Editing Culture of Japan (section)

==Religion==
[[File:Japan-1454396 640.jpg|thumb|{{transliteration|ja|Torii}} entrance gate at [[Kamigamo Shrine]], Kyoto]]
[[File:Kamakura_Budda_Daibutsu_front_1885.jpg|thumb|upright|Amida Buddha, [[Kōtoku-in]] ]]
[[File:Jesus Statue Yokohama Japan.jpg|thumb|upright|Jesus statue in [[Yokohama]]]]
{{Main|Religion in Japan}}
[[Shinto]] and [[Buddhism]] are the primary religions of Japan. According to the annual statistical research on religion in 2018 by the [[Government of Japan]]'s Agency for Culture Affairs, 66.7 percent of the population practices [[Buddhism]], 25.6 percent practices Shintoism, 7.7 percent other religions.<ref name="ACA Yearbook" /> According to the annual statistical research on religion in 2018 by the [[Government of Japan]]'s Agency for Culture Affairs, about two million or around 1.5% of Japan's population are [[Christians]].<ref name="ACA Yearbook">{{cite book|title=宗教年鑑 令和元年版|trans-title=Religious Yearbook 2019|url=https://www.bunka.go.jp/tokei_hakusho_shuppan/hakusho_nenjihokokusho/shukyo_nenkan/pdf/r01nenkan.pdf#page=49|page=35|year=2019|language=ja|publisher=[[Agency for Cultural Affairs]], Government of Japan}}</ref> Other religions include [[Islam in Japan|Islam]] (70,000) and [[History of the Jews in Japan|Judaism]] (2,000), which are largely immigrant communities with some ethnic Japanese practitioners.<ref name="KY">{{cite news|url=http://japanfocus.org/-Kawakami-Yasunori/2436/article.html|title=Local Mosques and the Lives of Muslims in Japan|last=Yasunori|first=Kawakami|author2=JapanFocus.org|date=30 May 2007|publisher=JapanFocus.org|access-date=27 December 2008|archive-date=14 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114234815/http://japanfocus.org/-Kawakami-Yasunori/2436/article.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Takigawa 滝川義人 2001 ">{{cite book | last=Takigawa | first=Yoshito | author2=滝川義人 | title=Zukai Yudaya shakai no shikumi : gendai Yudayajin no hontō no sugata ga koko ni aru | publisher=Chūkei Shuppan | publication-place=Tōkyō | date=2001 | isbn=4-8061-1442-1 | oclc=85376993 | language=ja}}</ref>

===Shinto===
{{Main|Shinto}}
Shinto is an ethnic religion focusing on ceremonies and rituals. In Shinto, followers believe that {{transliteration|ja|[[kami]]}} – Shinto deities or spirits – are present throughout nature, including rocks, trees, and mountains. Humans can also be considered to possess a {{transliteration|ja|kami}}. One of the goals of Shinto is to maintain or strengthen the connection between humans, nature, and {{transliteration|ja|kami}}. The religion developed in Japan prior to the 6th century CE, after which point followers built [[Shinto shrine|shrines]] to worship {{transliteration|ja|kami}}.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/docs/japanese_religions|title=Japanese Religions|last=Watt|first=Paul|date=October 2003|website=FSI {{!}} SPICE|language=en|access-date=2017-09-28}}</ref>

===Buddhism===
{{Main|Buddhism in Japan}}
Buddhism developed in India around the 6th and 4th centuries BCE and eventually spread through the Sinosphere and South East Asia. It arrived in Japan during the 6th century CE, where it was initially unpopular. Most Japanese people were unable to understand the difficult philosophical messages present in Buddhism; however, an appreciation for the religion's art is believed to have led to Buddhism later growing in popularity.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

Buddhism is concerned with the [[Samsara|cycle of rebirth]] and [[Karma in Buddhism|karma]]. In Buddhism, a person's status in society is considered unimportant, instead their good or bad deeds are valued, as every person eventually becomes ill, ages, dies, and is eventually reincarnated into a new life, a cycle known as {{transliteration|sa|[[Saṃsāra (Buddhism)|saṃsāra]]}}; the suffering people experience during life is considered to be one way for people to ensure a better future, with the ultimate goal of Buddhism being to escape the cycle of death and rebirth by attaining true insight.<ref name=":0"/>

===Christianity===
{{Main|Christianity in Japan}}
Christianity was introduced in the 16th century.<ref name="NHK WORLD 2018">{{cite web | title=Centuries-old Christian painting found in Japan- News – NHK WORLD – English | website=NHK WORLD | date=19 November 2018 | url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181119_08/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119095103/https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181119_08/ | archive-date=19 November 2018 | url-status=dead | access-date=27 March 2023}}</ref><ref name="BBC REEL 2021">{{cite AV media |date=29 November 2021 |title=The hidden religion banned in Japan for 200 years – BBC REEL |type=Video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td0Mw5hccs8 |access-date=27 March 2023 |location=UK |publisher=British Broadcasting Company}}</ref> When the religion was banned during the 17th century, a group of [[Kakure Kirishitan|hidden Christians]] blended Christian theology with Shinto and Buddhist practices.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica 1998">{{cite web | title=Japanese religious sect | website=Encyclopædia Britannica | date=20 July 1998 | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kakure-Kirishitan | access-date=27 March 2023}}</ref><ref name="NHK WORLD 2018"/><ref name="BBC REEL 2021"/> [[Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region]] have become [[World Heritage Site]]s, and the unique style of [[Christian art]] is now recognized.<ref name="NHK WORLD 2018"/><ref name="BBC REEL 2021"/>

Despite being a minority religion in Japan, [[Marriage in Japan#Christian chapel ceremonies|Christian chapel marriage ceremonies]] are a popular wedding style in Japan.<ref name="Fisch 2001 pp. 57–76">{{cite journal | last=Fisch | first=Michael | title=The Rise of the Chapel Wedding in Japan: Simulation and Performance | journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies | publisher=Nanzan University | volume=28 | issue=1/2 | year=2001 | issn=0304-1042 | jstor=30233676 | pages=57–76 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/30233676 | access-date=27 March 2023}}</ref>

=== Islam ===
{{Main|Islam in Japan}}
A minority of Japanese are Muslims. Cultural differences and a predominantly non-Muslim society present unique challenges for Japan's Muslim community, mostly immigrants from Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran.<ref name="nakhleh"/>

Muslims are scattered in Japan. Mosques and halal food are scarce due to their dispersion. Family-linked long-term residents are assimilating into Japanese society despite language and cultural barriers. Analysts say the small Muslim community and cultural differences between Islam and Japan reduce future conflicts. Syncretic Sufi Islam may increase Japan's Muslim population.<ref name="nakhleh">{{Cite journal |last1=A. Nakhleh |first1=Emile |last2=Sakurai |first2=Keiko |last3=Penn |first3=Michael |date=5 January 2008 |title=Islam in Japan: A Cause for Concern? |url=http://asiapolicy.nbr.org |journal=Asia Policy |pages=44 |via=muslim population}}</ref>