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Religion

The two religions have existed in Japan from ancient times. One is Shinto that had its birth in Japan. The other one is Buddhism, that was introduced into Japan from China at about AD500.

Shinto

The origin of Shinto is not clear. I think that its origin was the time when people settled down in one place because of the agricultural life (about BC10,000). The style of Shinto is the nature worship and seems to be similar to animism such as Indian or Aborigine. People in Japan have worshiped the nature that gave them the rich harvest and their ancestor that protect them from various disasters. There are a lot of buildings for worship at all parts of the country. We call these buildings Jinja. Jinja means the house of God. Even nowadays various rituals are held. For example, the festival to celebrate the harvest, prayer for the growth and the health of their children, the marriage and so on. And people goes and worships at Jinja for various prayers.

Ikuta Jinja	Izumo Jinja

Buddhism

The originator of Buddhism is Gautama Buddha in India at about BC500. However, in nowadays India, Buddhism is the minority faction and almost all the people are Hindus. Buddhism has spread over Southeast Asia and China. Buddhism was introduced into Japan from China at about AD500. Buddhism had been protected as the state religion and made the peculiar progress in Japan. There are a lot of buildings of Buddhism, at all parts of the country. We call these buildings Otera. In Japan, a funeral and a grave are the Buddhism style. At home, there is the family Buddhist altar for holding a ceremony for the repose of one's ancestors.

Senso_Ji	Kamakukra Daibutsu

The relation between Shinto and Buddhism

Japanese is originally the polytheism race. Therefore there are many Gods in Buddhism of Japanese style. Though there is some difference from religion, Confucianism (Jukyo) was also introduced into Japanese climate. From ancient times, Buddhism and Shinto have coexisted in Japanese mind.

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