toward other religions and deities. The huge pantheon of Shinto gods, always ready to admit the spirits of deceased persons as well as living emperors, could easily absorb other new gods. Buddhism could enter Japan in the sixth century C.E. and remain until today the nation's main religion without displacing the native Shinto adhered to by most Japanese. Shinto gods could be worshiped as Buddhist deities and vice versa, and the temples and shrines of both religions could share the same precincts. In other words, one could embrace the new religion without giving up the old, an option that did not exist in the West.
Another difference between Judaism and Shinto is their attitudes toward human behavior. Judaism sets strict moral rules: "You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal." In addition to the Ten Commandments, which include the proscriptions above, there are hundreds of injunctions regarding how one should behave toward God and toward one's fellow human beings, what one should eat, and what one should wear. The world of the Bible and subsequent Judaism is divided between right and wrong, things that it is right to do and those that should not be done. This rigid moral code was later adopted by Christianity and Islam.
Shinto does not have such a strict moral code. It distinguishes between the exemplary behavior of the pious emperors and the vicious behavior of their opponents, but it presents no specific injunctions. The Shinto gods themselves sometimes go awry. Thus, the storm god Susanoo, brother of the sun goddess, used to burn forests, destroy harvests, and defecate in his sister's palace in order to annoy her. But there is no Satan, or ultimate evil, in Shinto. Wayward gods, demons and angry spirits are dangerous, but they can be pacified. Unlike Shinto, Buddhism possesses a moral code, but it holds to a less strict morality than the monotheistic religions and its injunctions differ from one sect to another. When Buddhism was adopted in Japan, its moral demands were moderated by Shinto's accommodation to human desires and frailties. Morality in Japan has been a social rather than a religious matter, molded by the common-sense injunctions of Confucianism rather than by the commandments of a transcendent God. Right and wrong are not absolute concepts. Killing or stealing are wrong when they disrupt social harmony, but they can be considered appropriate under other circumstances. The strict rules that govern Japanese behavior are based on the need to preserve social order rather than on divine commands.
Judaism places God at the center of the universe and regards nature as his creation. Nature worships God, but the beauty of nature has rarely occupied an important place in Judaism. According to the Mishnah (the earliest layer of the Talmud, containing traditional oral interpretations of scriptural ordinances), if a Jew while on a journey interrupts his study to exclaim: "Oh, what a beautiful tree" or "Oh, what a beautiful field," he places his soul in jeopardy.
Shinto is a religion that worships the gods manifested in the exquisite beauty or the frightening awe of nature. Places of exceptional scenery are sanctified as holy sites. This reverence of beauty is a central element in Japanese culture, rivalling that of the ancient Greeks. But whereas for the Greeks the ultimate beauty was to be found in the human form, for the Japanese it is found in landscape. Unlike Judaism, which is ethically oriented, Shinto is aesthetically oriented. Japanese Buddhism adapted this orientation and perfected it through its own aesthetic sensitivities, as exemplified by the impact of Shingon and Zen on Japanese art.
Sensitivity to nature brought the Japanese, like other early peoples, to conduct their lives according to the natural divisions of time, that is, days, months, and years. The Jews, however, were the first to sanctify the week, a unit of time not related to natural rhythms, but based on the biblical story of creation and institutionalized by the observance of the Sabbath: "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God. . . . For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day." The Jewish concept of mandatory periodic rest, like the Jewish idea of a seven-day unit of time, did not exist in Japan until introduced by Christian missionaries in the sixteenth century and was not institutionalized until the second half of the nineteenth century. Japanese rested when there was no work to do; Jews rested by divine decree.
Jews could not simultaneously adhere to different theologies, as did the Japanese, who subscribed to Confucianism and Buddhism in addition to their native Shinto. But within Judaism different schools and trends have always flourished. Indeed, the three books of the Bible that are attributed to King Solomon bear a surprising resemblance to the three religious traditions of Japan. The Song of Solomon, with its joyful spirit, love of nature, and strong eroticism, echoes the Shinto world view; the Book of Proverbs, with its practical maxims, moral injunctions, and praise of wisdom, resembles Confucian precepts; and the Book of Ecclesiastes, with its existential pessimism, negation of the world, and distrust of the intellect, sounds similar to Buddhist beliefs. If King Solomon wrote these three books, as the Bible would have us believe, he was not only "wiser than all men," but to some degree also the bearer of a Japanese-style pluralistic approach to life within Judaism that is not usually acknowledged.
2
Affirmation of Life and
Centrality of Nation
JUDAISM and Shinto are worlds apart, but they share some unexpected similarities. Different as these two religions are in their fundamental spirituality, they are both interested in this world rather than in the next. This differs from the preoccupation of historical Christianity and Buddhism with what will happen after death. An observant Jew performs his or her religious duties not in order to attain eternal salvation, but because God has ordered these duties to be performed. The remunerations and punishments that the Law of Moses attaches to its commandments explicitly refer to this world rather than to the hereafter. The righteous will be rewarded in their lifetimes: "Honor your father and your mother, that you may long endure on the land that the Lord your God is assigning to you. . . . You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and water. And I will remove sickness from your midst."
Shinto, although lacking the Jewish attachment to God and his sacred commandments, is also concerned with well-being in this world. The purposes of its offerings and rites are to increase harvests, ward off misfortune, heal sickness, and provide worshipers with marital and occupational success. Many shrines in Japan are dedicated to the god of harvest and commerce, Inari, and people come to these shrines to pray for success in business. The Inari shrines are distinguished by the images of foxes guarding their entrances, for the fox, considered to possess spiritual powers, is also believed to be god's messenger. Today many large Japanese companies maintain Inari shrines on their premises to assure good profits. The Shinto orientation to worldly success also influenced Japanese Buddhism, which has adopted the Shinto concern for material gain. The most popular Buddhist sects in Japan today are those that promise such worldly benefits as good health, success in business, and matrimonial happiness. Shrines and temples in Japan are highly businesslike, renting halls for weddings and making profits from funeral services. Many have vending machines installed on the premises, selling charms and talismans for every occasion. Indeed, one of the first acts a worshiper performs when entering the premises of a temple or shrine is to throw coins into a large offering box.
Shinto and Judaism are religions that affirm life and shun suffering and death. There are no Jewish monks or nuns, as there are no Shinto monasteries. Neither of these religions considers sex to be a sin or a weakness of the flesh, as Christianity and Buddhism do. Both Shinto and Judaism reject celibacy. Abraham had both a wife and a concubine, and when his wife died he remarried, despite his very advanced age. The Japanese emperors, considered to be human gods and high priests of the sun goddess, used to have many wives and concubines, as did the Jewish kings. It was only in the twentieth century that the Western custom of monogamy was adopted by the imperial family of Japan. This century also witnessed a great decline in Buddhist celibacy; today, the priests of most Buddhist sects in Japan marry and have children.
Joy is a central element in the Jewish worship of God. One should serve God with a joyous heart and a glad spirit. Drinking wine is one way of serving God and making men and women happy. The Law of Moses
