The Kami-Buddha/Bodhisattva Identification and the Honji Suijaku Concept in the Context of Shintō-Buddhist Combination Şinto-Budist Etkileşimi Bağlamında Kami-Buddha/Bodhisattva İlişkisi ve Honji Suijaku Anlayışı
Ankara Universitesi Ilahiyat Fakultesi Dergisi, cilt.67, sa.1, ss.85-108, 2026 (Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 67 Sayı: 1
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.33227/auifd.1722276
- Dergi Adı: Ankara Universitesi Ilahiyat Fakultesi Dergisi
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus, ATLA Religion Database, Central & Eastern European Academic Source (CEEAS), Index Islamicus, Directory of Open Access Journals
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.85-108
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Buddha/Bodhisattva, Gongen, History of Religions, Honji Suijaku, Japanese Religions, Kami, Shinbutsu Shūgō
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Shinbutsu shūgō refers to the Shintō-Buddhist combination in Japanese religious history, defined as a dynamic process through which Shintō and Buddhism became closely intertwined on various levels from the sixth century onwards. In the medieval period, this process acquired a distinctive theoretical framework through the honji suijaku (manifestation of essences) concept. This study aims to elucidate how the relationship between local kami beliefs and Buddhist deities was shaped around the honji suijaku concept within the context of Shintō-Buddhist combination, and how this concept attained a concrete manifestation through the notion of gongen. Within this framework, the study is conducted along two main sections. The first section focuses on the ontological transformation of kami throughout the historical process. In this scope, buddhas perceived as foreign kami (adashikuni no kami), sentient beings seeking salvation in the context of shinshin ridatsu (separation from the kami body), jingūji (Shintō-Buddhist temples), and the protectors of the Buddhist doctrine (dharma) emerging through the example of goryō (vengeful spirits) belief, and finally the local manifestations of Buddhist sacred beings as kami are examined. The second section investigates the honji suijaku concept, which constitutes the theoretical foundation of this transformation, through the notions of hongaku (original enlightenment) and wakō dōjin (softening the light to mingle with the ordinary world) that form its philosophical background, as well as the concept of gongen (provisional manifestation), the concrete counterpart of this concept in sacred places. Selected examples, particularly Zaō Gongen and Kumano Gongen, are evaluated within this framework to illustrate the religious, spatial, and political reflections of the honji suijaku concept. The findings demonstrate that the honji suijaku concept provides a theoretical interpretive framework explaining the relationship between kami and buddha/bodhisattva, that the notions of hongaku and wakō dōjin constitute the philosophical foundation of this framework, and that the gongen concept transforms this conceptual model into a belief pattern embodied in sacred geography. Overall, the honji suijaku concept is evaluated as a fundamental mechanism that facilitates the Japanization of Buddhist teachings by blending them with local elements and unifies diverse conceptions of sacred beings into comprehensive framework. In this respect, it is concluded that the concept holds a central position in understanding the character of Japanese religious history and the ways in which the Japanese conceptualize the sacred.