be judged from the fact that there were about 250 temples in Japan in which the images of Sho-ten and Kongi-ten are worshipped either as a single image or double-bodied images. In the Hozan-ji temple on Mt. Ikoma in Nara, Sho-ten is worshipped mainly by the merchants. In Osaka we have the biggest temple of Sho-ten, where, besides devotees, a permanent priest offers prayers daily. Moreover, the priests also separately offer prayers to him to remove obstacles in way to success. 

In the Japanese test Daisho-kangi-Soshin-Binayaka-tongyo-Zohon-Giki (vol. I) he is also called Daijizai-ten (Maheshvara) a conception which we come across also in Brahaddharma Purana, where Ganesha is given fifty different appellations one of which says that “Shiva and Sankara’ are but the two appellations ascribed to Ganesa which is further corroborated by the Agni Purana (chap. 71) wherein Mahadeva is said to be one of the many appellations of Ganesha. Ganesha is still worshipped in Japan. A special temple is consecrated to the esoteric Twin Ganesa at the Jingoji monastery of Takao where every year worship is held in his honor. Besides this, special shrines are also dedicated to Ganesha in some other Mantraynic monasteries. Sometimes, even in shops one comes across graceful images of either standing or seated Ganesha. 

Skanda-Karttikeya also appears to have been one of the extremely popular deities in Japan. Variously known as Kumara-ten, Kenda or Ida-ten he is regarded as the son of Daijizai-ten (Maheshvara) in Japanese mythology.   

Goddess Saraswati known as Ben-ten in Japan.

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Saraswati is yet another Hindu deity extremely popular in Japan, and is known by various names such as Benzai-ten, Bezai-ten, Benteu, Benten, Sama, Benzamini, Myo-ongakuten, Meoongten, Myo’on-ten (goddess with sweet voice), Daiben, Dai-Benzai-ten (goddess of great intelligence), Dai-bentenno, Bio-ten, Ku-doku, Mio-on-Tennio. Etc. 

The first such goddesses made in Japan were of Kichijo-ten (Sridevi or Lakshmi) and Benzai-ten (Sarasvati). The Indian concept of Sarasvati being the consort of Brahma is also retained in Japan. Generally considered as an extremely beautiful lady, she is supposed to be the ideal of feminine beauty, and the goddess of music, wealth, fortune, beauty, happiness, eloquence and wisdom. 

This concept of the goddess, it appears, was irretrievably linked up with her personification with the famous Vedic river Saraswati. 

It is interesting to note that while in India she is always depicted as a charming goddess of music, fine arts, and learning holding a vina with her both hands, in Japan she is sometimes portrayed as a ferocious goddess too, embodying ugliness as well as beauty. Benten with a lute is a beautiful lady, but Benten with a sword is a brave lady like Itanuka of whom the people are frightened. There is an image of Benten in war-like posture, in Enoshima, holding a sword in her hand with a serpent and tortoise sitting at her foot and two Deva kings standing on either side.    

  Lakshmi - Kichijo-ten, the goddess of wealth in Japan. Lakshmi from Angkor, Cambodia.

The elegant image of Kichijo-ten was first made it impressed the Japanese Buddhist monks so much that they became ardent devotees of this goddess and her popularity spread far and wide within a very short period.

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

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Lakshmi (Kichijo-ten), the goddess of wealth, is extremely popular. She is variously known as Kichisho-ten or Kissho-ten or Makashiri (Maha Sri) and as Lakushmi.  

From the Mikkyo-no-Bijutsu we learn that the image of Laksmi (Kichijo-ten) was the first image of a female deity in Japan in the Nara period (645 – 794 AD) which for the first time witnessed the making of the images of the female divinities like Lakshmi and Sarasvati (Benzai-ten) and Hariti (Kishi-mojin). 

From the Mikkyo-no-Bijutsu we learn that when the elegant image of Kichijo-ten was first made it impressed the Japanese Buddhist monks so much that they became ardent devotees of this goddess and her popularity spread far and wide within a very short period. This is further confirmed by a passage in the Nihon Ryoki. The “dazzling beauty” of this goddess “aroused more than ordinary interest on the part of the priests. Needless to say, the popularity of Kissho-ten worship spread quickly. There is even an old story about a man who fell in love with a picture of this splendid beauty.”

She is depicted in various forms. She is generally seen beside Bishamon-ten.  

