5.2 The Organic Fusion of Japanese Religion#

The Japanese people possess a very strong sensitivity and attachment to religion and tradition. When traveling in Japan, shrines and temples are ubiquitous, and visiting them has become a focal point of our travels over the years.

Looking back nearly twenty years, we once visited Koyasan, the famous Buddhist sanctuary founded over a thousand years ago by Kobo Daishi (Kukai) as the headquarters of Shingon Buddhism. In the years just before the pandemic, we also made multiple trips to Shikoku to visit the ancient temples of the “Henro” pilgrimage.

To understand a nation’s culture, religion acts as a vital window of observation. In today’s Japan, Shintoism, Buddhism, and Christianity seem to have achieved a wondrous harmony, organically fusing together within the fabric of social life.