Indian Influence on Japanese Stories

A considerable portion of the cosmogonical and mythological literature of Japan bears traces of Indian influence. Hajime Nakamura observed ‘ Some stories of ancient India were very influential in shaping Japanese stories by providing them with materials. In the process of shaping, however, Indian materials were greatly modified and adapted in such a way as would appeal to the mentality of common people of Japan in general’ quoted from Lokesh Chandra and others – India’s Contribution to World Thought and Culture.

Post Wheeler also said ‘Many fragments of the Japanese myth-mass were unmistakably Indian. The original homeland of the first man and women of Japanese mythology is said to have been in the Earth-Residence-Pillar i.e. Mount Meru of Indian mythology. There is another story of Buro-no-Kami whose identity has been established with the deity called Brave-Swift-Impetuous-male. This Kami may be none other than the Indian deity Gavagriva, the Ox-head deity. The story recounts in the style of the jatakas how the deity punished the heartless rich brother and rewarded the king hearted poor brother. In India one of the names of the moon is Sasanka (lit. having a rabbit in the lap) and there is an ancient Indian legend why it is so called. The belief prevalent in ancient Japan that there lived a rabbit in the moon was probably an outcome of the Indian influence.

The story of the monkey and the crocodile mentioned in the Jataka appears in a slightly modified form in Sasekishu, a medieval Japanese collection of popular stories. The story is referred to in a work by Nichiren 1222-82 a.d. and also in Konjaku-monogatari. Another Puranic story of the sage Rsyarnga is likely to have reach Japan in the trail of Buddhist legends. A famous medieval Japanese drama Narukami has been based on this story.

These instances clearly illustrate the nature and extent of Indian influences on Japanese stories.

Japanese literature is also replete with instances of the influence of the Indian Theory of Karma and the transmigration of the soul. Although Buddhist deities like Buddha, Maitreya, Amitabha and Vairocana predominate Japanese literature; Hindu gods are also quite well known.

God Indian Name Japanese Name

1. Seagod Varuna Suiten

2. King of Gods Indira Taishakuten

3. God of Success Ganesha Shoten

4. God of Wealth Kuvera Bishamon

5. Goddess of Learning Sarasvati Benten

6. Goddess of Fortune Laksmi Kichijoten

7. Mahesh Shiva Daikoku

8. Divine Architect Visvakarman Bishukatsuma


In the annals of the Todaji temple, it has been stated that the worship of Sarasvati and Laksmi was first introduced in 722 A.D. and continued down the centuries. In Bessom Zakki (Description of Gods) written in the 12th century written in the Siddham script, a corrupt Sanskrit mantra reads: ‘Sarasvatai svaha namo sarasvatyai mahadevyai svaha, namo bhagavati mahadevi sarasvati sidhyatu mantrapadami svaha’. A description of Sarasvati occurs in the voluminous text Asabasho by Shocho 1205-82 and the rituals connected with her worship have been recorded by Ryoson 1279 to 1349 in Chapter CXLIX of his Byaku-hokku-sho (The White Jewel of Indian Tradition). The adoption of these Hindu deities into the Buddhist and Shintonist pantheons of Japan indicate the influence of India on Japanese religions as well as the syncretic character of the religious systems of Japan.

The Japanese language like Sanskrit is inflectional. Its rules governing syntax, morphology, phonology and semantic structure follow a pattern of its own. The forty-seven letters of the Japanese alphabet are said to have been devised by the Japanese Buddhist saint Kobo Daishi 774-835, after the Sanskrit alphabet. The arrangement of the Japanese syllabary based on the Sanskrit system is also attributed to the influence of Bodshisena in Japan, which, according to Riri Nakayama, ‘will continue as long as the Japanese language continues to exist’. It has been pointed out that the old Japanese song ‘Iroha-uta’ which contains all the 47 Japanese letters, is a liberal translation of a Sanskrit Buddhist hymn in the Mahaparinirvana-Sutra. The Indian script known as Siddham, called His-t’an in Chinese and $hittan in Japanese gained currency in Japan for writing Sanskrit from the 8th century. It was introduced by Kobo who was responsible for bringing Mantrayana Buddhism from China to Japan.

The survey made above reveals the immense contribution of India to the theology of Japanese Buddhism as well as to Japanese literature. The present indications are that the texts utilized were all written in Sanskrit, probably in the Siddham script, and there was no intrusion of Pali, unlike in the Buddhist countries of South-East Asia.

Shinto is a polytheistic religion, venerating a vast pantheon of kami (gods or spirits) which range from the local deities of mountains or streams to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Shintoism (literally, “the way of the gods”) has been designated by some scholars as the Japanese version of Hinduism - says author Chaman Lal.

(source: Japan - esamskriti.com).

well japanese were converted to buddhism for the most part. i know there are several bddhist monks from india that came to japan and china.

