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According to estimates by the Japanese Government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, as of 2018, Buddhism was the predominant religion in Japan with about 84 million adherents or about 69% of the Japanese population, while Shinto had the second most, though a large number of people practice elements of both. [1]
Shinto. The torii gateway to the Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, one of the most famous examples in the country. [1] Torii mark the entrance to Shinto shrines and are recognizable symbols of the religion. Shinto (Japanese: 神道, romanized: Shintō) is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by ...
A ritual at the Takachiho-gawara, the sacred Shinto site of the descent to earth of Ninigi-no-Mikoto (the grandson of goddess Amaterasu) Religion in Japan is manifested primarily in Shinto and in Buddhism, the two main faiths, which Japanese people often practice simultaneously. According to estimates, as many as 70% of the populace follow ...
In ensuing centuries, shinbutsu-shūgō was adopted by Japan's Imperial household. During the Meiji era (1868 to 1912), Japan's nationalist leadership expelled Buddhist influence from kami worship and formed State Shinto, which some historians regard as the origin of Shinto as a distinct religion. Shrines came under growing government influence ...
Shingon Buddhism was founded in the Heian period (794–1185) by a Japanese Buddhist monk named Kūkai (774–835 CE) who traveled to China in 804 to study Esoteric Buddhist practices in the city of Xi'an (西安), then called Chang-an, at Azure Dragon Temple (青龍寺) under Huiguo, a student of the Indian esoteric master Amoghavajra. [8]
See also Zen for an overview of Zen, Chan Buddhism for the Chinese origins, and Sōtō, Rinzai and Ōbaku for the three main schools of Zen in Japan. Japanese Zen refers to the Japanese forms of Zen Buddhism, an originally Chinese Mahāyāna school of Buddhism that strongly emphasizes dhyāna, the meditative training of awareness and equanimity. [1]
Other rituals could include rites dealing with local deities (kami in Japan), and ceremonies on Buddhist holidays such as Buddha's Birthday. [120] Another popular form of ritual in Japanese Zen is Mizuko kuyō (Water child) ceremonies, which are performed for those who have had a miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. These ceremonies are also ...
e. Mahāyāna (/ ˌmɑːhəˈjɑːnə / MAH-hə-YAH-nə; Sanskrit: महायान, pronounced [mɐɦaːˈjaːnɐ], lit. 'Great Vehicle') is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India (c. 1st century BCE onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of ...