Editing Religion in Japan (section)

===Christianity===
{{multiple image
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| image3            = 2018 St. Mary's Cathedral Tokyo 1.jpg
| caption3          = [[St. Mary's Cathedral, Tokyo|Saint Mary's Catholic Cathedral]] of [[Tokyo]]
| image4            = Tokyo Resurrection Cathedral March 2019.jpg
| caption4          = [[Holy Resurrection Cathedral]] in Tokyo, of the [[Japanese Orthodox Church]]
| image5            = St. Andrews Anglican Cathedral, Tokyo, December 2013.JPG
| caption5          = St. Andrew's Cathedral in Tokyo, of the [[Anglican Church in Japan|Japanese Anglican Church]]
| image6            = TOKYO ONCYO REFORMED CHURCH IN JAPAN 2010 Ebisu, Tokyo.JPG
| caption6          = Grace Church, a [[Calvinism|Reformed]] church in Tokyo
| image7            = Kashii Baptist Church 20190212.jpg
| caption7          = Kashii [[Baptists|Baptist]] Church in [[Fukuoka]] ([[Japan Baptist Convention]])
| image1            = 
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{{Main|Christianity in Japan}}
{{See also|Catholicism in Japan|Orthodoxy in Japan|Protestantism in Japan|The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan}}

In 2019, there were 1.9 million<ref>{{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> Christians in Japan,<ref name=US2022>[https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/japan US State Department 2022 Religious Freedom Report]</ref> most of them living in the western part of the country, where missionaries' activities were greatest during the 16th century.

[[Christianity]] (キリスト教 ''Kirisutokyō''), in the form of [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] (カトリック教 ''Katorikkukyō''), was introduced into Japan by [[Jesuit]] missions starting in 1549.<ref name="Higashibaba, 2002. p. 1">Higashibaba, 2002. p. 1</ref> In that year, the three Jesuits [[Francis Xavier]], [[Cosme de Torres]] and [[Juan Fernández (missionary)|Juan Fernández]], landed in [[Kagoshima]], in [[Kyushu]], on 15 August.<ref name="Higashibaba, 2002. p. 1"/> [[Portugal|Portuguese]] traders were active in Kagoshima since 1543,<ref name="Higashibaba, 2002. p. 1"/> welcomed by local ''[[daimyō]]s'' because they imported gunpowder. [[Anjirō]], a Japanese convert, helped the Jesuits understanding Japanese culture and translating the first Japanese catechism.<ref>Higashibaba, 2002. p. 5</ref>

These missionaries were successful in converting large numbers of people in Kyushu, including peasants, former Buddhist monks, and members of the warrior class.<ref name="Higashibaba, 2002. p. 12">Higashibaba, 2002. p. 12</ref> In 1559, a mission to the capital, [[Kyoto]], was started.<ref name="Higashibaba, 2002. p. 12"/> By the following year there were nine churches, and the Christian community grew steadily in the 1560s.<ref name="Higashibaba, 2002. p. 12"/> By 1569 there were 30,000 Christians and 40 churches.<ref name="Higashibaba, 2002. p. 12"/> 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.<ref name="Higashibaba, 2002. p. 12"/>

Near the end of the 16th century, [[Franciscan]] missionaries arrived in Kyoto, despite a ban issued by [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]]. In 1597, Hideyoshi proclaimed a more serious edict and [[Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan|executed 26 Franciscans]] in [[Nagasaki]] as a warning. [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] and his successors enforced the prohibition of Christianity with several further edicts, especially after the [[Shimabara Rebellion]] in the 1630s. Many Christians [[Kakure Kirishitan|continued to practice in secret]]. However, more importantly, the discourses on Christianity became the property of the state during the Tokugawa period. The state leveraged its power over to declare Christians enemies of the state in order to create and maintain a legally enforceable identity for Japanese subjects. As such, Christian identities or icons became the exclusive property of the Japanese state.<ref>LeFebvre, 2021.</ref> 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.<ref>LeFebvre, 2021. [https://brill.com/view/journals/jrj/aop/article-1163-22118349-20210001/article-1163-22118349-20210001.xml "The Oppressor's Dilemma: How Japanese State Policy toward Religion Paved the Way for Christian Weddings"]</ref>

In 1873, following the [[Meiji Restoration]], the ban was rescinded, [[freedom of religion]] was promulgated, and [[Protestantism|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 [[religion in South Korea|Korea]].

[[Nagasaki Prefecture]] had the highest percentage of Christians in 1996 (about 5.1%).<ref>[http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/honkawa/7770.html Religion in Japan by prefecture]. 1996 statistics.</ref> As of 2007 there were 32,036 Christian priests and pastors in Japan.<ref name="Bestor, Yamagata. 2011. p. 65"/> According to a poll conducted by the [[Gallup Organization]] in 2006, Christianity had increased significantly in [[Christianity in Japan|Japan]], particularly among youth, and a high number of teens were becoming Christians.<ref name="W. Robinson 2012 521">{{cite book|title=International Handbook of Protestant Education| first=David |last= W. Robinson|year= 2012| isbn=9789400723870| page =521 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|quote=A 2006 Gallup survey, however, is the largest to date and puts the number at 6%, which is much higher than its previous surveys. It notes a major increase among Japanese youth professing Christ.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mercatornet.com/after_fatalism_japan_opens_to_faith/6222|title=After fatalism, Japan opens to faith|website=mercatornet|date=17 October 2007|quote=The 2006 Gallup poll, however, disclosed that an astounding 12 per cent of Japanese who claim a religion are now Christian, making six per cent of the entire nation Christian.|access-date=8 February 2022|archive-date=20 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720225309/https://mercatornet.com/after_fatalism_japan_opens_to_faith/6222/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Handbook of Religion: A Christian Engagement with Traditions, Teachings, and Practices| first= Gerald |last= R. McDermott|year= 2014| isbn=9781441246004| page =|publisher=Baker Academic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ry_aBAAAQBAJ&q=christianity+in+japan+2006+galloup&pg=PT319}}</ref>

Throughout the latest century, some Western customs originally related to Christianity (including [[marriage in Japan|Western style weddings]], [[Valentine's Day]] and [[Christmas]]) have become popular among many of the Japanese. For example, 60–70% of weddings performed in Japan are Christian-style.<ref>LeFebvre, J. (2015). "Christian wedding ceremonies: 'Nonreligiousness' in contemporary Japan." ''Japanese Journal of Religious Studies'', 42(2), 185–203.</ref> [[Christianity]] and [[Christian culture]] has a generally positive image in [[Japan]].<ref name="Heide Fehrenbach, Uta G. Poiger 2000 62">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RB2goIgxF68C&pg=PA62|title=Transactions, transgressions, transformations: American culture in Western Europe and Japan|page=62|publisher=Berghahn Books|year=2000|isbn=978-1-57181-108-0|quote=|author=Heide Fehrenbach, Uta G. Poiger}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kimura |first1=Junko |last2=Belk |first2=Russell |title=Christmas in Japan: Globalization Versus Localization |journal=Consumption Markets & Culture |date=September 2005 |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=325–338 |doi=10.1080/10253860500160361 |s2cid=144740841 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g00769/a-little-faith-christianity-and-the-japanese.html|title=A Little Faith: Christianity and the Japanese|date=22 November 2019|quote=Christian culture in general has a positive image.|publisher=Nippon.com: Your Doorway to Japan}}</ref>