THE TENJIN CULT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SYNCRETIC CULT OF A HEAVENLY DEITY IN JAPAN
THE TENJIN CULT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SYNCRETIC CULT OF A HEAVENLY DEITY IN JAPAN

Summary/Abstract: All over the world, people profess many religions and beliefs. Nevertheless, the religious life of Japan and its traditional practices remain a mystery to the West. This study analyses the history of one branch of the sophisticated religious system of Japan, namely the Tenjin cult, or Tenjin worship (from its appearance in the 10th century to the present days) and the modern implications of this cult. We demonstrate how, moulded by indigenous beliefs, an “earthly” man became a “Heavenly Deity”, who, in turn, under the influence of Buddhism, was transformed into a bodhisattva, and, in parallel, shaped by Confucian ideas, he turned into the “deity of learning”. We also reveal the syncretism of the archaic attributes and the borrowings throughout the history of the cult and use different examples to illustrate the main features of the religious life of Japan during various historical periods.

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