Religion in Japan

Religion in Japan is not a definite concept, because the Japanese do not believe in a particular religion. Instead they incorporate the traits of many religions into their daily lives in a process known as syncretism. The Japanese streets are decorated in Tanabata, Obon, Halloween and Christmas.

Many people, especially those belonging to younger generations, feel that religions in Japan are the part of traditional culture.

According to official data of 2011, the Shintoism is the religion with greater number of adherents with approximately 101 000 000 people, followed by the Buddhism with about 84 700 000 and in third place the Christianity with 1 900 000 is found. However, many people declare themselves Buddhist and Shinto, so the numbers are difficult to separate between these two religions.

Shinto

The Shinto religion comes from prehistoric times, as a religion with respect to nature and in particular to certain sacred places.

Buddhism

Buddhism arrived in Japan in the 6th century, in the southern part of the Korean kingdom of the peninsula of Baek, where the king Baek sent the Japanese emperor a Buddha painting and some sutras.

Other religions

Christianity

Christianity is also very present in Japanese culture. This arrived in 1549 by the Spanish missionary Francisco Javier, and was disseminated by European missionaries.

Judaism

Judaism, meanwhile, is practiced by a small community of Japanese.

Hinduism

Hinduism is a minority in Japan. However, it has played a significant role in Japanese culture.