Most Japanese people

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 do not exclusively identify themselves as adherents of a single religion; rather, they incorporate elements of various religions in a syncretic

Syncretism

Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...

 fashion known as . Shinbutsu Shūgō officially ended with the Shinto and Buddhism Separation Order of 1886, but continues in practice. Shinto

Shinto

or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...

 and Japanese Buddhism

Buddhism in Japan

The history of Buddhism in Japan can be roughly divided into three periods, namely the Nara period , the Heian period and the post-Heian period . Each period saw the introduction of new doctrines and upheavals in existing schools...

 are therefore best understood not as two completely separate and competing faiths, but rather as a single, rather complex religious system.

Japan grants full religious freedom, allowing minority religions such as Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

, Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

, Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

 and Sikhism

Sikhism

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...

 to be practiced. Figures that state 84% to 96% of Japanese adhere to Shinto and Buddhism are not based on self-identification but come primarily from birth records, following a longstanding practice of officially associating a family line with a local Buddhist temple

Buddhist temples in Japan

Along with Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples are the most numerous, famous, and important religious buildings in Japan.The term "Shinto shrine" is used in opposition to "Buddhist temple" to mirror in English the distinction made in Japanese between Shinto and Buddhist religious structures. In...

 or Shinto shrine. About 70 percent of Japanese profess no religious membership, according to
Johnstone (1993:323), 84% of the Japanese claim no personal religion. In census questionnaires, less than 15 percent reported any formal religious affiliation by 2000. And according to Demerath (2001:138), 64% do not believe in God, and 55% do not believe in Buddha. According to Edwin Reischauer

Edwin O. Reischauer

Edwin Oldfather Reischauer was the leading U.S. educator and noted scholar of the history and culture of Japan, and of East Asia. From 1961–1966, he was the U.S. ambassador to Japan.-Education and academic life:...

, and Marius Jansen

Marius Jansen

Marius Berthus Jansen was an American academic, historian, and Emeritus Professor of Japanese History at Princeton University....

, some 70 to 80 percent of the Japanese regularly tell pollsters they do not consider themselves believers in any religion. Japanese streets are decorated on Tanabata

Tanabata

is a Japanese star festival, originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi . According to legend, the Milky Way separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the...

, Obon

Obón

Obón is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 75 inhabitants....

 and Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

.

Shinto

Shinto, meaning "the way of the gods", is Japan's indigenous religion and is practiced by about 93% of the population. Note that unlike Judeo-Christian religions Shinto due to its nature does not require the same admission of faith, instead merely participating in certain aspects of Shinto is generally considered enough for association. Shinto originated in prehistoric times

History of Japan

The history of Japan encompasses the history of the islands of Japan and the Japanese people, spanning the ancient history of the region to the modern history of Japan as a nation state. Following the last ice age, around 12,000 BC, the rich ecosystem of the Japanese Archipelago fostered human...

 as a religion with a respect for nature

Nature

Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...

 and for particular sacred sites. These sites may have originally been used to worship the sun, rock formations, trees and even sounds. Each of these was associated with a deity, or kami

Kami

is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...

, and a complex polytheistic religion developed. Shinto worship of kami is performed at shrines. Especially important is the act of purification before visiting these shrines.

There are a variety of denominations within Shinto. Shinto has no single founder and no canon

Biblical canon

A biblical canon, or canon of scripture, is a list of books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular religious community. The term itself was first coined by Christians, but the idea is found in Jewish sources. The internal wording of the text can also be specified, for example...

, but the Nihongi and Kojiki

Kojiki

is the oldest extant chronicle in Japan, dating from the early 8th century and composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Gemmei. The Kojiki is a collection of myths concerning the origin of the four home islands of Japan, and the Kami...

 contain a record of Japanese mythology

Japanese mythology

Japanese mythology is a system of beliefs that embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculturally based folk religion. The Shinto pantheon comprises innumerable kami...

