Japanese Religion: Buddhism and Shintoism

In this wonderful short documentary, filmmaker Andrew Bush explores the two main religions of Japan: Buddhism and Shintoism. Through interviews with an American Zen Priest, Rick ‘Jyozen’ Beal, and a Japanese (Tendai) Buddhist Priest, Jokan Ono, Bush helps distinguish some of the overlapping and unique features of the religions in Japan today.

The focus of the discussions is more on Buddhism, so to find out more on Shinto, you can watch this short video from the Asian Art Museum:

Read more about the two religions in this article at the Japan Times.

Read more about Buddhism in Japan:

• Buddhist Funerals for Robot Dogs? In Japan, Yes
• Japan’s “Monks Without Borders” to take on global poverty
• Japan has a Buddhist temple where you can flush your marriage or bad habits down the toilet, literally
• Discover Shinnyo-en, esoteric Japanese Buddhism for laypeople, spreading around the world
• Zen Master Dōgen, the Greatest Philosopher you’ve never heard of