This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (June 2024) |
Total population | |
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Estimates vary, from c. 71 million or 67% (Government est., 2022)[1] to under 20% (JGSS Research Center, 2017).[2] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Throughout Japan | |
Religions | |
Buddhism (mostly East Asian Buddhism) | |
Languages | |
Japanese and other languages |
Part of a series on |
Buddhism in Japan |
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Buddhism |
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Buddhism was first established in Japan in the 6th century CE.[3][4][5] Most of the Japanese Buddhists belong to new schools of Buddhism which were established in the Kamakura period (1185-1333).[6] During the Edo (Tokugawa)-period (1603–1868), Buddhism was controlled by the feudal Shogunate. The Meiji-period (1868–1912) saw a strong response against Buddhism, with persecution and a forced separation between Buddhism and Shinto (Shinbutsu bunri).
As of 2022, around 70.8 million people, or about 67% of Japan's total population, identify as Buddhist. The largest sects of Japanese Buddhism are Pure Land Buddhism with 22 million believers, followed by Nichiren Buddhism with 10 million believers, Shingon Buddhism with 5.4 million, Zen Buddhism with 5.3 million, Tendai Buddhism with 2.8 million, and only about 700,000 for the six old schools established in the Nara period (710-794).[6]