07-14-2008, 09:44 AM
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/world/as...r=1&oref=slogin
<b>In Japan, Buddhism May Be Dying Out</b>
Ko Sasaki for The New York Times
In Oga, in northern Japan, Ryoko Mori, a Buddhist priest, visited a household, marking the anniversary of a forbearâs death.
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By NORIMITSU ONISHI
Published: July 14, 2008
OGA, Japan â The Japanese have long taken an easygoing, buffetlike approach to religion, ringing out the old year at Buddhist temples and welcoming the new year, several hours later, at Shinto shrines. Weddings hew to Shinto rituals or, just as easily, to Christian ones.
When it comes to funerals, though, the Japanese have traditionally been inflexibly Buddhist â so much so that Buddhism in Japan is often called âfuneral Buddhism,â a reference to the religionâs former near-monopoly on the elaborate, and lucrative, ceremonies surrounding deaths and memorial services.
But that expression also describes a religion that, by appearing to cater more to the needs of the dead than to those of the living, is losing its standing in Japanese society.
âThatâs the image of funeral Buddhism: that it doesnât meet peopleâs spiritual needs,â said Ryoko Mori, the chief priest at the 700-year-old Zuikoji Temple here in northern Japan. âIn Islam or Christianity, they hold sermons on spiritual matters. But in Japan nowadays, very few Buddhist priests do that.â
Mr. Mori, 48, the 21st head priest of the temple, was unsure whether it would survive into the tenure of a 22nd.
âIf Japanese Buddhism doesnât act now, it will die out,â he said. âWe canât afford to wait. We have to do something.â
Across Japan, Buddhism faces a confluence of problems, some familiar to religions in other wealthy nations, others unique to the faith here.
The lack of successors to chief priests is jeopardizing family-run temples nationwide.
While interest in Buddhism is declining in urban areas, the religionâs rural strongholds are being depopulated, with older adherents dying and birthrates remaining low.
Perhaps most significantly, Buddhism is losing its grip on the funeral industry, as more and more Japanese are turning to funeral homes or choosing not to hold funerals at all.
Over the next generation, many temples in the countryside are expected to close, taking centuries of local history with them and adding to the demographic upheaval under way in rural Japan.
<b>In Japan, Buddhism May Be Dying Out</b>
Ko Sasaki for The New York Times
In Oga, in northern Japan, Ryoko Mori, a Buddhist priest, visited a household, marking the anniversary of a forbearâs death.
Article Tools Sponsored By
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
Published: July 14, 2008
OGA, Japan â The Japanese have long taken an easygoing, buffetlike approach to religion, ringing out the old year at Buddhist temples and welcoming the new year, several hours later, at Shinto shrines. Weddings hew to Shinto rituals or, just as easily, to Christian ones.
When it comes to funerals, though, the Japanese have traditionally been inflexibly Buddhist â so much so that Buddhism in Japan is often called âfuneral Buddhism,â a reference to the religionâs former near-monopoly on the elaborate, and lucrative, ceremonies surrounding deaths and memorial services.
But that expression also describes a religion that, by appearing to cater more to the needs of the dead than to those of the living, is losing its standing in Japanese society.
âThatâs the image of funeral Buddhism: that it doesnât meet peopleâs spiritual needs,â said Ryoko Mori, the chief priest at the 700-year-old Zuikoji Temple here in northern Japan. âIn Islam or Christianity, they hold sermons on spiritual matters. But in Japan nowadays, very few Buddhist priests do that.â
Mr. Mori, 48, the 21st head priest of the temple, was unsure whether it would survive into the tenure of a 22nd.
âIf Japanese Buddhism doesnât act now, it will die out,â he said. âWe canât afford to wait. We have to do something.â
Across Japan, Buddhism faces a confluence of problems, some familiar to religions in other wealthy nations, others unique to the faith here.
The lack of successors to chief priests is jeopardizing family-run temples nationwide.
While interest in Buddhism is declining in urban areas, the religionâs rural strongholds are being depopulated, with older adherents dying and birthrates remaining low.
Perhaps most significantly, Buddhism is losing its grip on the funeral industry, as more and more Japanese are turning to funeral homes or choosing not to hold funerals at all.
Over the next generation, many temples in the countryside are expected to close, taking centuries of local history with them and adding to the demographic upheaval under way in rural Japan.