Thedanka system (檀家制度,danka seido), also known asjidan system (寺檀制度,jidan seido), is a system of voluntary and long-term affiliation betweenBuddhist temples and households in use in Japan since theHeian period.[1] In it, households (thedanka) financially support aBuddhist temple which, in exchange, provides for their spiritual needs.[1] Although its existence long predates theEdo period (1603–1868), the system is best known for its repressive use made at that time by theTokugawa, who made the affiliation with a Buddhist templecompulsory to all citizens.
During the Tokugawa shogunate, the system was turned into a citizen registration network; supposedly intended to stop the diffusion of Christianity and help detecthidden Christians, it soon became a government-mandated and Buddhist temple-run system to monitor and control the population as a whole.[2] For this reason, it survived intact long after Christianity in Japan was thought to have been eradicated. The system as it existed in Tokugawa times is sometimes calledterauke system (寺請制度,terauke seido) because of the certification (orterauke, because thetera, or temple would issue anuke, or certificate) issued by a Buddhist temple that a citizen was not a Christian.[3]
The mandatorydanka system was officially abolished during theMeiji period, but continues nonetheless to exists as a voluntary association between the two sides, constitutes a major part of the income of most temples and defines as before the relationship between households and temples.[1]
Thedanka system changed drastically in 1638 when, in reaction to theShimabara Rebellion (1637–38), thebakufu decided to stamp out the Christian religion using it as a tool.[3] The relationship between temple anddanka, until then voluntary, was formalized and made compulsory: Buddhist temples were ordered to start writingterauke certificates for all theirdanka (檀家), while households on their part had the duty to becomedanka of the closest Buddhist temple, regardless of its sect (Nichiren, Jōdo, Rinzai, etc.), and to obtain from it aterauke.[2] Although never written into law,[3] this use of the system nonetheless quickly became a universal and extremely important feature of Tokugawa Japan.[2] Administratively speaking, all Japanese, Shinto priests included, became an integral part of the Buddhist bureaucratic organization, which in turn referred to the Tokugawa.
The system had three tiers, with at the lowest the temple which issued theterauke. Local government officials would then collect allterauke, bind them in ledgers calledshūmon ninbetsu aratamechō (宗門人別改帳)[3] and submit them to higher authorities.[2] The purpose was to force Christians to become affiliated to a Buddhist temple, while making the monitoring of suspected Christians easier.[2]
The very first registries in existence are dated between 1638 and 1640 and, unsurprisingly, are found in areas where the Christian religion was strong, for exampleKyoto, its province andKyūshū.[2] Registries in other areas are not found until the second half of the 17th century, but individualterauke, which clearly served the same purpose, are.[2]
Because in 1664 the bakufu ordered to alldaimyōs the establishment in their domain of an officer of religious investigation called magistrate of religion (宗門奉行,shūmon bugyō) or magistrate of temples and shrines (寺社奉行,jisha bugyō), from the following year registries of religious affiliation started being produced nationwide.[2]
In 1671 the registry's format was standardized. The document had to record all peasant households, state the number of men and women of each town, plus the totals for all districts and the province.[2] The intendant had to keep the registry and send a one-page summary to higher authorities.[2] Further, all departures from the community due to marriage, work or death were to be recorded. This registry format was maintained unchanged until 1870, three years into theMeiji era.[2] Since the order explicitly states that "Naturally, it is appropriate to investigate many things, and not only at the time of inquiry into religion",[2] the system clearly had from the beginning purposes that went beyond religion. The result was anEdo equivalent of today's household registry, set apart only by the temple's obligation to specify a family temple and the citizens' to obtain aterauke.[2] In some regions, the right to issue certificates was calledshūhanken (宗判権), a right which gradually became a source of great power for the temples.[2] Not only was a certificate issued after payment of a fee, but it gave religious authorities the power of life and death over parishioners.[2]
This document had to be obtained every year after an inspection at one's temple of affiliation.[3] Those who for some reason could not obtain a temple certification were recorded ashinin (non-persons) and thereafter subject to discrimination,[2] or simply executed as Christians.[3] Not only peasants, but even samurai and Shintō priests could not live or function within society without aterauke,[2] which had assumed a role similar to that of identity papers now. It was necessary to marry, to travel, to gain access to certain jobs.[4] After 1729 the breaking of ties between a temple and adanka (orridan (離壇)) was formally outlawed, making the link between adanka and a temple impossible to break.[2] This eliminated competition for parishioners between temples, giving a man and his family no possibility to change temple of affiliation. By the late 17th century the system had become an integral part of the Tokugawa state apparatus.[3] It also contributed to the enforcement ofBuddhist orthodoxy; thedanka system was used to stamp outIkkō-shū and other schools of Buddhism deemed "deviant" in the Tokugawa era.[5]
