“Religion”
Nowadays, Japan is a country of many religions and cultures. It is not solely based on Shintoism anymore (as the Ancient Japanese), even though it is still a popular religion. But, religion doesn’t play a big role in the everyday life of most Japanese people any longer, unlike the past when one could get killed if they found that they were against their certain allocated religion. The average person now only typically follows the religious rituals at ceremonies like birth, weddings and funerals, may visit a shrine or temple on New Year and participates at local festivals as most of them may have a religious background. More religions, such as Christianity (bought to japan by a missionary during 1800’s ) were introduced to Japan. Today, religious concepts are varied, and present day Japan is more of a multicultural country.
Gods and religious leaders are not seen as part of the noble family anymore in Japan today. Priests are not considered someone of a high ranking anymore, and only made an occasional appearance in ceremonial events. In the Shinto religion, Gods have evolved into a staple few(mainly “Amaterasu” as her image is on the Japanese flag). As we can all perceive, Japan’s religious history has developed significantly.
More specifically, christenings are no longer commonly celebrated as a popular ceremony. Many people in Japan today don’t bother to take their newborn babies to a shrine to pray. On the other hand, New Year’s day is still celebrated the traditional way, but modernized. Shrine visits, on this occasion is still necessary, as even though Japanese people aren’t so religious anymore, they are still very superstitious, and believe that praying to Gods are a vital step to having a successful year.
Nowadays, Japan is a country of many religions and cultures. It is not solely based on Shintoism anymore (as the Ancient Japanese), even though it is still a popular religion. But, religion doesn’t play a big role in the everyday life of most Japanese people any longer, unlike the past when one could get killed if they found that they were against their certain allocated religion. The average person now only typically follows the religious rituals at ceremonies like birth, weddings and funerals, may visit a shrine or temple on New Year and participates at local festivals as most of them may have a religious background. More religions, such as Christianity (bought to japan by a missionary during 1800’s ) were introduced to Japan. Today, religious concepts are varied, and present day Japan is more of a multicultural country.
Gods and religious leaders are not seen as part of the noble family anymore in Japan today. Priests are not considered someone of a high ranking anymore, and only made an occasional appearance in ceremonial events. In the Shinto religion, Gods have evolved into a staple few(mainly “Amaterasu” as her image is on the Japanese flag). As we can all perceive, Japan’s religious history has developed significantly.
More specifically, christenings are no longer commonly celebrated as a popular ceremony. Many people in Japan today don’t bother to take their newborn babies to a shrine to pray. On the other hand, New Year’s day is still celebrated the traditional way, but modernized. Shrine visits, on this occasion is still necessary, as even though Japanese people aren’t so religious anymore, they are still very superstitious, and believe that praying to Gods are a vital step to having a successful year.