Buddhism

Buddhism came to Japan by way of the Korean kingdom of Baekje, sent as a gift along with sutras and a statue of the Buddha to the Japanese court. It wasn't an easy fit at first. Some powerful families backed the new faith, others fought hard to keep the old gods in charge, and for a while the whole thing was tangled up in a real political struggle. Buddhism won that fight for royal favor, temples spread across the country, and over the centuries the religion split into many schools, Zen and Pure Land among the best known, each with its own take on how to reach peace or enlightenment.

Rather than push Shinto aside, Buddhism settled in next to it, and the two have shared the calendar of an ordinary life ever since. A birth or a wedding usually calls for a Shinto shrine, bright and tied to this world and its blessings. A funeral or a memorial for the dead almost always calls for a Buddhist temple instead, with its own rites for what comes after. Most people don't think of this as picking a side. It's simply which faith fits which moment, a division most Japanese families have followed for generations without a second thought.