. Individual Shinto sects, such as Tenrikyo

Tenrikyo

Tenrikyo is a monotheistic religion originating in revelations to a 19th-century Japanese woman named Nakayama Miki, known as Oyasama by followers...

 and Konkokyo

Konkokyo

or just Konko, is a new religion of Japanese origin also regarded as a type of Sect Shinto. It is a syncretic, henotheistic and panentheistic religion, which worships God under the name of Tenchi Kane No Kami, the Golden God of Heaven and Earth. Tenchi Kane No Kami is also referred to as Kami, or...

, often have a unique dogma or leader. Shinto began to fall out of fashion after the arrival of Buddhism, but soon Shinto and Buddhism began to be practiced in tandem. On the sites of Shintō shrines, Buddhist temples were also built.

Before 1868, there were three main forms of Shinto: Shrine Shinto, the most popular type; Folk (or Popular) Shinto, practiced by the peasants; and Imperial Household Shinto, practiced by the imperial family of Japan. In the 18th and 19th centuries, independent Shinto sects – Sect Shinto – formed, some of which were very radical, such as the monotheistic Tenrikyo. These became known as the Shinto Sects or the New Religions. Following the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

 in 1868, Shinto and Buddhism were forcefully separated. The Emperor Meiji

Emperor Meiji

The or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...

 made Shinto the official religion, creating a form of Shinto known as State Shinto

State Shinto

has been called the state religion of the Empire of Japan, although it did not exist as a single institution and no "Shintō" was ever declared a state religion...

 by merging Shrine, Folk, and Imperial Household Shinto. The radical Sect Shinto was separated from State Shinto. Under Meiji, Japan became a moderate theocracy, with shrines under government control. Shinto soon became a reason for Japanese nationalism. After Japan took over Korea and Taiwan, State Shinto became the official religion of those countries as well.

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the government forced every subject to practice State Shinto and admit that the Emperor was divine. Those who opposed the Imperial cult

Imperial cult

An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor, or a dynasty of emperors , are worshipped as messiahs, demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense...

, including Oomoto

Oomoto

Oomoto also known as Oomoto-kyo , is a sect, often categorised as a new Japanese religion originated from Shinto; it was founded in 1892 by Deguchi Nao...

 and Soka Gakkai, were persecuted. When the United States occupied Japan in 1945, the shrines were taken out of government control, and State Shinto was abolished

Shinto Directive

After the Second World War during the Occupation of Japan by the United States Military it was generally understood by allied students of Japanese culture and religion that Shinto in the form it took leading up to and during the war was social propaganda and was being used as a tool of...

. Shrine, Folk, and Imperial Shinto again became separate, and Sect Shinto further distanced itself from mainstream Shinto.

Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 first arrived in Japan in the 6th century from the Southern part of the kingdom of Baekje

Baekje

Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

 on the Korean peninsula. The Baekje king sent the Japanese emperor a picture of the Buddha and some sutras. Japanese aristocrats built Buddhist statues and temples in the capital at Nara, and then in the later capital at Heian (now Kyoto).

Buddhism is divided into three forms: the orthodox Theravada Buddhism, which is prevalent in India and most of Southeast Asia; Mahayana Buddhism, which spread to China, Tibet, Vietnam, and ultimately to Korea and Japan; and Vajrayana Buddhism. From the beginning, the largest form of Buddhism in Japan was the Mahayana school. According to the Agency of Cultural Affairs, 91 million Japanese identify themselves as Buddhist.

The six Buddhist sects initially established in Nara are today together known as "Nara Buddhism" and are relatively small. When the capital moved to Heian, more forms of Buddhism arrived from China, including the still-popular Shingon, an esoteric form of Buddhism similar to Tibet's Vajrayana Buddhism, and Tendai, a monastic conservative form known better by its Chinese name, Tiantai

Tiantai

Tiantai is an important school of Buddhism in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. In Japan the school is known as Tendai, and in Korea it is known as Cheontae. Tiantai is also called the "Lotus School", due to its emphasis on the Lotus Sūtra as its doctrinal basis...

.

When the shogunate took power in the 12th century and the administrative capital moved to Kamakura

Kamakura, Kanagawa

is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called .Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the...

, more forms of Buddhism arrived. The most popular was Zen

Zen

Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...

