Religion in Japan

According to estimates, as many as 70% of the populace follow Shinto rituals to some degree, worshiping ancestors and spirits at domestic altars and public shrines.

Syncretic combinations of both, known generally as shinbutsu-shūgō, are common; they represented Japan's dominant religion before the rise of State Shinto in the 19th century.

Spirituality and worship are highly eclectic; rites and practices, often associated with well-being and worldly benefits, are of primary concern, while doctrines and beliefs garner minor attention.

The mushūkyō is a specified identity, which is used mostly to affirm regular, "normal" religiosity while rejecting affiliation with distinct movements perceived as foreign or extreme.

[14] George Williams classifies Shinto as an action-centered religion;[15] it focuses on ritual practices to be carried out diligently in order to establish a connection between present-day Japan and its ancient roots.

[17] Shinto in the 21st century is the religion of public shrines devoted to the worship of a multitude of gods (kami),[18] suited to various purposes such as war memorials and harvest festivals, and applies as well to various sectarian organizations.

Practitioners express their diverse beliefs through a standard language and practice, adopting a similar style in dress and ritual dating from around the time of the Nara (710–794) and Heian (794–1185) periods.

[22] Profound changes occurred in Japanese society in the 20th century (especially after World War II), including rapid industrialisation and urbanisation.

[22] New sects of Shinto, as well as movements claiming a thoroughly independent status, and also new forms of Buddhist lay societies, provided ways of aggregation for people uprooted from traditional families and village institutions.

[25] While traditional Shinto has a residential and hereditary basis, and a person participates in the worship activities devoted to the local tutelary deity or ancestor – occasionally asking for specific healing or blessing services or participating in pilgrimages – in the new religions individuals formed groups without regard to kinship or territorial origins, and such groups required a voluntary decision to join.

[29] It was also a period of intense immigration from Korea,[30] horse riders from northeast Asia,[28] as well as cultural influence from China,[31] which had been unified under the Sui dynasty becoming the crucial power on the mainland.

Christianity (キリスト教 Kirisutokyō), in the form of Catholicism (カトリック教 Katorikkukyō), was introduced into Japan by Jesuit missions starting in 1549.

[37] In that year, the three Jesuits Francis Xavier, Cosme de Torres and Juan Fernández, landed in Kagoshima, in Kyushu, on 15 August.

[38] These missionaries were successful in converting large numbers of people in Kyushu, including peasants, former Buddhist monks, and members of the warrior class.

[39] Following the conversion of some lords in Kyushu, mass baptisms of the local populations occurred, and in the 1570s the number of Christians rose rapidly to 100,000.

[40] Although often discussed as a "foreign" or "minority" religion, Christianity has played a key sociopolitical role in the lives of Japanese subjects and citizens for hundreds of years.

[41] In 1873, following the Meiji Restoration, the ban was rescinded, freedom of religion was promulgated, and Protestant missionaries (プロテスタント Purotesutanto or 新教 Shinkyō, "renewed teaching") began to proselytise in Japan, intensifying their activities after World War II, yet they were never as successful as in Korea.

The Jewish population continued to grow into the 1950s, fueled by immigration from Europe and the Middle East, with Tokyo and Kobe forming the largest communities.

[60] Hinduism (ヒンドゥー教 Hindūkyō or 印度教 Indokyō) in Japan is practiced by a small number of people, mostly migrants from China, India, Nepal, and Bali.

Four of the Japanese "Seven Gods of Fortune" originated as Hindu deities, including Benzaiten (Sarasvati), Bishamon (Vaiśravaṇa or Kubera), Daikoku (Mahakala/Shiva), and Kisshoutennyo (Laxmi).

One of its most ancient features is the belief onarigami (おなり神), the spiritual superiority of women derived from the goddess Amamikyu, which allowed for the development of a class of noro (priestesses) cult and yuta (female media).

[67] This national pride would later evolve into the philosophical school of Kokugaku, which would later challenge Neo-Confucianism, and its perceived foreign Chinese and Korean origins, as the dominant philosophy of Japan.

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 government required each family to be registered as a member of a Buddhist temple.

[71] As a result, in 1973, Yasuko sued the Yamaguchi Prefectural Branch of the Self-Defense Forces, on the grounds that the ceremony of apotheosis violated her religious rights as a Christian.

[72] Second, the Supreme Court held that the Self-Defense Forces' provision of Takafumi's documents to the Veterans’ Association did not constitute a religious activity prohibited by Article 20, because neither the intention nor the effects of its action harmed or patronized any religion.

[74] On June 2, 1988, a report by the Los Angeles Times described the Japanese Supreme Court's decision as “a major setback for advocates of stronger separation of religion and state in Japan.”[75] On June 7, 1988, an article published in the New York Times expressed concern that the Japanese Supreme Court's decision was likely to encourage the resurgence of State Shinto and nationalism.

[77] The Japan Militant Atheists Alliance (Nihon Sentoteki Mushinronsha Domei, also known as Senmu) was founded in September 1931 by a group of antireligious people.

The alliance opposed the idea of kokutai, the nation's founding myth, the presence of religion in public education, and the practice of State Shinto.

[84] Two months later, in November 1931, socialist Toshihiko Sakai and Communist Takatsu Seido created the Japan Anti-religion Alliance (Nihon Hanshukyo Domei).