Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Shinto (Kami-no-Michi) centers on reverence for kami—spirits inhabiting natural phenomena, ancestors, and sacred places. It has no founder, scripture, or fixed doctrine; practice involves shrine visits, purification rites, festivals (matsuri), and harmony with nature.
Introduced from Korea/China in the 6th century, Buddhism brought concepts of karma, rebirth, and enlightenment. Major schools include Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren, and Shingon. Temples handle funerals, ancestral rites, and meditation.
For over a millennium, most Japanese have practiced both simultaneously—Shinto for life events (birth, marriage, harvest) and Buddhism for death and afterlife. Shrines and temples often share grounds. The Meiji government briefly enforced separation (1868–1945), but postwar freedom restored fluid dual affiliation. Today, ~70% participate in Shinto rites, ~67% in Buddhist ones—many in both.