Religion in Japan sometimes seems like a big spiritual buffet. At different times in your life, you get your choice of different religions; a bit of Shinto here, a dash of Buddhism there. More and more, you’ll see a pinch of Christianity at weddings. While couples still get married in traditional Shinto ceremonies, it’s the [...]
Shinto is the indigenous faith of the Japanese people and it is as old as Japan itself. Today it remains Japan’s major religion alongside Buddhism and Christianity. Most people who have any interest in Japanese culture are aware of this, but how many people actually know the intricacies that make up Shinto and its beliefs? [...]
This week, Japan finally brought one of its most wanted criminals to justice, a domestic terrorist who helped conduct the biggest terrorist attack in modern Japan. After being on the lam for almost 20 years, Naoko Kikuchi was finally arrested for her part in the killing of more than a dozen people. Part of the [...]
I look at a lot of Japan-related websites in my spare time (for hopefully obvious reasons), and every now and then I’ll see a post like this: And it’s not just Japan-specific site where people ask these questions; you can find them on general question sites like Yahoo! Answers too. A lot of people, when [...]
You have finally made that trip to Japan! Strolling along the streets of Tokyo, you walk jaw-dropped at the sights of lively Harajuku and the pure geekdom of Akihabara. But then, you stumble onto a sight where you aren’t sure what to make of it. Rows upon rows of little baby statues, where some, if [...]
Japan can be kind of tricky to pin down when it comes to religion. Religion in Japan is pretty complicated, with people believing lots of different things, and lots of people believing in no one thing in particular. Most religious Japanese people believe in a unique blend of Shinto and Buddhism that’s a little hard [...]
Talking about mummies usually conjures up images of ancient Egypt with giant Pyramids, Sphinxes, and Pharaohs. But there are tons of different mummies all over the world, even in Japan! A weird sect of Japanese Buddhism not only turned their monks into mummies, but mummified themselves while they were still alive. How on earth did [...]