Most of countries that are link to the area where the silk road was being use to trade, can affiliate with other countries in term of exchanging goods. In one point of time different countries must have came come into contatct with one another in any form of way.

Ooh~ Another Indian-related thread.

If there's one thing I know about Indian and Japanese relations, is that Japanese adopted curry. 2

Another Indian nationalist thread. This guy makes it seem as if India was Asia's supreme culture or something because it gave Buddhism to the world. No doubt India has rich cultural heritage and contributed to Asian thought and philosophy through buddhism but seriously quit trying to advocate superiority and BTW we all know where you get your sources from, that ridiculous overexaggerated www.AtributetoHinduism.com. Although Buddhism originated in India, it reached it's zenith in China. Most of the Asian countries (Well atleast East Asian not Southeast Asia where the cultures are more Hindunized) that borrowed Buddhism borrowed the Chinese schools of Buddhism. Also if India is such a philophical and cultural powerhouse, why is it that India is by far the poorest nation in Asia?

Uh......What?


Seriously, you incorectly assume the worst of intentions.

Like I've stated before, I have no agenda. I simply post different articles and snipets of information to show cultural exchange and to show cultural links between two nations.


I have no inetents to fight you or anyone else, although I will always defend my culture and my religion from attack.


Also, Bangladesh is the poorest asian nation. Of course you would know that if you weren't so intent on belligrency.......

If you are truly Indian and not a troll, then you have an ego problem. You are either conscious of it or not; either way it's your problem, not ours. I'm not going to waste my time arguing with you about why you have an ego problem.

We all have egos and it's up to ourselves to tame that little dic_k.

Okay then what exactly is your purpose of revealing some overexaggerated myths about India's cultural influence on Asia? Most of the sources you reveal are very insulting as it's pure exaggeration and makes it seem as if other Asian cultures pale to India which is not true. WHy don't you list some of the ways your India influenced my Vietnam huh? Seriously your intentions are no better than those pathetic Chinazis roaming around trying to make it sound like they are the greatest out there. The only difference is they do it overtly whereas you're indirect.

I would love to post a article about Indian influence in Vietnam but seeing how your in a belligerent mood, I know you'll most likely lable it all as "rubbish" and call me a Nazi.

I suggest you post your "gestures of good will" in the Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia sections, where some members are actually proud to be derived from India's "colonies".

BTW, those "Indian" gods in Japanese mythology are actually Chinese and local Japanese Shinto dieties/Kamis, and no, the Chinese and Japanese did not get it from India.

I would love to post a article about Indian influence in Vietnam but seeing how your in a belligerent mood, I know you'll most likely lable it all as "rubbish" and call me a Nazi.


naw man. i understand you. if it's true there's no problem i know indian culture have great impact in asian culture, and that you're not trying to prove any superiority complex. it just some peole are like this:

"Frontline Host: sir, what if i tell you you were african american?
Clayton Bigsby: sir i'm in no way shape or form related to any N*ggadom"
Dave Chapelle Show, the black white supremacist skit, first episode.

Quit your BS.. Yes, Buddhism was from India. And? If you think the Phillippines was heavily influenced by India, then that's the Phillippines.

Just look at each one of his threads to see where his intentions lie. Just because you're happy to be "connected" to India doesn't mean you can speak for everyone. Where do you get off telling me how India influenced Chinese culture. I know my culture and history.

Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia were not India's colonies.

They did trade with India and did recieve some influence, but they weren't Indian colonies.

Why are you so rude anyway? I haven't said anything to you.

y'all just don't want to get influenced and so you'll deny it. of course you will but if youre culture has something big and impact on others y'all are so willing to talk about it. come on now.

and my chinese history professor had told me that the chinese syllabication did not start until one chinese buddhist monk came to india and used sanskrit syullabication to evolve chinese writing.

Well, the Phillippines was part of the Varijaya empire, wasn't it? Your own posts.. You're forgetting them?

WTF are you talking about? Chinese characters are derived from Indian script? This is as retarded as those Nordicists and Afrocentrists. I'm out.

Thanks dude, I'm glad somebody understands me.

It doesn't count as no agenda if you only post India influencing "X nation" type articles.

i guess you never read it. sri vijaya was not indian, it was hindic influenced like khmer empire much earlier.

The Sri Vijaya empire was NOT Indian. It was Indian influenced (culturally) but it was not Indian. If I remember correctly, wasn't it Malay???

Well, you can keep your Indian heritage. It's my right to tell this guy the real deal when he tries to say that India was China's great teacher. Buddhism? Taoism has the same exact philosophies Buddhism had, in fact even more abstract and encompassing. Zen Buddhism is even Buddhism but Taoism, which in itself doesn't believe in organized religion so it takes the shell of another.

