The Comparison of Religious Beliefs and Folk Taboos between Taiwan and Japan

• Main Authors: Wen-ping Lin, 林文萍
• Other Authors: Yi-yu Shin
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/91519187480809107279

碩士 === 義守大學 === 應用日語學系碩士班 === 97 === Japanese has always been the “Second Foreign Language” in Taiwan.As the number of Japanese learners keeps growing in Taiwan, the cultural exchange of the two countries has become a main concern in our society. The purpose of this thesis aims at decreasing the sense of distance of the Japanese learners in Taiwan about the Japanese culture. Through the exploration and comparison of the religions and taboos in the daily existence of the two peoples, the writer of the thesis intends to make the Japanese-learners in Taiwan more interested in the target language and thus obtain better understanding of Japanese culture. As a result, embarrassments can be avoided and the exchange of cultures will be improved. The thesis mainly focuses on the comparison of folk beliefs (commonly known as superstitions) between Taiwan and Japan. First of all, the most representative religions, which are Japanese Shinto belief and Taiwanese Taoism, are compared. And then the similarities and differences of their respective taboos will be elaborated. In the comparison of the two religions, the thesis lays emphasis on the deities, worships, and doctrines. As to the comparison of the folklore taboos, the focus is on the aspects of dining habits, clothing, and inhabitancy. Researches have found that Taiwan and Japan are similar in the taboos about death are not different.