Thesis: “Confucianism and Buddhism are the sources of psychological and cultural change in the Japanese society as both these philosophies introduced the means to achieve cultural and societal peace and harmony.”

Introduction

Murasaki Shikibu is one of the greatest literary artists of Japan of the Heian period. She has produced a remarkable piece having strong observations and deep reflections of the court life. For this purpose she use to keep a diary in which she recorded the life at court. Her diary is a mixture of detailed descriptions and sharp personal observation interspersed with strong self-analysis. As she also focused the influence of Confucianism and Buddhism in the cultural as well as society of Japan, The diary also seems to be a collection of observations seemingly written for some public purpose.

Contributions of Confucianism and Buddhism

Confucianism is more like a set of moral codes rather then a religion. It teaches the people to play an ideal role in an unchanging society. While “Buddhism is a way to achieve personal enlightenment, nirvana, through the awareness of impermanence in all matters.” Where the ideals of Confucian were treasured as an orthodox religion of the state, Buddhism on the other hand always struggles to bring together their religious principles with the Confucians.
The main area of concern in Confucianism was to develop social harmony and also to explain the basic responsibilities and duties in maintaining all the various relationships existing in the society. These relations are master and servant, parent and child, husband and wife, brother and sisters as well as friend to friend. These relations are known as “dyadic relations”. Therefore, “when the dyadic relationships are hierarchical, the person in the superior position is to care for the person in the lower and the person in the lower position is to be loyal to the superior.” In Japan, the royal and majestic families use to follow this system to institute an erect bureaucracy. Despite the fact that Confucianism brought structural changes in Japan but the ancient Japanese did not show much interest in the philosophy of Confucianism.

On the other hand Japanese were easily attracted to Buddhism due to its aesthetic qualities. Many Buddhist artisans migrated from Korea and introduced advanced and elegant techniques in the architecture, paintings as well as sculpture and music of the Japanese state. Basically these well-designed techniques were adopted as a part of their art and culture and specifically used in the country’s rituals for the prosperity of the state.

Apart from art and culture, the psychological impact of Buddhism was more passionate. Buddhism introduced many social, moral as well as psychological aspects of life and related them to the environment and human being. Buddhism sharpens the awareness of Japanese people about the working of the heart and mind. It made the people realize that the root cause for anguish and dissatisfaction is the egoism of a person. Therefore, in order to achieve inner peace and social harmony, one should control the inner desire and eliminate egoism from its personality.

In brief, according to Confucianism, harmony and peace could be achieved in the society by realizing the duties and responsibilities towards each other made in every dyadic relationship. On the other hand, the philosophy of Buddhism made a stronger impact on the psychology of Japanese people and culture

The Diary of Lady Murasaki and Women:

Though the Diary of Lady Murasaki is not a typical reflection of Japanese ladies during the Heian period but it gives an implicit expression about women of that period. She also examined the life of upper class women during this period. “For instance the freedom of expression provided to them and the level of education with relation to men at that time.”
The lady she portrayed was based on her personal observation and experiences in court. According to Richard Bowring, she defines “what a lady-in-waiting considered "good" character.” Basically the role of women was taken as a sensitive issue along influencing the two different philosophies for structural change of the Japanese Society and its culture.