Buddhism (仏教) reached Japan in the sixth century from Korea and China, and it never left. Today most Japanese families live with both Buddhism and Shinto, Japan's native religion. They turn to one for some moments in life and to the other for the rest, and see little conflict in that.
A faith that arrived by boat
Buddhism came to Japan from Baekje, a kingdom in what is now Korea. Its king sent a statue of the Buddha and sacred texts to the Japanese court as a gift. The new faith did not fit in easily. Some powerful clans supported it, while others fought to keep the old gods in charge. For a while, religion and politics were one and the same struggle. Buddhism won the court's favour, and temples spread across the country. Over the centuries the religion split into many schools. The best known are Zen, which focuses on meditation, and Pure Land, which teaches faith in the Buddha Amida.
Two faiths, one life
Buddhism did not push Shinto aside. It settled in next to it, and the two have shared the calendar of an ordinary life ever since. For a birth or a wedding, families usually visit a Shinto shrine, a place of bright, worldly blessings. For a funeral or a memorial, they almost always turn to a Buddhist temple and its rites for the dead. Most people do not feel they are choosing a side. Each faith simply fits a different moment, and Japanese families have followed this habit for generations.
Words & idioms to take away
Idioms & proverbs to carry away
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経 (kyō): a Buddhist sutra, a sacred text that monks chant or read at temples and at funerals.
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僧 (sō): a Buddhist monk, a person who has taken vows and devotes their life to the temple and its teachings.