Welp, seeing that I plan on posting every weekend while I am in Japan, I guess I need to get into the rhythm by posting this weekend as well, right?
Anyway, today's post is all about Japan. Who is this "Japan"? What is she like? What are her specs and her beliefs? These are some of the questions I will try to answer coherently in this post. For those who haven't had the pleasure of talking to me about anything Japanese, let me warn you...I can be a bit of a motor-mouth. So I will try to keep that attribute of mine in check, 'Kay? So let's get this post started with the basics of Japan- the Demographics of Japan.
Japan is made up of over 127 million people in the geographical space of roughly 378,000 sq km. This info, by the way, is coming from the CIA World Factbook website. For those who have trouble imagining or computing statistical facts, try taking the population of the US Western States* and shoving it into an area smaller than California. It's kind of like that, but with even more Japanese people.
Now, the percentage of racially Japanese people amongst the country's 127 million+ population is about 98.5%. The next two largest racial groups are Koreans and Chinese, making up approx 0.5% of the population each. Every other race is categorized together as "others".
Just as the population is heavily dominated by racially Japanese, the religious demographics are heavily one-sided. The main religions are Buddhist and Shinto. Shinto, which was established by at least A.D. 712, is Japan's traditional religion. It is a polytheistic religion that contains stories of the Creation of Japanese gods and land. This religion seems to dictate one's way of life, but not one's afterlife. Hence, Shinto means "The Way of the Gods". Buddhism, on the other hand, teaches its followers how they can achieve their desired afterlife. Note: I still have much to learn about the teachings of both Shinto and Buddhism. The Buddhist beliefs entered Japan through cross-cultural exchanges with the Chinese in A.D. 522.
Let me take a moment here to explain a discrepancy between the dates of establishments between Buddhism and Shintoism. The official date for the arrival of Buddhism is known and recorded firmly in the history books. The date of formation for Shintoism, however, is unknown. The earliest writings of Shinto mythology were first compiled in A.D. 712. The actual founding of the Shinto beliefs may have been around the 3rd century A.D. and were known to have been influential on the formation of Early Japanese government. However, there is no official date for its formation. One thing is for certain, it was formed and secured in the heart of Japanese culture before the arrival of Buddhism.
Currently, Shintoism makes up 83.9% of the population with Buddhism making up 71.4%, Christianity at 2%, and "Others" at 7.8%. This means that the percentage of the population being represented in this statistics is...165.1%!? Yep, these are the most accurate religious demographics that the CIA offers. Notice the high percentages of Shinto followers and Buddhist followers. Both are way over 50%, right? Remember how I said Shinto dictates one's way of life and Buddhism explains how to achieve the afterlife? Well, because the religions gives the believers guidance over separate areas of the life cycle, most Japanese follow the teachings both Shinto AND Buddhism....at least they identity themselves as believers of both religions. There is actually a saying in Japan that says one is born Shinto, marries Christian, and dies Buddhist. To "marry Christian", by the way, only means that one chooses to have a Western-style marriage ceremony in a Christian church, as opposed to having a Traditional Japanese wedding ceremony. The Japanese saying I just mentioned exemplifies is why these two religions have followers that account for over half the population each.
Another note, according to the CIA World Factbook, Christianity includes any believer of Catholicism, Protestant Christianity, Orthodox Christianity, Mormonism, and Jehovah's Witness. For those unfamiliar with any of these religions, here's the break down. Catholicism, Protestant Christianity, and Orthodox Christianity all share the same basic Biblical doctrines (religious teachings) of who God is, who Jesus is, and how one can be a follower. So, by theological definition, they are inherently "Christian". Mormonism and Jehovah's Witness are doctrinally different, especially in defining who Jesus as a religious figure. So in a theological regard, Mormonism and Jehovah's Witness are separate belief systems from Christianity. Taking this theological difference to mind, the actual percentage of people who identify themselves as either Catholic or Christian is less than 1%, with less than 0.5% of the population actively pursuing the teachings of the Bible.
Well, seeing that this post is already very long, I will end it here and pick up again tomorrow. Tomorrow's post, by the way, will include the geographical specs of Japan.
'Til then, Later peeps!
NEW VOCAB
Shinto- "Way of the Gods", Japan's oldest and most traditional religion, it gives guidance on how to live one's life
NOTES
* The Western States start from Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico and continues west to the Pacific Ocean.
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