, which became the most popular type of Mahayana Buddhism of the time period. Two schools of Zen were established, Rinzai and Sōtō

Soto

Sōtō Zen , or is, with Rinzai and Ōbaku, one of the three most populous sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.The Sōtō sect was first established as the Caodong sect during the Tang Dynasty in China by Dongshan Liangjie in the 9th century, which Dōgen Zenji then brought to Japan in the 13th century...

; a third, Ōbaku

Obaku

Ōbaku is the Amur Corktree. It may refer to:*Mount Huangbo , a mountain in China's Fujian province, noted for its Buddhist temples*Mount Ōbaku , a mountain in the city of Uji in Japan...

, formed in 1661.
Another form of Buddhism known as Jodo-kyo, or Pure Land Buddhism

Pure Land Buddhism

Pure Land Buddhism , also referred to as Amidism in English, is a broad branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism and currently one of the most popular traditions of Buddhism in East Asia. Pure Land is a branch of Buddhism focused on Amitābha Buddha...

, arrived in the Kamakura period

Kamakura period

The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....

. Pure Land Buddhism emphasizes the role of Amitabha Buddha

Amitabha

Amitābha is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism...

 and promises that reciting the phrase "Namu Amida Butsu

Nianfo

Nianfo , is a term commonly seen in the Pure Land school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...

" upon death will result in being removed by Amitabha to the "Western Paradise" or "Pure Land

Pure land

A pure land, in Mahayana Buddhism, is the celestial realm or pure abode of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. The various traditions that focus on Pure Lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bön.The notion of 'pure...

", and then to Nirvana

Nirvana

Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...

. Jodo-kyo attracted the merchant and farmer classes. After Honen, Jodo-kyo's head missionary in Japan, died, the form split into two schools: Jodo-shu, which focuses on repeating the phrase many times, and the more liberal Jodo Shinshu

Jodo Shinshu

, also known as Shin Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Today, Shin Buddhism is considered the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan.-Shinran :...

, which claims that only saying the phrase once with a pure heart is necessary. Today, many Japanese adhere to Nishi Honganji-ha, a conservative sect of Jodo Shinshu.

The monk Nichiren established a more radical form of Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhism

Nichiren Buddhism

Nichiren Buddhism is a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren...

, which praised the Lotus Sutra

Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...

. Nichiren's teaching was revolutionary, and the shogun distrusted him; when Nichiren predicted that the Mongols would invade Japan, the shogun exiled him. Nichiren

Nichiren

Nichiren was a Buddhist monk who lived during the Kamakura period in Japan. Nichiren taught devotion to the Lotus Sutra, entitled Myōhō-Renge-Kyō in Japanese, as the exclusive means to attain enlightenment and the chanting of Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō as the essential practice of the teaching...

 was a progressive, the first Japanese thinker to declare that women could gain enlightenment

Enlightenment (spiritual)

Enlightenment in a secular context often means the "full comprehension of a situation", but in spiritual terms the word alludes to a spiritual revelation or deep insight into the meaning and purpose of all things, communication with or understanding of the mind of God, profound spiritual...

. Nichiren Buddhism is the second largest Buddhist sect in Japan today. Sub-sects of Nichiren Buddhism include Nichiren-shu, Nichiren Shoshu

Nichiren Shoshu

Nichiren Shōshū is a branch of Nichiren Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese monk Nichiren . Nichiren Shōshū claims Nichiren as its founder through his disciple Nikkō , the founder of the school's Head Temple Taiseki-ji...

and Soka Gakkai, a controversial denomination whose political wing forms the conservative New Komeito Party

New Komeito Party

The , New Kōmei Party, or NKP is a centre-right political party in Japan founded by members of the Nichiren Buddhist organization Sōka Gakkai. The leadership and financing of the two groups are currently independent...

, Japan's third largest political party.

In modern times, Japanese society has become very secular, and religion in general has become less important. However, many Japanese remain nominally Buddhist and are connected to a local Buddhist temple, although they may not worship regularly. Buddhism remains far more popular in traditional rural areas than in modern urban areas and suburbs. For instance, while some 90% of rural households include a Buddhist altar (Butsudan

Butsudan

A butsudan is a shrine commonly found in temples and homes in Japanese Buddhist cultures. A butsudan is a wooden cabinet with doors that enclose and protect a gohonzon or religious icon, typically a statue or painting of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, or a "script" mandala scroll...

