The Bible (Japanese Edition)

Product Information

The written Japanese form, 神, is influenced by the Chinese meaning of the character. Common words in both languages using this character, such as 精神 (pronounced seishin in Japanese), meaning “spirit” or “mind,” and 神経 ( shinkei), meaning “nerves,” are related to human mental qualities. Pronounced shen in Chinese, the character 神 carries some divine attributes, but they are of a decidedly low rank and far below those of the highest power in Chinese theology, termed 天 ( tian) or 上帝 ( shangdi) in Chinese.

It is a complete Bible translation, of the Old and New Testaments and the Deuterocanonical books. The original texts used are: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia in Hebrew for the Old Testament, Nestle-Åland Novum Testamentum Graece in Greek, and the Greek Old Testament for the Deuterocanonical books. In this context, Buddhas were notable in that their complete separation from the kami meant that they were not subordinate to Amaterasu. Forces excluded by the emperor’s monopoly on ritual and power following the reform of Shintō were free to adopt Buddhism. These forces were concentrated in and around Yamato Province, now Nara Prefecture, and through inheritance of bureaucratic government positions and landed estates ( shōen) had developed into an aristocracy. Most of them embraced Buddhism, built temples, and hoped to be reborn in the Western Paradise. The idea of being reborn as a Buddha after death was a new one and quite different from the tenets of Shintō. By contrast, for the peasants who worked in the estates belonging to the aristocracy, temples, and shrines, their traditional faith in local kami was altogether more familiar and natural than Buddhism. Different Ideas of Life and DeathKenzo Tagawa, "New Testament as a Text," (In Japanese) Keisoshobou, 1997, ISBN 4-326-10113-X,pp.648-649

In accordance with the ecumenical movement of the latter half of the 20th century, a joint ecumenical translation committee was set up in 1969 to get a new translation of the Bible, so it can be used by all Christian denominations. History of Japanese Bible Translation". bible.or.jp. Archived from the original on 24 November 2005. Norihisa Suzuki, Japanese in the Bible: A History of Translation, (In Japanese) Iwanamishoten, 2006, ISBN 4-00-023664-4, Section 6Arimichi Ebizawa, "Bible in Japan --A History of Japanese Bible Translation,"(In Japanese) Kodansha, 1989, ISBN 4-06-158906-7, Section 3