The interaction of Shintoism-Buddhism in Japan from the perspective of interreligious relations

In this thesis titled "The Interaction of Shintoism-Buddhism in Japan from the Perspective of Interreligious Relations", the religious structure in Japan, the historical background of this structure, and the interaction of Shintoism and Buddhism with the axis of god, holy person, shrine/temple, and rituals are discussed. The aim of the study is to compare Shintoism and Buddhism, which are the dominant religions of Japan, which hosts a cosmopolitan religious structure, on certain elements and to make an inference about the origins and belongings of religious elements. The points where these two religions influence each other and their changes in the historical process are important in terms of understanding the phenomenon of religion in Japan. In the first chapter, Shintoism, Buddhism, Ruism, Daoism, Christianity, Islam, and sub-sects of these religions are included to reflect the religious structure in Japan. In the second chapter, Shintoism and Buddhism are compared in the context of god and holy persons, temples and rituals. This comparison includes subjects such as the intersections of the two religions, their similarities and differences, and their practical effects. With the subtitles examined by the historical and comparative method, it has been seen that Shintoism and Buddhism in Japan are influenced by each other in terms of understanding of god and holy persons, temples structure, rituals and objects used, and although there is no mere separation in some rituals, they share the practice area. It is known that Shintoism and Japanese Buddhism institutionalized contemporization with each other. Due to this historical reality, the need for interaction and transformation has become inevitable for these two religions to coexist at the same time and in the same geography. The direction and effect of this interaction have changed periodically, and it has been observed that Shintoism is dominant in some issues and Buddhism is dominant in others. It is possible to say that Buddhism followed a more moderate policy to gain a presence and spread in Japanese geography, especially in the early periods, but over time it reached a more dominant position in the syncretic structure and influenced the Shintoist understanding. The intertwined nature of the understanding of religion with the state and politics in Japan undoubtedly affected religious syncretism, and the dominant position of Buddhism was subjected to various interventions. As a result, it can be said that the religious structure in Japan has been in the process of transformation and institutionalization from the early periods to the modern periods, and that this situation is a reflection of a natural process of the phenomenon of religion due to its anthropical nature.