天道=Tentō-Faith; 陰陽道=Onmyōdō; シンクレティズム=Syncretism; 教訓書=Kyōkun-sho (textbooks of moral code); 御籤(みくじ)本=Mikuji-hon (the commentary on Mikuji)
摘要
This paper studies the Tentō-Faith in Japan during the Edo period and examines the influence of the Onmyōdō (the Yin-and-Yang philosophy), on it, by analyzing,in particular, the Mikuji-hon (the commentary on Mikuji), the Kyōkun-sho (textbooks of moral code), and the like, which are widely read even today.Tentō, a concept that “it is beyond man or, its workings”—a belief prevalent in East Asia—was introduced to Japan during the Ritsuryō era by the Chinese followers of Confucianism.However, in Japan, Tentō (or Ten) is not Confucianism per se, but a mélange of several religious thoughts: Shintoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, etc. In previous research on religions in Japan, Confucianism and Buddhism have been the primary subjects. However, from the perspective of the Edo period, the influence of the Onmyōdō cannot be overlooked.
Therefore, this paper examines historical material—that was kept mostly private during the Edo period—to study the influence of Onmyōdō on the TentōFaith, and tries to consider its genealogy. First of all, it shows that Tentō—widely accepted in the Edo-period Japan—was an object of faith different from God,Buddha, and Nichirin (Sun as a celestial body). Second, in that period Tentō meant the law of heaven and earth, and this study analyses the Kyōkun-sho (textbooks of moral code) and the Kana-zōshi (a storybook written in kana during the early days of the Edo period) to show that it was related to good luck and fortune. Third, the genealogy of Tentō as good luck and bad luck, and it being an object of faith related to fortune can date back to “Hoki-Naiden” (the Onmyōdō book considered to have been written during the Nambokutcyō- period).
