Editing Religion in Japan (section)

===Other religions of East Asia===
[[Happy Science]] was founded in 1986 by Ryuho Okawa. This Japanese religion has been very active in its political ventures to re-militarize Japan.

====Ryukyuan religion====
[[File:Miyako harimizu utaki.jpg|thumb|150px|''Harimizu [[utaki]]'' (Harimizu Shrine), a Ryukyuan shrine in [[Miyakojima, Okinawa|Miyakojima]], [[Okinawa Prefecture]]]]
{{Main|Ryukyuan religion}}
The Ryukyuan religion is the indigenous belief system of the people of [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]] and the other [[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]] (more accurately termed "ancestor respect") and the respecting of relationships between the living, the dead, and the gods and spirits of the natural world. Some of its beliefs, such as those concerning ''[[genius loci]]'' spirits and many other beings classified between gods and humans, are indicative of its ancient [[animism|animistic]] roots, as is its concern with {{nihongo3||まぶい|mabui}}, or life essence.

One of its most ancient features is the belief {{nihongo||おなり神|[[onarigami]]}}, the spiritual superiority of women derived from the goddess [[Amamikyu]], which allowed for the development of a class of ''[[noro (priestess)|noro]]'' (priestesses) cult and ''yuta'' (female [[Mediumship|media]]). This differs from Japanese Shinto, where men are seen as the embodiment of purity. Ryukyuan religion has been influenced by Japanese Shinto and Buddhism, and various Chinese religions. It includes sects and reformed movements such as [[Ijun]] or Ijunism ([[Ryukyuan languages|Ryukyuan]]: いじゅん ''Ijun''; Japanese: 違順教 ''Ijunkyō''), founded in the 1970s.

====Ainu folk religion====
{{Main|Ainu religion}}
The Ainu religion {{nihongo||アイヌの宗教|Ainu no shūkyō}} is the indigenous belief system of the [[Ainu people]] of [[Hokkaido]] and [[Ainu in Russia|parts of Far Eastern Russia]]. It is an [[Animism|animistic]] religion centered around the belief that ''[[Kamuy]]'' (spirits or gods) live in everything.

====Chinese folk religion====
{{Main|Chinese folk religion}}
[[File:Yamashitacho, Naka Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture 231-0023, Japan - panoramio - jetsun (5).jpg|thumb|150px|Temple of [[Guan Yu|Guandi]] (關帝廟; Japanese: ''Kanteibyō'', Chinese: ''Guāndìmiào'') in [[Yokohama]]]]
Most [[Chinese people in Japan]] practice the Chinese folk religion ({{cjkv|j=中国の民俗宗教|r=Chūgoku no minzoku shūkyō|c=中国民间宗教 or 中国民间信仰|p=Zhōngguó mínjiān zōngjiào or Zhōngguó mínjiān xìnyǎng}}), also known as Shenism ({{cjkv|c=神教|r=Shinkyō|p=Shénjiào}}), that is very similar to Japanese Shinto.

The Chinese folk religion consists in the worship of the ethnic Chinese gods and ancestors, ''[[shen (Chinese religion)|shen]]'' (神 "[[deity|gods]]", "spirits", "awarenesses", "consciousnesses", "[[archetype]]s"; literally "expressions", the energies that generate things and make them thrive), which can be [[nature god|nature deities]], city deities or [[tutelary deity|tutelary deities]] of other human agglomerations, [[national god|national deities]], [[cultural hero|cultural]] [[hero]]es and demigods, [[ancestor]]s and [[progenitor]]s of kinships. [[Mythology|Holy narratives]] regarding some of these gods are codified into the body of [[Chinese mythology]].

====Taoism====
[[File:Sakado Xientengong Tenmon 20110203 1.jpg|thumb|150px|''Seitenkyū'' (聖天宮; Chinese: ''Shèngtiāngōng'', "Temple of the Holy Heaven"), a [[Taoist temple]] in [[Sakado, Saitama]]]]
{{Main|Taoism in Japan}}
[[Taoism]] (道教 ''Dōkyō'') was introduced from China between the 7th and 8th centuries, and influenced in varying degrees the Japanese indigenous spirituality. Taoist practices were absorbed into Shinto, and Taoism was the source of the esoteric and mystical religions of [[Onmyōdō]], [[Shugendō]] and [[Kōshin]].

Taoism, being an [[indigenous religion]] in China, shares some roots with Shinto, although Taoism is more hermetic while Shinto is more shamanic. Taoism's influence in Japan has been less profound than that of Japanese Neo-Confucianism. Today, institutional Chinese Taoism is present in the country in the form of some temples; the ''[[Seitenkyū]]'' was founded in 1995.

====Confucianism====
[[File:Ashikaga Gakko Koshibyo.JPG|thumb|150px|''Kōshibyō'' (孔子廟, "Temple of Confucius") of the [[Ashikaga Gakko]], the oldest Confucian school in Japan]]
{{Main|Edo Neo-Confucianism}}
[[Confucianism]] (儒教 ''Jukyō'') was introduced from Korea during the [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)]],<ref>{{citation |author=Kim Ha-tai |title=The Transmission of Neo-Confucianism to Japan by Kang Hang, a Prisoner of War |journal=Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society |number=37 |date=April 1961 |pages=83–103}}</ref> and developed into an elite religion, yet having a profound influence on the fabric of Japanese society overall during the [[Edo period]]. The Confucian philosophy can be characterized as humanistic and rationalistic, with the belief that the universe could be understood through human reason, corresponding to the universal reason (''[[li (Neo-Confucianism)|li]]''), and thus it is up to man to create a harmonious relationship between the universe (天 ''[[Tian|Ten]]'') and the individual.<ref name="craig">{{Harvnb|Craig|1998|p=552}}.</ref> The rationalism of Neo-Confucianism was in contrast to the mysticism of Zen Buddhism in Japan. Unlike the Buddhists, the Neo-Confucians believed that reality existed, and could be understood by mankind, even if the interpretations of reality were slightly different depending on the school of Neo-Confucianism.<ref name="craig"/>

The social aspects of the philosophy are hierarchical with a focus on [[filial piety]]. This created a Confucian [[social stratification]] in Edo society that previously had not existed, dividing Japanese society into four main classes: [[samurai]], farmers, [[artisan]]s and merchants.<ref name="craig2">{{Harvnb|Craig|1998|p=553}}.</ref> The samurai were especially avid readers and teachers of Confucian thought in Japan, establishing many Confucian academies.

Neo-Confucianism also introduced elements of [[ethnocentrism]] into Japan. As the Chinese and Korean Neo-Confucians had regarded their own culture as the center of the world, the Japanese Neo-Confucians developed a similar national pride.<ref name="craig"/> 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.