After We Die
A Conversation About Religion in Japan
“What do you think happens after we die?” I asked my Japanese wife as we sat on the couch in my small apartment.
She finished taking a few bites of the hakusai and beef that we were eating before she said, “I think we are born again.”
I thought for a moment. I knew that most people in Japan did not consider themselves religious. Religion and culture are often interchangeable in Japan. People go to the shrine on New Year’s Eve, but for many Japanese people this is culture more than religion. Perhaps they say a brief prayer for the year ahead, but deep faith and regular practice are not something often seen here.
Buddhism and Shinto are best friends here
However, my wife is one of those people who does practice regularly. In the traditions of her family, Buddhism and Shinto run strong. In Japan, Shinto and Buddhism intertwine inseparably. On the land in which my wife’s family has lived for over 700 years, their family house sits. In one of the main rooms of the home, there is a butsudan right next to the kamidana. The Buddhist shrine sits next to the display of the Shinto gods.
Growing up as a Catholic in America, I viewed the concepts of multiple gods and reincarnation as akin to folk tales. However, I…