Not to mention that it's all partial BS.. He gets it from a Hindu egoist/nationalist site and that becomes fact that Koreans are descended from Indians because some Hindu princess (?) married a Korean?

This is Tenji's gesture of good will to the Chinese people:
If it was true, I'll give it to him, but the Greeks have been more of a "teacher" to China (since the West dominated all of us during the last 300) then India ever was. India gave us Buddhism, but not even a majority of Chinese are Buddhists, and of the Buddhists, most are Pureland or Zen Buddhists. Zen isn't even really Buddhism but Taoism in Buddhist clothing.
I give people what is their due, nothing more, nothing less. Just don't bull$hit me.

Umm the Chinese writing script has been around since the Shang Dynasty. This kind of talk is just as bad as some of those jackasses on Stormfront. Since Tocharian mummies were found in Xinjiang, Chinese civilization was founded by the white man. That whole tribute to Hinduism site is rather amusing. First they claim China was originally a vedic empire, then they go to great lengths to try and argue that the entire Sino-Tibetan language family came from Indian dialects nevermind the fact that one group is tonal and one is non-tonal.

he really said that india is china's great teacher? or was it from a site he'd quoted. either way that's positional opinion. i've no comment.

but what i dislike is trying to deny influence of India when it is factual.

Who is denying India's influence? You're barking up the wrong tree.

No $hit. All this Indian nationalist/retarded crap (I mean no disrespect to the Indians on this board.) The only guy who posted this crap before what that Cambodian Menikani, who used to post "India is da man" threads like how India invented airplanes centuries before the Wright brothers.

I quoted that from a website.


Everything I have posted so far has been from websites. I presonally have made no comments.

Nobody is denying Indian influence, it's the exaggeration of Indian influence that amuses us. Yes Indian culture has made an impact on other Asian cultures. India afterall is the home of Buddhism but when you exaggerate things to ridiculous lengths like saying "China was originally a vedic empire" or "Chinese writing came from Sanskrit" or "Indians invented the Chinese tone" or "Koreans came from India due to a Hindu princess marriage", people tend to be annoyed. BTW yes you quoted from a website and your point? Did it ever occur to you that not all websites are accurate and they could be wrong?

What I can't stand is some of these Indian @$$-kissers.. Who think it's actually an honor for India to lay claim everywhere. All it does is accept superiority and overlordship while boosting some kid's ego, if he is truly Indian.

true but neither all of them wrong. sure they might be wrong. what if they're right?

the fact of the matter is if they are true why all these back talk like it's insecurity complex. if India had that much hey these are from scholars and that's they're findings. either ture or not. he's just posted these up cuz he thought they were nice. why y'all trippin? i mean there are other who post really ridiculous post out there.

^ Ugh, forget this.

I'll simply stop posting in your sections and I'll stick to India chat. Or should I leave from there too?

Or how about this.

Before I post an article, I'll e-mail it for your "approval" and then post it. Would you like that User1?

Honestly, quit trying to slander me.

No one is insecure. It's annoying. What scholars??? Which university? Where's the PHD? Anyone can publish an article online. Does that make it true? Do you know anything?
Afrocentrists and Nordicists also write articles on their sites about how Chinese civilization was started by Blacks and Nords. Does it make it true if I write an article online?
I think you need to just stick with the relationship between India and the Phillippines.

like there aren't other ethnocentric threads out there ridiculous too. shessh kebob.

but someone else do it bam they're wrong. they're exaggerating....do i smell hypocrisy? like y'all never posted internet published site no? tssk tssk tssk

Hmm let's evaluate your assertion here:

"True but neither all of them are wrong"
Care to elaborate on that then?

"sure they might be wrong. what if they're right?"

That's rather circular don't you think? He who asserts himself must prove himself. When you make an argument, it is your job to prove that argument not the opposing side to disprove it. So far all those comments from that Hindu nationalist site is nothing but overexaggeration. Arthur Kemp is also considered a scholar, I guess the academic community must take him into consideration. I too have studied Chinese history and culture extensively and funny thing is I've never ever encountered such wild claims from the real China experts "Needham, Fairbank, Spence, Ebrey, etc.". Hmm wonder why that is. Everyone who has studied Chinese history extensively like the people above have mentioned that Chinese writing traces back to the Shang dynasty long before the people in China ever heard of India or much less Sanskrit. Also Chinese historians everywhere has accepted that the Huaxia and Dongyi tribes were the ancestors to the modern day Chinese people along with extensively breeding from other groups of course over the millenia. So what's this about China being a vedic empire?

What are you talking about exactly? Did any Chinese ever post about how China clothed Filipinos and taught them to grow rice?

If you check my threads, it's about anthropology. And the sources I provide are from universities, written by academics with their reputations on the line. If you don't know what you're talking about, why are you even arguing with me? What does this have to do with you anyway? I already told you that the Phillipines can be influenced by India, but we aint the Phillippines.

