Dōkyō

Dōkyō, (from Chinese Tao-chiao, “Teaching of the Way”), popular or religious Taoism, as distinguished from philosophical Taoism, as introduced into Japan from China. It was the source of many widespread Japanese folk beliefs and practices of divination and magic, some of which persist into modern times.

Popular Taoism found its way into Japan (1) via philosophical texts such as the Tao-te Ching (“The Classic of the Way of Power”) and other literary texts, (2) as an integral part of Buddhism and Chinese culture, and (3) informally, through court festivals and popular festivals and beliefs. A government department of divination, the On-myō-ryō (“Bureau of On-myō” [Chinese: Yin-Yang]), patterned after the Chinese practice, existed as early as 675 ad but later died out. One of the duties of the bureau, in keeping with the Yin-Yang theory of the balance of complementary forces, was to regulate the calendar in order to maintain a balance between the social order and the cosmic order. The introduction of the Chinese calendar had a lasting impact on Japanese religious history (even Shintō shrines hold their festivals in accordance with the Chinese calendar).