NIHON SHOKI , JAPAN AND INDIA
NIHON SHOKI , sometimes called THE CHROMICALES OF JAPAN , is the second oldest book of the ancient JAPANES history . It is said that the NIHON SHOKI was completed in 720 AD under the supervision of PRINCE TONERI and was dedicated to EMPRESS GENSHO . It was written in the classical CHINESE language , the official language of the time of JAPAN . The book is contained of altogether 30 chapters . NIHON SHOKI is a synthesis of the older documents kept in the YAMATO court since 6th century AD . The book also includes the songs folklore submitted by the clans serving in the YAMATO court . It is said that prior to the NIHON SHOKI , two books TENNOKI and KOKKI were compiled by PRINCE SHOTOKU which were burned at the time of ISSHI incident as the books were kept at the residence of SOGA . The intensive fight between the two important tribes of Japan : SOGA and MONE went on for long and which was decisively went in favour of SOGA tribe in 587 AD . And SOGA were the followers of BUDDHISM which entered into JAPAN from KOREA during the regime of PAKACHE . It was so important an event that it was described in the NIHON SHOKI . It was from KOREA that for the propagation of the BUDDHIST religion in JAPAN many BUDDHIST MONKS with astrologers , doctors , painters etc. reached there . The Empress SUIKO who sat on the throne of JAPAN in the year 593 AD made her nephew PRINCE SOTOKU TAISHI as her regents who established BUDDHISM in JAPAN . And for that he was called ‘ ASHOKA PRIYADARSHIN OF JAPAN ‘. PRINCE SHOTOKU constituted the first constitution propounding the basic principles of BUDDHA , DHARMA and SANGHA and it is known as TRIRATNA .
PRINCE SHOTOKU was the first who started constructing BUDDHIST temples based totally on the JAPANES architecture . The HORYUJI temple was the best architectural art symbol of the JAPANESE art of that times . PRINCE SHOTOKU realized that for meditation and studies of the BUDDHIST Sutras some peaceful place far from the hullabaloo of the capital was required . So , he saw that place at the village of EKARUGA where he started building his palace , an auditorium , Golden hall , Monestry for the BUDDHIST MONKS and , of course , HORYUJI temple . And Whoever saw all those architectural grandeurs became happy from within . The dream palace YUEDONO which once had been the place of residence of PRINCE SHOTOKU is still standing with all its grandeur . There had been a statue of AVALOKITESVARA made up of bronze having CHINTAMANI STONES in his hand lighting all around in the YUEDONO . The statue having canopy over head and standing on the lotus pedestal is the symbol of BODHISATTVA enlightening the onlookers . The famous CHINESE traveler FA-HIEN had started mural paintings in the BUDDHIST MONASTERIES of BIHAR in the years 643-646 AD , 648-649 AD and 657-661 AD respectively . It was also brought on in the book forms of forty bindings . Later on the KOREAN painter HONIJUTSU brought them to JAPAN . And it appears that following that tradition , KONDO-GOLDEN PALACE was full of panel paintings resembling to the seventh century mural/panel paintings of INDIA .
Before the arrival of BUDDHISM in JAPAN , there existed a religion called SHINTO in JAPAN . The word SHINTO was derived from the CHINESE language which means ‘ THE WAY OF THE GODS ‘ or SPIRITS ( SHEN – TAO ) . It is said that the religion survived from the prehistoric times even quite before BUDDHISM and CONFUCIUSISM . However it was rarely used before the introduction of BUDDHISM in JAPAN in the sixth century AD , and as now it became necessary to distinguish the two because the latter was a new religion and the former was the old religious way of life for the people of JAPAN . The myths of SHINTO are fantastic , charming and crude having no or , shall I say , little moral teachings . The myth that the universe was created as a sea of mud shrouded in darkness . SHINTO myths are compiled as a Chronicals called KOJIKI and NIHONGI in the eighth century AD says several God’s appeared and disappeared before the Earth was separated from the Heaven . Then came the divine couple IZANAGI ( THE MALE – WHO- INVITES ) and IZANAMI ( THE FEMALE-WHO- INVITES ) who begot the JAPANES Islands and the spirits of mountains . They also created winds , foods and fire . And at last came the AMATERASU ( THE SUN-GODDESS ) , TSUKI-YOMI ( THE MOON-GOD ) and SUSANOWO ( STORM-GOD ) . As per the SHINTO myths that AMATERASU ( THE SUN-GODDESS ) then shared the rule of the universe with her brother SUSANOWO (THE STORM-GOD) . But story goes like that : that the Storm-God behaved badly to the Sun-Goddess and then the latter took refuse in the cave of Heaven by leaving the world in darkness . And only enticement for her came from ‘ a dance organized by all the other gods ‘. So a mirror was hung outside the cave where she was hiding . When she peeped out in the mirror, she used to her own reflection . Being surprised out of this she used to advance to examine it whereupon another God caught her hand and pulled her out of the cave . And all other God’s tried SUSANOWO , who banished to IZUMO , the Northern coast of JAPAN and from there he went to the Nether Island as such .
NOTE : THE SOURCES OF THE BLOG ARE TEXT BOOKS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS ON THE SUBJECT .
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