Arthur Kemp is such a joke. Non-Whites are sub-human according to Arthur Kemp. Let's see Flipcombat defend Arthur Kemp. Seriously, one Filipino and one Indian presume to tell me what I should know, as if I don't know who I am.

HAHA reminds me on that site, they even claimed that Jesus Christ survived his crucifixion and moved to India afterwards.

sorry for the lack of grammatical organization sir.

let me elborate. you say that not all of them are factual. but that doesn't prove that all of them wrong either. whne i said sure they might be wrong. what i meant to say was sure some might be wrong, but what about this one, it might be right.

no worry i took political philosphy on my freshman year.

these "comments" were from sites he quoted. it's not directly in his authorship. he just found them and posted them.

overexaggeration...there are tons of theories and opinions out there that are argued upon, there are opinons and arguments on both sides. sometimes third party would say that some have bigger arguments and factual basis over others, but there are no way of disproving them ultimately nor proving them factual. so who are we to say no? he just posted it up cuz he thought it was nice sheesh. y'all the ones overexaggerating.

Kemp isn't even the only one who writes and publishes material. Funny thing is the only people in the whole world who take him seriously are the idiots on Stormfront. No academic in this world would ever look at him in a serious manner.

WTF are you rambling about?
What are we exaggerating? He posted this stuff because he thought it was nice shyt? That's why he went to a Hindu nationalist site? "There's a possibility that's it true".. What kind of a $hitty comeback is that? There is a possibility that the moon is a fat round lady who floated up there because she ate too much.

As I said, the Indian words in Tagalod, that's prolly true, but stop your BS about how Chinese characters are derived from India. You're not even Indian. What does it do youany good? He thinks of you as his son. Big honor.

[/quote]
No $hit. All this Indian nationalist/retarded crap (I mean no disrespect to the Indians on this board.) The only guy who posted this crap before what that Cambodian Menikani, who used to post "India is da man" threads like how India invented airplanes centuries before the Wright brothers.

[/quote]
If they're going to argue that Indians are the actual inventors of gunpowder and acupuncture, I don't see why not they're going to argue that one as well.

Since when is www.atributetohinduism.com a "nationalist" site?

I got the link for it from Princeton University's CSR website....

If you don't believe me, take a look for yourself under the "Hinduism" section of the page....


http://www.princeton.edu/~csrelig/links/links.html

OMG no we weren't heavily influenced by India.

WTF are you rambling about?
What are we exaggerating? He posted this stuff because he thought it was nice shyt? That's why he went to a Hindu nationalist site? "There's a possibility that's it true".. What kind of a $hitty comeback is that? There is a possibility that the moon is a fat round lady who floated up there because she ate too much.

As I said, the Indian words in Tagalod, that's prolly true, but stop your BS about how Chinese characters are derived from India. You're not even Indian. What does it do youany good? He thinks of you as his son. Big honor.

^you seriously don't read my friend nor know about chinese history. i never said that chinese writing came from india, but alot of sanskrit writing principles were later on put in chinese writing system research that man. read son. sheesh.

second of all why are you bringing up my nationality on this? aregue on the point not on my identity sheesh.

about exaggeration. this is what i mean. he post $hit up and y'all go head over heels arguing bumbling shutting him down like he's some sort of nazi or some. he even apologized. sheesh and y'all gangin up on him $hit.

calm the fu-k down sheesh.

Wow.. it's hyperlinked.. I guess we have no more argument then. you're right. This is such a waste of time. Let them say what they want. Flipcombat is right about one thing. Just ignore these jokes, like how those Afrocentrists and Nordicists get ignored.

It's funny how it's ten links and you choose that one.

What Sanskrit words? The Buddhist terms? What else? Can you give me a citation? Shut up already.

I can choose another website too if you'd like. Out of all of those websites, however, www.atributetohinduism.com is the most comprehensive. It is much more sophisticated than http://www.hindunet.org/ which is more cluttered (in my opinion).


Either way, I'm sure that I'll still get called a Nazi even if I use another website.

i'm sorry i don't have teh book. i'm about three thousand miles from my dorm room. this is really pathetic man. i'll just shut up. it's pathetic. wasting my time.

acyually, chinese buddhism art did not have roots in china but more in the greco buddhist art and gupta style of india. you can't deny that fact. you also can't deny that silk came from china and so did most of the east asian culture.

1st level culture indian: 2nd level culture: angkor: (3rd level culture: ayuthuya, luang prabang), sri jiyaja:
(3rd level culture: ayyuthuya), dravarati:(3rd level culture: pagan, ayuthuya).

1st level culture china: 2nd level culture: dac viet, koryo, mongolia, japan, ryukyuyuan.