宗教 – Major Religions in Japan and Religious Beliefs
Shinto and Buddhism are the main religions in Japan. But, these religions have influenced each other and Japanese people don’t really separate the two and participate in different traditions related to both religions. Below I go into more details about the Japanese religious makeup and how religion works in Japan.
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Historical Overview of Religion in Japan
The two main religions in Japan are Shinto and Buddhism. Shinto is the ethnic religion of Japan and Buddhism came into Japan around the 6th century.
神道 – Shinto
Shintoism or Shinto is the native religion of Japan. It is a animistic based, polytheistic faith that worships 神kami. This term is generally translated as spirits, gods, or what is considered sacred. 神 can be found in nature such as rocks, trees, and rivers. They can also be different gods or people in Japanese mythology. The Kami are the core to the Shinto religion. That is why the religion, Shinto is written as 神道 which means the way of the Kami.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/Shinto doesn’t have a specific founder or sacred texts. Japan does have texts that record Japanese mythological history, the 古事記(kojiki) and 日本書紀 (nihon shoki). These texts though are not considered divine like the Bible, Koran, or Torah in Abrahamic religions. Also, there are plenty of other Japanese folklore known through out the country and locally. There is not really a distinction between these stories and what is in these mythological texts. The stories are important to Shintoism but the main way people interact with the religion is by going to shrines, or through different holidays, and other traditions.
Brief History of Shinto in Japan
Shinto has its origins somewhere between the end of the Jōmon period, which was around 14,000 – 300 BCE and beginning of the Yayoi period lasting from 1000 BCE to 300 CE. Shinto is thought to have formed with the spread of agriculture and nature worship. Then, it spread during the Kofun period in Japan. This is when the prototype shrines were build.
It spread and became a state-sponsored worship during the Kofun period (300 CE – 538 CE), with the earliest shrines established and the prototype of Shinto formed. During the Asuka period (538 CE – 710 CE), Shinto priests became involved in official ceremonies, and in the Nara period (710 CE – 794 CE), the emperor’s family was closely linked to the worship. In the Heian period (794 CE – 1185 CE), the emperor and his close associates directly participated in the worship of local shrines.
Regional differences
So, as I already stated, there are several different folklore and regional differences. Besides the 古事記 and 日本書紀 there were other writings compiled during the Nara period called the 風土記. These writings contain different local geographical information along with local mythologies and stories.
Even today, while there are traditions people follow like, 初詣 (hatsu moude, the first pilgrimage of the year to the local shrine or temple) all over the country, people still go to local shrines to show respect to the local kami instead of a national kami. There are also traditions and other festivals that are only found in specific places or regions.
仏教 – Buddhism
仏教 or Buddhism unlike Shintoism is not an ethnic religion confined to Japan. Buddhism is a world religion practiced by many around the world. However, Japan has a unique history with Buddhism and the Buddhism in Japan is not quite the same as elsewhere.
Brief History of Buddhism in Japan
The next major religion in Japan is Buddhism which was introduced to Japan in the 6th century by China and Korea. It was the ruling class that first adopted it but later it spread to the general population.
Later in the 7th century Japan also adopted a model of government based on China’s administration and civil code model. This was called 律令制. During this same time, Buddhism was officially adopted by the government. This was for a number of reasons, such as strengthening the central government, keeping ties with the surrounding Buddhist neighbors like China, and promoting peace. Whatever the reason, this adoption of Buddhism contributed greatly to the development of Japanese culture and society.
Japan did not stop there after adopting Buddhism. It continued to develop inside of Japan developing various different new sects and combined traditions with Shinto.
神仏習合 – Syncretism between Japanese Religions
Shintoism and Buddhism both existed alongside each other in Japan for centuries. Though there were times when there was a pushback by groups on the adoption of Buddhism, overall the two religions have been able to coexist. On top of that, unlike modern day Abrahamic religions which make starker distinctions between religious affiliation, the same thing does not exist in Japan. Buddhism and Shintoism are both focused on different facets of the human experience. This has allowed the to religions to flourish and develop together.
