Collection: Shinto & Japanese Buddhism

Shintō means "the way of kami". It has no founder, no sacred scriptures in the strict sense, and no fixed dogmas. Adherents honour kami, believed to inhabit natural elements and phenomena, and ancestral spirits. Sincerity and purification matter greatly. Buddhism reached Japan in the 6th century CE. It later formed several schools. Pure Land teaches devotion to Amitabha and recitation of his name. Zen stresses meditation and direct insight. Nichiren Buddhism rests on the Lotus Sutra.

Both traditions are practised across Japan. A 2021 government study counted around 87 million Shintō followers and 83 million Buddhists. The total exceeds the population because many Buddhists join Shinto ceremonies, and the reverse. There are 81,158 shrines and 77,256 temples. Many homes keep both a kamidana and a butsudan, with Shintō rites for marriage and Buddhist rites for funerals. For centuries the two were closely entwined until the Meiji government's 1868 separation decree. Counting methods differ between organisations, and people understand their own affiliation in different ways.

Shrines often do not centre on a statue. The inner sanctuary holds a sacred symbol, usually a mirror, though sometimes a wooden image, a sword or another object. Buddhist temples commonly enshrine images of Buddhas. Tōdai-ji in Nara houses a Great Buddha statue. Shinto festivals are matsuri, held several times a year. They include Shichi-go-san on November 15, when children come to give thanks. Obon, in mid-August, honours ancestors' spirits. Hanamatsuri celebrates the birth of the historical Buddha.

Sources: Britannica: Shintō · Britannica: Shinbutsu shūgō · Nippon.com: Gods and Buddhas, Kami and the Changing Views of Japanese · Nippon.com: Religious Adherents Outnumber People in Japan · International Buddhist Confederation: Buddhism in Japan