), the rate drops to 60% or lower in urban areas.

New religions

Beyond the two traditional types of religions, a great variety of popular religious movements exists in modern Japan. These movements are normally lumped together under the name "New Religions

Shinshukyo

is a Japanese term used to describe domestic new religious movements. They are also known as in Japanese, and are most often called simply Japanese new religions in English. Japanese theologians classify all religious organizations founded since the middle of the 19th century as Shinshūkyō. Thus,...

". These religions draw on concepts from Shinto, Buddhism, and folk superstition. The officially recognized new religions number in the hundreds, and total membership is reportedly in the tens of millions. The largest new religion is Sōka Gakkai, a Buddhist sect founded in 1930, which has about 10 million members in Japan.

Many of these new religions arose as part of Shinto and retain elements of Shinto in their teachings. Some, though not all, of the new religions are considered Sect Shinto. Other new religions include Aum Shinrikyo

Aum Shinrikyo

Aum Shinrikyo was a Japanese new religious movement. The group was founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984. The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway....

, Gedatsu-kai, Kiriyama Mikkyo, Kofuku no Kagaku

Kofuku no Kagaku

is a new religious and spiritual movement founded in Japan on 6 October 1986 by Ryuho Okawa with over 12 million followers in 85 countries. Happy Science became an official religious organization in Japan, March 7, 1991....

, Konkokyo

Konkokyo

or just Konko, is a new religion of Japanese origin also regarded as a type of Sect Shinto. It is a syncretic, henotheistic and panentheistic religion, which worships God under the name of Tenchi Kane No Kami, the Golden God of Heaven and Earth. Tenchi Kane No Kami is also referred to as Kami, or...

, Oomoto

Oomoto

Oomoto also known as Oomoto-kyo , is a sect, often categorised as a new Japanese religion originated from Shinto; it was founded in 1892 by Deguchi Nao...

, Pana-wave laboratory

Pana Wave

The Pana-Wave Laboratory is a Japanese religious group. Estimates of membership range from several hundred to 1,200.- Origin :Pana-Wave is an offshoot of a religious group called Chino-Shoho based in Shibuya, Tokyo, founded by a woman called Yuko Chino in 1977 and combining elements of...

, PL Kyodan

PL Kyodan

, is a Japanese Shinshūkyō founded in 1924 by Tokuharu Miki , who was a priest in the Obaku Sect of Zen Buddhism. The stated aim of the Church of Perfect Liberty is to bring about world peace.-Teachings:...

, Seicho no Ie, Sekai Mahikari

Mahikari

Mahikari is a Japanese new religious movement , with a number of variants or offshoots, founded in 1963 by Yoshikazu Okada...

 Bunmei Kyodan, Sekai kyūsei kyō, Shinreikyo

Shinreikyo

Shinreikyo is a Japanese New Religion founded in 1947. It claims to have 100,000 members.-Founder:The group claims Kanichi Otsuka as its founder, but his wife Kunie Miyashitain also had a role in the development of the group. Kanichi Otsuka claimed to be a child prodigy and took the religious...

, Sukyo Mahikari

Sukyo Mahikari

Sukyo Mahikari is a nonprofit spiritual and community service organization with centers in more than 75 countries. Originally founded by Kotama Okada in 1959 under the name L.H. Yokoshi Tomo no Kai, Sukyo Mahikari was registered on 23 June 1978 by Keishu Okada as part of an amicable settlement...

, Tenrikyo

Tenrikyo

Tenrikyo is a monotheistic religion originating in revelations to a 19th-century Japanese woman named Nakayama Miki, known as Oyasama by followers...

, and Zenrinkyo

Zenrinkyo

is a Shinto based Shinshūkyō founded in 1947. It was founded by Rikihisa Tatsusai as Tenchi Kōdō Zenrinkai, and is headquartered in Fukuoka Prefecture. Zenrinkyō was registered as a legal religious corporation under the Shūkyō Hōjinrei ordinance in 1948. In 2005 the group had a claimed nominal...