神仏習合 (shinbutsu-shugo)is the Japanese word for the syncretism or fusion of Shinto and Buddhism. This refers to how different aspects in Buddhism were assimilated into Shinto thought so there would be no conflict between the two religions. For example, seeing the Buddha as just another god instead of being in some opposition to Shinto polytheism.
Also, until the Meiji period of time when the government intervened, there was another concept called 本地垂迹 (honji-suijaku). This was where different Japanese kami were seen as incarnations of various Buddha. So, to summarize the situation in Japan today, there was a history of combining, separating, and influencing between Shinto and Buddhism. This has lead to the modern religious makeup of Japanese culture where it is hard to separate sometime which customs belong to which tradition.
Japanese Religious Beliefs, Practices, and Symbols
So, we know now that Japan has two major religions, Shinto and Buddhism. Japanese people generally don’t separate the two and seamlessly participate in practices having their origins in both traditions.
神社とお寺 – Shrines and Temples
To summarize, Shinto has shrines and Buddhism has temples. It can be confusing to understand the difference between the two though and when one should go to which place. For example, for special events like 七五三 (shichigosan, literally means 7,5,3) people usually would go to a Shrine, usually. For funerals on the other hand people go to temples. Also, when people have weddings mostly now people go to chapels and have Christian weddings. But, people can still have traditional, or Shinto weddings at a shrine. Finally, for 初詣 you can go to either one.
The point is not so much where someone goes, but the event that is involved which is more important.
お祭り – Festivals
Festivals or お祭り in Japanese, take place all over the country in all cities. Not all of them are religious based, and there are too many to list here. But, often you will have people dancing traditional dances through the streets, have people carrying portable shrines or お神輿 (omikoshi), and there will often be 屋台 (yatai)which are food stands with things to eat.
年中行事 – Annual Events
Japan is full of events around the year. Not all of them, like festivals, are religious in nature but they all have some cultural significance. It is hard to separate culture and religion in Japan, as much of the events that have had religious origins are also fairly commercialized. You could say the same with say, Christmas in Christian countries. Which is also one of the holidays you can find in Japan. Some examples of events and holidays are:
- お正月 – Oshougatsu (New Year): New year in Japan is not a day but the whole month which includes several different traditions
- 節分 – Setsubun: This is a day where kids throw beans at adults in Oni or devil masks.
- お盆 – Obon: This is to honor peoples ancestors who passed away which are said to come back during August 13 and 16
- 七五三 – Shichigosan: On November 15 parents bring their children when 7, 5, and 3 to their local shrine for praying for their wellbeing
Japanese Religion and Society
So finally what do Japanese people think about religion? From a 2018 study linked below, overall, most Japanese people are fairly indifferent, or have not thought too much about it.
Japanese people were asked if they follow any religion themselves outside of just ceremonial occasions like weddings, funerals, etc. 62% of respondents said no. Out of the remaining people, 31% said Buddhism, 3% Shinto, and 1% Christianity.
Also, in regards to how strong peoples faith are, there seems to be a larger range. 26% of people answered that they have a lot to fair amount of faith. Then, you have a full 52% of people that have little to no faith. Finally you have 22% which could not say either way, or did not know.
So, in Japan religion plays a huge role in Japan. But, it is mostly seen as part of Japanese culture instead of something separate. When it comes to personal beliefs, like the afterlife again beliefs are mixed. 32% think maybe there is an afterlife, 25% think maybe not, and 27% don’t know. From this, I would conclude that religion itself, is not what is influencing Japanese people’s beliefs on topics like the afterlife. Instead, it is more likely personal thoughts people have about these sorts of topics. Who knows though.
Anyway, if you would like to learn more about Japan, the Japanese language in particular so that you can have deep religious conversations with Japanese people, check out other articles I have written here. If you have any ideas of topics you would like to know more about, just let me know by leaving a comment.
