![\"\"](\"https:\/\/nordinabubakar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/img_3305-1-768x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nJapan is a very liberal country and its society can accept all types of people as long as they respect the local community. There is no \u201creligion \u201c here and all what we consider as religious activities are categorised as \u201ccultural activities \u201c. They term it as \u201cspiritual but not religious \u201c. When we tried to build a mosque in JAIST when I was there(2016)the proposal was rejected by the town council and community leaders. Later, we found out that it must be \u201cislamic cultural center\u201d instead. The paperwork was rejected again. It was never materialised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From DeepSeek search \u201c what is the religion of Japanese people?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. The Two Main Traditions: Shinto & Buddhism<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Shinto (\u795e\u9053, Shint\u014d – “The Way of the Gods”): This is Japan’s indigenous, animistic religion. It’s centered on the worship of Kami (\u795e).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Who they worship: Kami. This is a broad term for sacred spirits or forces that can be found in nature (mountains, rivers, trees, rocks), natural phenomena (wind, thunder), ancestors, and even exceptional human beings. Major deities include Amaterasu \u014cmikami (the Sun Goddess, considered the ancestor of the Imperial Family) and Inari (the kami of rice, fertility, and business, symbolized by foxes).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Focus: Purity, community, celebration of life, and connection with nature. It’s optimistic and concerned with this world. Key practices include visiting shrines (Jinja) for festivals (Matsuri), praying for good fortune, and rituals marking life events like the Shichi-Go-San celebration for children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Buddhism (\u4ecf\u6559, Bukky\u014d): Introduced from China via Korea in the 6th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Who they worship\/focus on: Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The historical Buddha (Shakyamuni), as well as figures like Amida Buddha (of the Pure Land), Kannon (the goddess of mercy, Avalokiteshvara), and Jiz\u014d (protector of children and travelers). Buddhist altars (Butsudan) in homes honor deceased ancestors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Focus: The afterlife, overcoming suffering, spiritual enlightenment, and memorializing the dead. It handles funerals, graves, and ancestral remembrance. Many Japanese have both a Shinto altar (Kamidana) and a Buddhist altar at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. How They Coexist (“Born Shinto, Die Buddhist”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A common saying captures the syncretic practice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Shinto for “life” events: A baby’s first shrine visit, prayers for success in exams or business, weddings (increasingly Western-style now), and seasonal festivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Buddhism for “death” and the afterlife: Nearly all funerals and memorial services for ancestors are conducted according to Buddhist rites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most Japanese see no contradiction in visiting a Shinto shrine on New Year’s Day (Hatsum\u014dde) to pray for good luck and then visiting a family grave at a Buddhist temple during the Obon festival in summer to honor ancestral spirits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Other Religious Influences<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Christianity: A very small minority (\u22481%), but Christian-style weddings are popular for the ceremony’s aesthetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 New Religions (Shinsh\u016bky\u014d): Various newer religious movements that emerged from the 19th century onward, often blending elements of Shinto, Buddhism, and modern ethics. Examples include S\u014dka Gakkai (a Nichiren Buddhist-derived group) and Tenriky\u014d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Confucianism & Daoism: These are not organized religions in Japan but have deeply influenced social ethics, philosophy, and divination practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Key Practice: Not Exclusive Belief, but Ritual Participation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the majority, religion in Japan is more about cultural practice, tradition, and community ritual than about personal belief or doctrinal faith. It’s common for people to describe themselves as “non-religious” while still regularly participating in shrine visits, festivals, and ancestral rites. It’s a matter of action and feeling (en) rather than creed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In summary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Primary Religions: A syncretic blend of Shinto (worship of Kami in nature and life events) and Buddhism (veneration of Buddhas, focus on afterlife and ancestors).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Who they worship: A vast pantheon of Kami (gods\/spirits) and Buddhist deities, with a strong emphasis on ancestral spirits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Nature of Practice: Largely cultural and ritualistic, integrated into the annual calendar and life cycle, without requiring exclusive belief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
==========================<\/p>\n\n\n\n
OIST is a bit different from JAIST(Japan Adv Insy of Sc &Tech). This place is huge and seems to have more advanced research. It has a niche in marine research in-fact one of the world leading research inst related to ocean and marine life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I walked through the cafeteria, offices and galleries to reach the prayer room, the atmosphere from jaist immediately appeared. Research works. meetings. presentations. Stress. Disappointment. Frustration .Late night walking back home.etc. what a pathetic life! I am not going back to that anymore. It\u2019s not worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I saw some westerners taking lunch on the way so I could say oist is much more popular than Jaist. The research spectrum must be wide enough to attract those people. Later we found out that OIST was founded and run by westerners.So better stop wondering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Friday prayer was brief with small congregation (less than 15 people). I was shocked to say the least but that\u2019s Muslim life in Japan. If you choose the wrong place you will end up praying Jumuah with a few people. The imam is from Algeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We left OIST and headed to Miyagi Island. Yep just like Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid movie. Apparently, karate has its origin in Okinawa. Mr Miyagi was a perfect representation of Okinawan; dark skinned more like a Hawaiian than Japanese. In the movie, Daniel (mexican kid)beat up a bully white kid in a karate competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Late afternoon, we stopped at Uruma Bridge that connects main land with Miyagi Island.It\u2019s more like a land bridge crosses a strait. Some portion of that they created a beach where people can go down and do activities like wind surfing ,sailing or fishing. It is also a good spot to catch a sunset. So we waited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No sunset viewing today. The sky suddenly turned cloudy, dark and cold again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" OIST Today the weather is still cold.The forecast, however, said it will be picking up later on in the afternoon. So we hope for the best. I am looking forward today to be in Okinawa Institute of Sc and Tech(OIST) for Friday\u2019s prayers. There\u2019s a small Muslim community here and a few mosques(4) in all …<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nordinabubakar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/img_3297.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nordinabubakar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10092"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nordinabubakar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nordinabubakar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nordinabubakar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nordinabubakar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nordinabubakar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nordinabubakar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nordinabubakar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nordinabubakar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nordinabubakar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/nordinabubakar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/img_3298-1-768x1024.jpg\")
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