Religious.

There's a saying I heard that I have found to be quite true about the Japanese.

"They are born Shinto, married Christian, and die Buddhist."

This is because of their lifestyle. I sorta knew about this before, but on my trip to Kamakura with Yamase-San, (One of my friends from church) I learned a lot more. Here's some info on religion in Japan.

There are two major religions in Japan: Shinto and Buddhist. They are often mixed together and mistaken from one another. Shinto is the belief in many spirits or gods within nature. Buddhist is the belief in Nirvana. (I mean, it's more complicated than that, but there's some differences for ya.)

A shrine is Shinto. A shrine is distinguished by its bright red paint. One does not actually enter a shrine. Praying is done outside while looking in at the statue of the god you are praying to or in front of a gong which you ring afterwards. This picture is of a small shrine in Inokashira Park by Kichijoji.

A temple is Buddhist. Temples are built with wood and not painted. You can enter a temple, and they usually house a Buddha. This picture if of the Todaiji Temple in Nara, which is the largest wooden structure in the world.

They believe that when the artist makes a statue, they put a spirit into it. The people then pray to that statue- thus tat spirit for the well-being of whatever that spirit is over. Whether it be money, safe pregnancy, love, wisdom, livestock, sake, etc.

When a child is born, they are taken to a shrine to be blessed for a good and prosperous life.

Many Japanese people are married the Christian way, in their white dresses in chapels. I'm not sure why this is - I guess I'll have to look it up sometimes. They are also married at shrines. I think they might actually do both the traditional and Christian wedding.

When a person dies, they are buried the Buddhist way.

On New Years Eve, everyone is Buddhist. On that night, people gather at shrines and temples to hear the 108 gongs, representing the 108 Buddhist sins from the previous years being forgotten. Everyone then eats New Years food like soba, mochi, and yokan.

Another note on Shinto beliefs, I was surprised to learn that sake is considered a purifier along with salt. Sake can be used as a cleanser, but they believe that drinking it purifies the spirit. Many shrines have buildings that are for storing barrels of donated sake.

I think it's sorta strange how most people in Japan aren't one religion, but two. Wouldn't that mean that they aren't dedicated to one, thus not very religious? I'm not sure. When I asked this question to Yamase, she did say their are some very strict and dedicated Buddhist and Shinto-ists, but for the most part, not really. It's more like an important and endearing part of their traditional culture rather than a matter of believing.

But then, maybe I'm wrong. I've still got a lot to learn about this country!