The life of thedankas were later made even more difficult by a document that greatly expanded a temple's powers over those affiliated to it. Purporting to be abakufu law regulating in great detail the certification of religious affiliation process, it appeared around 1735 and had thereafter large circulation all over Japan.[2] Dated 1613 and called "Individual Rules Concerning the Certification of Religious Affiliation for Danka" (御条目宗門旦那請合之掟,Gojōmoku Shūmon Danna Ukeai No Okite), usually abbreviated to justGojōmoku), it is demonstrably a forgery, probably created by the temples themselves, whose interests it serves.[2]
That the document is a fake is proven beyond doubt by the fact that it lists among the forbidden religions not only Christianity, but also theFuju-fuse (不受不施) and Hiden (悲田) subschools of theNichirensect. Since the two schools were outlawed respectively in 1669 and 1691, the date of issue must have been deliberately misstated.[2] The likely reason this particular date was chosen is that it is the year in which Tokugawa Ieyasu's "Order to Expel Christian Priests" (伴天連追放令,Bateren Tsuihōrei) was issued, and because the following year temples were ordered to start issuingterauke.[2]
The document is often found in temples and collections all over the country and it appears to have been believed genuine even by mostMeiji period historians.[2] The Gojōmoku, which gives temples additional power over parishioners, is mentioned occasionally by temple registries and, when adanka did not meet its conditions, the temple certification was not issued.[2] Its provisions caused considerable problems betweendanka and temples.[2]
The document first defined four duties of thedanka.
It then gave five rights to its temple.
The consequences of two centuries and a half ofterauke use and of the bureaucratization of Buddhism were numerous and profound, first of all for Buddhism itself.
The chasm between allowed and forbidden sects became much deeper than it had been.[4] If on the one hand Buddhism allowed a diversification of its authorized sects, on the other it punished tendencies that put into question the political status quo.[4] Adanka was registered at the closest temple regardless of its religious affiliations, so these became gradually less important.[4] As a consequence of all these factors, differences among sects allowed by the government became watered down and Buddhism became more uniform, not least because the Shogunate had a say in matters of religious orthodoxy.[4]
During the Edo period, Buddhism therefore offered few new ideas (with the possible exception of the reform ofZen sects).[4] On the contrary, the development during the same period of Japanese Confucianism and Shinto, and the birth of the so-called "New Religions" produced interesting ideas.[4]
Even though the original intent of Buddhism was the spreading of the teachings of Buddha, Buddhist temples in Japan today are primarily cemeteries.[6][7] The so-calledsōshiki bukkyō (葬式仏教) orFunerary Buddhism of today, lampooned for example inJuzo Itami's filmThe Funeral, where Japanese Buddhism's essential function has become confined to the performance of funerals and memorial services, is a direct consequence of thedanka system, as is the sale of posthumous names (orkaimyō (戒名)).[4] As far as Buddhism was concerned, the defining feature of thedanka system during the Edo period was that it guaranteed a steady stream of profits thanks to the mandatory funerary rites.[6] This cash flow is what paid for the majority of the temples in Japan and guaranteed their proliferation, and is inseparable from thedanka system.[6] Hence the tight association between Buddhism and death that continues to this day. When the formal dissolution of the wholedanka system arrived after World War II, it meant for Buddhism a great loss of income, and therefore financial insecurity.[7]
The use ofterauke and the widespread resentment it created are considered to be one of the primary causes of thehaibutsu kishaku, a violent and spontaneous movement that at the beginning of theMeiji era caused the destruction of a high number of temples all over Japan. The government's official policy of separation of Shinto and Buddhism (Shinbutsu bunri) of the time, while not directly responsible for this destruction, provided the trigger that released pent-up energy. Considering Buddhism's close association with the Tokugawa, it cannot be a surprise that Buddhist monks were regarded as state agents and that several sectors of the Edo society began trying to find alternate ways to satisfy their spiritual needs.[4]
In spite of its history, Buddhism had however decisive advantages over bothShinto andConfucianism that during the Meiji era made it impossible to replace it with either.[8] With its many rituals (thejūsan butsuji, or thirteen Buddhist rituals), Buddhism could better help people cope with death.[8] Moreover, Shinto associates death with pollution, so it is intrinsically less suitable to funerary ceremonies, while Confucianism in Japan did not concern itself much with funerals.[8] Lastly, Buddhism had a country-wide infrastructure that neither Shinto nor Confucianism could match.[8]