.

Bahá'í Faith

The Bahá'í Faith was brought to Japan by `Abdu'l-Bahá

`Abdu'l-Bahá

‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...

 in 1875.

Christianity

In the year 1542, the first Europeans from Portugal landed on Kyushu

Kyushu

is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

 in Western Japan. The two historically most important things they imported to Japan were gunpowder and Christianity, in the form of Roman Catholicism

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

. The Japanese daimyo

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

 on Kyushu welcomed foreign trade because of the new weapons and tolerated the Jesuit missionaries. These missionaries were successful in converting large numbers of people in Western Japan, including members of the ruling class. In 1550, Francis Xavier

Francis Xavier

Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534...

 undertook a mission to the capital, Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

.

Near the end of the 16th century, Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

 missionaries arrived in Kyoto, despite a ban issued by Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

. In 1597, Hideyoshi proclaimed a more serious edict and executed 26 Franciscans in Nagasaki

Nagasaki

is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...

 as a warning. Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

 was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

 and his successors continued the persecution of Christianity with several further edicts.

In 1873, following the Meiji restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

, the ban was rescinded, freedom of religion

Freedom of religion

Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...

 was promulgated, and sustained Protestant missionary work began. Today, there are around 0.6–3 million Christian adherents of various denominations. Most of them live in Western Japan, where the missionaries' activities were greatest during the 16th century. Since World War II.

A few Christian customs, including Western style weddings and the celebration of Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...

 and Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

, have become popular among the non-Christian population.

Islam

Estimates of the Muslim population have been placed at around 115,000–125,000, of which about 90% are foreign residents and the remainder are ethnic Japanese. Indonesians, Bangladeshi, Pakistanis, and Iranians make up the largest communities of foreign Muslims in Japan.

Hinduism

Hinduism is a minority religion in Japan. There are currently 4,000 registered Hindus in the country, about one third of whom are located in the Kansai area and living in Kobe.

Judaism

Jews

Jews

The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

 are a minor ethnic

Ethnic group

An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...

 and religious

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

 group in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, presently consisting of only about 2,000 people or about 0.0016% of Japan's total population

Demographics of Japan

The demographic features of the population of Japan include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....

. Although Jews have been present in Japan and Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

 has been practiced since the 16th century, on a very limited scale, in Japan, Japan comprised but a small part of Jewish history

Jewish history

Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Since Jewish history is over 4000 years long and includes hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes...

 from the ending of Japan's "closed-door

Sakoku

was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633–39 and remained in effect until...

" foreign policy

Foreign policy

A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...

 to World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. After World War II, a large portion of the few Jews that were in Japan left, many going to what would become Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. Some of those who remained married locals and were assimilated into Japanese society.

Presently, there are several hundred Jewish families living in Tokyo, and a small number of Jewish families in Kobe. A small number of Jewish expatriates of other countries live throughout Japan, temporarily, for business, research, a gap year

Gap year

An expression or phrase that is associated with taking time out to travel in between life stages. It is also known as sabbatical, time off and time out that refers to a period of time in which students disengage from curricular education and undertake non curricular activities, such as travel or...

, or a variety of other purposes. There are always Jewish members of the United States armed forces serving on Okinawa and in the other American military bases throughout Japan.

There are two major active synagogues in Japan. The Beth David Synagogue is active in Tokyo, and the Ohel Shlomo Synagogue is active in Kobe. The Chabad-Lubavitch

Chabad-Lubavitch

Chabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...

 organization has two centers in Tokyo.

Ryukyuan religion

The indigenous belief system

Ryukyuan religion

Ryukyuan religion is the indigenous belief system of the Ryukyu Islands. While specific legends and traditions may vary slightly from place to place and island to island, the Ryukyuan religion is generally characterized by ancestor worship and the respecting of relationships between the living, the...

 of the people of Okinawa

Okinawa Prefecture

is one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island...

 and the other Ryukyu Islands

Ryukyu Islands

The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...

