3 Keywords to Understand the Differences Between Shinto Shrines and Temples
3 Keywords to Understand the Differences Between Shinto Shrines and Temples In a previous blog post, I mentioned that Kagurazaka can be considered both a shrine-front and a temple-front town. I will discuss the differences between shrines and temples using three keywords this time. This is a vast topic, so I aim to simplify it and make it easily understandable for foreigners significantly. Japanese Are Multi-Religious, Not Non-Religious According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ “Religious Statistics Survey,” as of the end of 2022, Shinto followers number approximately 83.96 million (51.5%), and Buddhists about 70.76 million (43.4%), totaling 162.99 million for both religions. Given that the population of Japan is approximately 124.94 million (according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications “Population Estimates” in October 2022), it is clear that many Japanese are registered with multiple religions. Although often described as non-religious, Japanese society is more accurately multi-religious, a unique aspect of Japanese religious views we will explore further. 3 Keywords to Understand the Differences Between Shinto Shrines and Temples Keyword 1: Yaoyorozu-no-Kami (八百万神, The Eight Million Gods) Firstly, a shrine in Japan, also known as a Shinto shrine, is a building dedicated to the Shinto religion. Shinto