Danka system

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The shūmon ninbetsu aratamechō , or danka register, of the village of Kumagawa ( Fussa City Museum ).

In the Danka system ( Japanese 檀 家 制度 , danka seido ), also known as the Jidan system ( 寺 檀 制度 jidan seido ), households (the danka ) in Japan supported the local Buddhist temple financially. In exchange for this, the respective temple granted support in spiritual terms.

Even if this system had been known since the Heian period , its repressive side was only fully used during the Tokugawa regime of the Edo period . It was during this time that the registration of every household with a Buddhist temple became mandatory. Comparable to a residents' registration office, this served on the one hand to control the population and on the other hand to prevent the spread of Christianity in Japan . So-called Terauke ( 寺 請 ) were issued as a kind of certificate for registration , which thus also served as proof that the citizen in question was not a Christian. For this reason, this procedure is also known as the Terauke system ( 寺 請 制度 , terauke seido ), since the temple ( tera ) issued the certificate ( uke ). The Terauke were collected by the local authorities in the "Register of Religious Affiliation " ( 宗 門 人 別 改 帳 shūmon ninbetsu aratamechō ), with the system having its own authority ( 宗 門 改 役 shūmon aratame yaku ) with the commissioner for religious questions ( 宗 門 奉行 shūmon bugyō ) Board.

Although this mandatory system was abolished after the end of World War II, it has remained in place on a voluntary basis to this day and represents an important part of the financial security for the respective temples.

literature