According to Cultural Affairs Agency statistics for 2022, the number of Japanese with links to Shinto, Buddhism, Christianity or other religions totaled 180 million, which exceeds Japan’s ...

Thousands of Japan's historic Buddhist temples are expected to shut down. NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Ian Reader, an expert on Japanese culture, on how Buddhism is changing in the country.

Hiroyuki Oura at a shop selling traditional clogs and sandals along the pathway to the shrine of the fire god at the Kiyoshikojin Seicho-ji temple complex north of Osaka, Japan.

MARTIN: Because we should point out, Japanese people - as a whole, it is not a Buddhist country. I mean, there are Shinto shrines everywhere.

MARTIN: Because we should point out, Japanese people - as a whole, it is not a Buddhist country. I mean, there are Shinto shrines everywhere.

The pull of religious tradition for people like the Kumatas was on full display here in August. It lured city dwellers home to rural areas in celebration of the Buddhist festival of Bon, when family ...

According to Cultural Affairs Agency statistics for 2022, the number of Japanese with links to Shinto, Buddhism, Christianity or other religions totaled 180 million, which exceeds Japan’s ...

According to Cultural Affairs Agency statistics for 2022, the number of Japanese with links to Shinto, Buddhism, Christianity or other religions totaled 180 million, which exceeds Japan’s ...