In the Nara period the images of this goddess were made “both in icons and objet d’art. Two images of this deity belonging to the Nara period are still preserved in the refectory of the Horyuji temple and in the Hokke-do shrine of the Todai-ji temple. One of the many images of this goddess, one preserved in the Yakushi-ji temple is very famous. It is painted in fine colors on fine hemp cloth. Another beautiful image made of wood (1078 AD) of the Heian period is preserved in the Golden Hall of the Horyu-ji temple. Yet, another very famous sculpted image of the goddess is preserved in a Zushi or shrine of the Jaruri-ji temple, Kyoto. 

Besides these Vedic deities, the Raksasas and the Asuras were also given due place in the Japanese pantheon. In Japanese mythology, Raksasa and Nairrti are known as Rasetsu and Nirichi (Niri-ieio) respectively.

Garuda, the mythical bird and mount of Lord Vishnu is known as Karura in Japanese mythology which is also associated with Naraen-ten or Narayana as his vehicle.

Lord Vishnu on Garuda, his vehicle. 

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

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Co-existence of the native Shinto and Indian Buddhists and Vedic deities in the same temple was, and is a common feature in Japan. Like Buddhism, Tantricism, an inseparable part of Hinduism spread far beyond the boundaries of India, Nepal, Tibet and Burma. Thus, we find that the Hindu gods who were incorporated into Indian Buddhism gradually found their way to China and then to Japan where many of these Hindu deities found a status which they had never attained either in India or China.

(source: India and Japan: A Study in interaction during 5th cent - 14th century - By Upendra Thakur p. 27 - 41).

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Indian Influence on Japanese Stories

A considerable portion of the cosmogonical and mythological literature of Japan bears traces of Indian influence. Hajime Nakamura observed ' Some stories of ancient India were very influential in shaping Japanese stories by providing them with materials. In the process of shaping, however, Indian materials were greatly modified and adapted in such a way as would appeal to the mentality of common people of Japan in general' quoted from Lokesh Chandra and others - India's Contribution to World Thought and Culture.  

In the annals of the Todaiji temple, it has been stated that the worship of Sarasvati and Lakshmi was first introduced in 722 AD. and continued down the centuries. 

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Post Wheeler editor of The Sacred Scriptures of the Japanese: With All Authoritative Variants, Chronlogically Arranged, also said ‘Many fragments of the Japanese myth-mass were unmistakably Indian. The original homeland of the first man and women of Japanese mythology is said to have been in the Earth-Residence-Pillar i.e. Mount Meru of Indian mythology. There is another story of Buro-no-Kami whose identity has been established with the deity called Brave-Swift-Impetuous-male. This Kami may be none other than the Indian deity Gavagriva, the Ox-head deity. The story recounts in the style of the Jatakas how the deity punished the heartless rich brother and rewarded the king hearted poor brother. In India one of the names of the moon is Sasanka (lit. having a rabbit in the lap) and there is an ancient Indian legend why it is so called. The belief prevalent in ancient Japan that there lived a rabbit in the moon was probably an outcome of the Indian influence.

In the annals of the Todaiji temple, it has been stated that the worship of Sarasvati and Lakshmi was first introduced in 722 AD. and continued down the centuries. 

In Bessom Zakki (Description of Gods) written in the 12^th century written in the Siddham script, a corrupt Sanskrit mantra reads: 

'Sarasvatai svaha namo sarasvatyai mahadevyai svaha, namo bhagavati mahadevi sarasvati sidhyatu mantrapadami svaha'. 

A description of Sarasvati occurs in the voluminous text Asabasho by Shocho 1205-82 and the rituals connected with her worship have been recorded by Ryoson 1279 to 1349 in Chapter CXLIX of his Byaku-hokku-sho (The White Jewel of Indian Tradition). The adoption of these Hindu deities into the Buddhist and Shintonist pantheons of Japan indicate the influence of India on Japanese religions as well as the syncretic character of the religious systems of Japan.

The survey made above reveals the immense contribution of India to the theology of Japanese Buddhism as well as to Japanese literature. The present indications are that the texts utilized were all written in Sanskrit, probably in the Siddham script, and there was no intrusion of Pali, unlike in the Buddhist countries of South-East Asia. 

"Shintoism has been designated by some scholars as the Japanese version of Hinduism"- Chaman Lal - author and researcher.