, while distinct, has been heavily influenced by Japanese Shinto.

Religious practice

Most Japanese participate in rituals and customs derived from several religious traditions. Life cycle events are often marked by visits to a Shinto shrine. The birth of a new baby is celebrated with a formal shrine visit at the age of about one month, as are the third, fifth, and seventh birthdays and the official beginning of adulthood at age twenty. Wedding

Wedding

A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...

 ceremonies are often performed by Shinto priests, but Christian wedding ceremonies, called howaito uedingu ("white wedding"), are also popular. These use liturgy

Liturgy

Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...

 but are not always presided over by an ordained priest.

Japanese funeral

Japanese funeral

A Japanese funeral A Japanese funeral A Japanese funeral (葬儀 sōgi or 葬式 sōshiki）includes a wake, the cremation of the deceased, a burial in a family grave, and a periodic memorial service. According to 2007 statistics, 99.81% of deceased Japanese are cremated...

s are usually performed by Buddhist priests, and Buddhist rites are also common on death day anniversaries of deceased family members. 91% of Japanese funerals take place according to Buddhist traditions.

There are two categories of holidays in Japan. Matsuri (festivals), which are largely of Shinto origin and relate to the cultivation of rice and the spiritual well-being of the local community, and nenjyū gyōji (annual events), which are largely of Chinese or Buddhist origin. During the Heian period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

, the matsuri were organized into a formal calendar, and other festivals were added. Very few matsuri or nencho gyo are national holidays, but they are included in the national calendar of annual events. Most matsuri are local events and follow local traditions. They may be sponsored by schools, towns, or other groups but are most often associated with Shinto shrines.

Most holidays are secular in nature, but the two most significant for the majority of Japanese – New Year's Day

New Year's Day

New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...

 and Obon

Bon Festival

or just is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist-Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed...

 – involve visits to Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples, respectively. The New Year's holiday (January 1–3) is marked by the practice of numerous customs and the consumption of special foods. Visiting Shinto shrines to pray for family blessings in the coming year, dressing in a kimono

Kimono

The is a Japanese traditional garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" , has come to denote these full-length robes...

, hanging special decorations, eating noodles on New Year's Eve, and playing a poetry card game are among these practices. During Obon, bon (spirit altars) are set up in front of Buddhist family altars, which, along with ancestral graves, are cleaned in anticipation of the return of the spirits. People living away from their family homes return for visits with relatives. Celebrations include folk dancing and prayers at Buddhist temples as well as family rituals in the home.

Religion and law

In early Japanese history, the ruling class was responsible for performing propitiatory rituals, which later came to be identified as Shinto, and for the introduction and support of Buddhism. Later, religious organization was used by regimes for political purposes; for instance, the Tokugawa

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 government required each family to be registered as a member of a Buddhist temple for purposes of social control. In the late 19th century, rightists created State Shinto

State Shinto

has been called the state religion of the Empire of Japan, although it did not exist as a single institution and no "Shintō" was ever declared a state religion...

, requiring that each family belong to a shrine parish and that the concepts of emperor worship and a national Japanese "family" be taught in the schools.

Article 20 of the 1947 Constitution

Constitution of Japan

The is the fundamental law of Japan. It was enacted on 3 May, 1947 as a new constitution for postwar Japan.-Outline:The constitution provides for a parliamentary system of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights...

 states, "Freedom of religion is guaranteed to all. No religious organization shall receive any privileges from the State, nor exercise any political authority". Separation of religion and the state was mandated by the occupation of Japan because of the role of State Shinto in furthering Japan's military aggression

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

 in Asia before and during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

External links

• 2009 Report on International Religious Freedom – Japan, United States Department of State
  United States Department of State
  The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
  
  /UNHCR, 26 October 2009.
• Religion and the Secular in Japan: Problems in History, Social Anthropology and the Study of Religion, discussion paper by Tim Fitzgerald in the electronic journal of contemporary japanese studies, 10 July 2003.
• Christianity is popular in Japan today, Article in Pravmir Magazine
• http://www.recruit.jp/library/bridal/B20081029_01/docfile_2.pdf