Religions in Japan are difficult to differentiate unlike the religions of other nations. Nations such as the United Kingdom, where Christianity is the most commonly practiced religion. Japanese, on the other hand, are so accepting toward cultural diffusions in their nation that the practices of two major religions, Shintoism and Buddhism, are interwoven with their daily routine. Japanese culture is the harmony of these two religions greatly like the yin-yang. Religions can coexist with each other if the people are willing to maintain an open mindset like the Japanese have for other cultures.
In people’s minds, the first two religions that pop up are Shintoism and Buddhism when they think of Japan. Yet, they cannot tell the difference between these two religions. Occasionally the traditions of both religions are so similar that allowed them to coexist as the dominant religions in Japan. According to BBC, Buddhism came to Japan in the sixth century CE. From then on, Shintoism takes on Buddhist elements (2009). For example, the Japanese star festival (Tanabata Festival) is originated from
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When Buddhism was first introduced in Japan, the Japanese were reluctant to accept it due to nationalism and xenophobia. However, the Japanese feudal government soon noticed the advantages of Buddhist teachings. The ruling aristocracy thought to combine Shintoism and Buddhism together would help to be more effective when guiding the people of Japan than before. With Buddhism’s complex intellectual doctrines, Shintoism became overshadowed by Buddhism as the development of Japanese theology and philosophy inevitably drew on the comparative intellectual richness of Buddhism (BBC 2009). As it was expanding, Buddhism had given the role in supporting of the growing influence of central government as the Japanese emperor derived legitimacy from Buddhism much like divine rights to European