(source: Indian Influence on Japanese Stories - esamskriti.com). (For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

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Language and Literature in Japan

Sanskrit language has been kept in Japan for nearly 1,400 years in the colleges attached to the great Buddhist temple. Several Sanskrit texts in the Chinese script had also been brought to Japan. We have some very ancient Sanskrit manuscripts preserved in some of the Japanese temples which were brought from India or Central Asia to China and from there to Japan. It is really surprising to note that some of the manuscripts found in the Japanese temples are much older than those preserved in India. Moreover, there are few countries in the world where so many scholars are learning Sanskrit as in Japan. 

Hajime Nakamura (1912 - 1999) author of The History of Early Vedānta Philosophy, has pointed out  that the Hindu Ramayana and its various versions are found in the name of ‘Taiheiki’ in China and Japan. Even Indian logic was introduced in China by Hiuan-Tsang (600-664 AD).

The Japanese scholars regard the arrangement of the Japanese syllabary into fifty phonetic sounds as "no more than an adoption of the Sanskrit alphabet. The Japanese characters are generally constructed on the lines of Chinese characters, like the Devanagari letters, are phonetic and are arranged in a sentence in the same order as in Sanskrit - subject (kartta), object (karma) and verb (Kriya). Bodhisena, the great Buddhist thinker, made this change in Japanese system possible. Had the Chinese language and alphabet not penetrated into Japan before the Japanese came into contact with the Nagari character, the Japanese no doubt would have adopted the Indian script rather than the Chinese character.

Some Japanese warriors in medieval Japan went to the battle ground with helmets bearing Sanskrit characters for blessing (mangala) on their heads. While scaling the sacred Mt. Ongake as a religious observance, the Japanese climbers wearing traditional white dress have inscribed on their robes Sanskrit Saiddham characters of early type. Sometimes they put on white Japanese scarfs (tenugui) carrying Sanskrit character Om, the sacred sound symbols of the Hindus. 

The Sanskrit word maha meaning great, appears in Japanese as maka. The word moment 'ksana in Sanskrit is setsuna in Japanese. The Chinese transliteration Chana is close to the original. The Sanskrit homa, meaning sacrificial fire, becomes goma in Japanese. The mythical mountain Sumeru which was supposed to occupy the center of the world, towering 84,000 Yojanas high, is called Shumisan in Japanese, sau meaning mountain. It is also interesting to note that the Japanese also used Yojun (Yojana) in this context. 

It is interesting to note in this connection that some stories of ancient India proved very influential in shaping Japanese stories by providing them with interesting themes which in turn were greatly modified and adapted in such a way as to suit the taste and mentality of the common people in Japan. People in early times in India commonly believed that a hare or a rabbit lived in the moon and hence the latter was called Sasin (literally 'containing a hare'). The idea influenced the ancient Japanese so much that they too in the course of time came to believe that there lived a hare in the moon which made rice-cakes and pounded cooked rice with pestle which is evident from the popular Japanese stories like The Fascinating Story of Monkey and His Liver and The Story of Monoceros (Ekasrnga) as contained in the Sase Kishu, a medieval collection of popular Japanese stories. 

Hajime Nakamuar has pointed out  that the Hindu Ramayana and its various versions are found in the name of ‘Taiheiki’ in China and Japan.

One can also see the influence of the Indian epic Ramayana in the traditional Japanese dance forms of 'Bugaku' and 'Gigaku'  

Watch Scientific verification of Vedic knowledge

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

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The story of Rsyasrnga describes how a saint who had never seen a woman was seduced by the daughter of King Lomapada - a famous story graphically narrated in the Mahabharata which also finds mention in another important Japanese work, the Taiheiki, the Japanese Ramayana. The Rishi is called Ikkaku Sennin or Ekasrnga (Unicorn). This Japanese version of the story also inspired the composition of the famous Kabuki drama.

Maurice Winternitz (1863-1937) famed Indologist, author of History of Indian Literature, while explaining the purpose of this legend says that various versions of this legend "may be found in other Indian works of literature, especially in the Ramayana, in the Padma Purana and in other Buddhist Jataka books. But, how popular this humorous tale was, is shown by its being familiar in different versions in Tibet, China and Japan, and in its having left traces behind even in the Unicorn-legend of the West.

Besides the Ramayana, Indian logic, called Immoyo (Hetuvidya), was introduced in China by Hiuen Tsang (600 - 664 A.D.) which later found its way into Japan along with the study of Yuishiki (consciousness only) thought. The Japanese name for this (Indian science of causes) is Immoyo-gaku and it continues to the present time in the so-called Hosso Sect. 

(source: India and Japan: A Study in interaction during 5th cent - 14th century - By Upendra Thakur p. 53  - 79).

