Religion

Until one of my friends asked me about religion in Japan, I've never wondered what my religion is. Many people in Japan tend to think they are not religious. However, there are some religions that Japanese people believe unconsciously.

As far as I know, Shinto and Buddhism are the majority. According to Agency for Cultural Affairs,  48% of the population believe Shinto and 46% of population believe Buddhism.

By the way, have you heard about Shinto. It's Japanese original and traditional religion appeared before century. In Shinto's belief, there are gods called "Kami" which take form of things and concepts such as rivers, trees, wind and rain. There are so many Shinto shrines in Japan. People visit shrines during the first three days of January to wish their health and happiness.

There are some differences between Shinto and Buddhism.

https://www.worldatlas.com/r/w728-h425-c728x425/upload/92/24/de/itsukushima-gate.jpg

↑This is the architecture of Shinto, not Buddhism.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7327/14083671825_37c62e636a_b.jpg

↑This is Shinto's traditional clothes.

↑This is Buddhism traditional clothes.

You might think that only people who believe Shinto visit shrines, but it's not true. Actually, there are no clear boundary between Shinto and Buddhism in Japan. People follow the both traditions. For example, even though many people hold wedding ceremony in Shinto's traditional way, most of Japanese people have funeral in Buddhism way. What's more, even though they aren't Christian, they celebrate Christmas Day and Halloween.

I think Japan is pretty unique country where many religions co-exist:)

Misaki.O