Wesley Nelson

GCU 114

October 17, 2018

Religions of Japan:

The two major religions that call Japan home are, Shinto and Buddhism. Shinto is as old

as Japan, a religion that has ties to the earliest settlers as a way to explain their world. The

religion has no official date of when it began, this is because of the different tribes that made up

Japan at the time each had different spirits called, Kami, to explain the world around them. The

religion is pretty unique to Japan, as not many people practice it outside of this country. The

region of Japan was isolated from all other religions of the time, up until the 6th century CE,

when Buddhism was introduced. Buddhism already had a foothold in the Southeast Asia region

when it entered Japan. The Shinto religion then took on many of the aspects of Buddhism; from

building temples around the Shinto shrines and having Buddhist priests practice Shinto. Today,

the religions are so intertwined that most people who practice one of the religions, also say they

practice the other.

In Japan, the people do not focus too much on religion; this has to do with how and what

the religions teach. In Shinto, there is no religious texts or any real preachers, the religion is so

enriched in the Japanese culture that people continue to practice it. In Shinto, “there is no

absolute right and wrong, and nobody is perfect. Shinto is an optimistic faith, as humans are

thought to be fundamentally good, and evil is believed to be caused by evil spirits” (Japan Guide

p. 1). The “Kami”, or spirits, reside in all living things such as the wind, trees, mountains, etc.

The people of Japan mostly only practice Shinto when visiting shrines or temple, during

weddings as they are held in Shinto style, and in celebration of holidays like the New Year.
People also give offerings and have rituals geared towards the Kami to keep bad spirits away.

Buddhism does not have much of an effect on the Japanese people at all in today’s time. The

teachings of Shinto and Buddhism are similar in that they are peaceful and do not rely on deities.

The only big influence Buddhism has is that of funerals. The funeral is done in a Buddhist

practice, since the idea of death in Shinto is seen as impure.

There is not a city or singular place of importance in the Shinto religion. The most

important places in the religion are called, jinja, or Kami shrines. In Japan, “Every village and

town or district in Japan will have its own Shinto shrine, dedicated to the local kami” (BBC:

Shinto p.1). For Buddhists, they will pilgrimage to places that were important in the

enlightenment of Siddhartha Gautama, the first Buddha. Some of those places include, Lumbini

Grove in Nepal, this is where Siddhartha Gautama was born. The place of Siddhartha Gautama’s

enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, India; the place of his first sermon located in Sarnath, a village in

India. Finally, many Buddhists will visit the place of Siddhartha Gautama’s death in Kusinara,

India. So all the major Buddhist places of importance are outside of Japan, and Shinto’s

important places, while not a traditional sacred place or holy land, all reside in Japan.

Religion plays a role in politics even in Japan where the practice of religion in not as

important as other parts of the world. Japan is known for its emperors being seen as divine

figures, this is due to legends provided by the Shinto religion. The emperors that lasted up until

World War Two were of an unbroken line linking them to the beginning of Japanese settlement.

This would mean that those emperors belong to a line that is seen as being direct descendants of

the Kami. Buddhism had its effects later than Shinto; Buddhism was used in government

ceremonies to make sure the Kami looked after Japan. Buddhism saw a real increase in its use in

politics during the 17th century when, state-imposed Buddhism (with many Shinto elements) as a
reaction against an outside threat posed by Christian missionaries” (BBC: Shinto and

Nationalism p.1). Shinto again rose in the Japanese state at the end of the 19th century. It gave the

Japanese a sense of national pride and many saw it as a direct reason to the start of their

imperialistic qualities in World War Two. After World War Two, Jpan instated The Directive for

the Disestablishment of State Shinto, which disbanded Shinto as the state religion.

The country of Japan has a very unique way in which religion functions. They in essence

created and practice their own religion unique to them in Shinto. They are not a very religious

people in that the teaching of Shinto isn’t a very aggressive religion, it teaches peace and how

humans are inherently good. I found it interesting that this religion was seen as a reason for the

rise in nationalism. Finally, I found the contrast between the United States and Japan striking in

that in the US we are all about Christianity. Politicians devote their entire platform to the ideals,

yet in Japan the people are very lax about religion and don’t let it run their lives.
 Works Cited:

BBC Religions - Shinto: Shinto history. (2009, October 30). Retrieved from

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/shinto/history/history_1.shtml#h1

Japan Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2056.html

URI. (n.d.). Buddhism: Sacred Spaces and Places. Retrieved from

https://www.uri.org/kids/world-religions/buddhist-spaces