Textual theme of Ramayana in Japan - By Minoru Hara 

Two renditions which apparently are derived from the Valmiki Ramayana as preserved in Mediaeval Japanese literature.

The first is an abridged version of the Rama story as given in a collection of popular tales, named the Hobutsushu (Ratna-samgraha?) by Tairano Yasoyori in the 12^th century, and the second is a modified story of an episode given in the second book of the Valmiki Ramayana, that is, Dasaratha’s unwitting slaughter of a young ascetic, which foreshadows the tragic death of the king in his later days. 

The two Japanese versions are in their main framework undoubtedly derivations of the Valmiki Ramayana, but they have come to differ in detail from their original in the course of their transmission through India to China, and China to Japan. These Japanese versions are not directly taken from their Indian original, but came through the Chinese Tripitaka.  

(source: The Ramayana Tradition in Asia - By V Raghavan. p. 334 – 347).

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Japan's Hindu linkages still alive  

One can also see the influence of the Indian epic Ramayana in the traditional Japanese dance forms of 'Bugaku' and 'Gigaku'  

Apart from the widely known fact that Buddhism in Japan has its origin in India , not many probably know that so many Hindu deities surround the life of a Japanese. Speaking at a lecture titled 'Hindu Gods and Goddesses rooted to Japan' here Friday, Lokesh Chandra, the director of International Academy of Indian Culture, highlighted how deeply Indian religion and culture has influenced Japanese culture and tradition over the past centuries.

He said that many temples across Japan are full of Hindu deities.

Lokesh Chandra, the director of International Academy of Indian Culture and Japanese Ambassador to India Yasukuni Enoki.

Watch Scientific verification of Vedic knowledge

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Chandra said Japanese couples who desire to have a beautiful daughter pray to goddess 'Saraswati' even to this day. 

Saraswati is also believed as the patroness of writers and painters. 'In ancient times, Japanese generals prayed to Saraswati to be victorious in war,' Chandra told the gathering which was also attended by the Japanese Ambassador to India Yasukuni Enoki and his wife. Year 2007 is being celebrated as Japan-India Friendship Year to commemorate the 50th year of the cultural agreement between the two countries. 

Benzaiten or Saraswati in Japan.

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According to Chandra, who has travelled to Japan many times to study the country's culture and tradition, Saraswati is also worshipped as the 'goddesses of kitchen'. Many traditional Japanese plays are dedicated to the Indian deity. Sharing a trivia he said how in 1934, a Japanese woman had a vision that she was the incarnation of goddess Saraswati and stared writing in Sanskrit, a language she never heard off. 

There is a suburban district in Tokyo named Kichijo, which traces its roots to 'Lakshmi', the Hindu goddess of wealth. Lakshmi was propagated to China along with Buddhism in the ancient time, to be known as Kichijo in its Chinese form and then reached Japan as a Buddhist goddess. 

Chandra also spoke extensively about how Sanskrit language has influenced traditional Japanese calligraphy.

The Indian text was introduced into Japanese society many centuries ago. Japanese monks had to study Sanskrit in order to master Buddhism from original Indian scriptures and textbooks. Lord Ganesha in Japan symbolises the joy of life that arises from the power rooted in the virtues of wisdom and compassion. Young Japanese worship Ganesha to win in love whereas the old worship the deity to get success in business. There are roughly 100 temples dedicated to Ganesha in Japan. 

An 11th century Ganesha temple is the oldest among them.

Together with Hindu gods and goddess, ancient Japanese society was also introduced to Indian dance forms and musical instruments. A typical example is the ' Biwa ',which actually had its origin from the Indian 'Veena'. One of Japan 's largest lake is also known as Lake Biwa. One can also see the influence of the Indian epic Ramayana in the traditional Japanese dance forms of 'Bugaku' and 'Gigaku'. The yearlong cultural celebration was kicked off here last week that was attended by former Japanese prime minister Yoshiro Mori among others.  

(source: Japan 's Hindu linkages still alive  - rxpgnews.com).

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Japan wants to encourage studies of Hindu gods

Japan wants to encourage studies of Hindu gods and goddesses found in their country. Saraswati, Laxmi, Brahma, Ganesha among large number of other deities are still prayed to there though under a different names.

Saraswati's sketches (Benzaiten in Japanese) sanctify kitchens in rural areas of Japan even now, says Director International Academy of Indian Culture Lokesh Chadra. Japanese understood her as sa-rasavati or the goddess of the kitchen, Rasavati is 'rasoi' in Hindi.