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Temples at Shrines

and Shrines at Temples

Take-and-Go Resource

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TOTS Japan 2025 Study Tour

Resources gathered and photos taken by

Anne M. Hooghart, Ph.D. �Mott Community College & Washtenaw Community College

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Temples at Shrines

and Shrines at Temples

Take-and-Go Resource

​

TOTS Japan 2025 Study Tour

Resources gathered and photos taken by

Anne M. Hooghart, Ph.D. �Mott Community College & Washtenaw Community College

Tokaido, Origami, Temples and Shrines (TOTS) Japan Project

This project (TOTS) created a new, visually rich “Virtual Japan Experience” curriculum series developed by a cohort of K-12 and community college educators for dissemination in schools across diverse subject areas, grade levels, and socio-economic populations. The project complements The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center (EASC)’s successful “Take and Go” lesson plans by preparing and enabling a cohort of teachers to create their own visual sources, a digital archive, and other curricular resources that can be incorporated into the classroom. This cohort of educators serves as a conduit, both to enhance understanding of Japan to their students, and to impact other K-12 and community college teachers through the material they develop and EASC and the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia (NCTA) shares broadly. Visit the resources at Virtual Japan.

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OBJECTIVES

  1. Identify key beliefs, rituals, symbols, and architectural features of Buddhist temples in Japan.
  2. Identify key beliefs, rituals, symbols, and architectural features of Japan’s Shintо̄ shrines.
  3. Compare and contrast the origins, major beliefs, rituals, symbols, and architectural features of Buddhist temples and Shintо̄ shrines located in Japan.

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STANDARDS

American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Standards

  • Investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between practices and perspectives in the target culture. �(ACTFL Standard NL.5.a)
  • Make comparisons between practices in the target culture. (ACTFL Standard NM.6.a.1)
  • Investigate, explain, and reflect on the concept of culture by making comparisons between the target culture and their own. (ACTFL Standard NL.6.a.1)

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ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

  • Question 1: �How do Buddhism and Shintо̄ align with or differ from the definition of a “religion”? �
  • Question 2: �How are differing Buddhist and Shintо̄ beliefs about the afterlife reflected in the types of rituals observed at temples vs. shrines? �
  • Question 3: �Why are Japanese Buddhist temples and Shintо̄ shrines often co-located?

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ESSENTIAL QUESTION 1:

How do Buddhism and Shintо̄ align with or differ from the definition of a “religion”?

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The United Religions Initiative tackles this question here. �URI says a “religion” or “spiritual tradition” is a set of beliefs that does some or all of the following. �Which ones would you use to define “religion”?

  • Explains the mysteries of life �(how/why the world was created; why there is life/death, etc.)
  • Explains/describes a supreme/absolute power and how to respect/worship them
  • Describes a dimension beyond the physical world: the spiritual world
  • Explains how to lead a good life on Earth and what happens after death
  • Explains how to pay respect to, and draw inspiration from, spiritual powers & leaders �(prayers, festivals, ceremonies, rituals, sacred symbols, etc.)

What is a religion?

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SHINTO

BUDDHISM

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According to this URI website, Shintо̄ (神道 - “the way of the gods”):

  1. Originated in Japan 3000+ years ago.
  2. Has a creation story.
  3. Does not have a clear/specific concept of the “afterlife”; focuses on the here & now.
  4. Does not have specific written doctrine(s).
  5. Includes belief that spiritual powers exist in the natural world.

According to this URI website, Bukkyо̄ (仏教 - “the teachings of Buddha”) or Buddhism:

  1. Originated in India 2500 years ago; came to Japan 1500 years ago.
  2. Does not have a creation story.
  3. Includes specific concepts of the “afterlife” and reincarnation.
  4. Has specific written doctrines, including the Four Noble Truths & the Eightfold Path.
  5. Includes belief in seeking enlightenment by meditating & following Five Moral Precepts.

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Buddhism & Shinto as Religions

Fill in aspects of the “religion” definition that are specific to one, or shared by both, in the Venn diagram below.

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SHINTO

BUDDHISM

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ESSENTIAL QUESTION 2:

How are differing Buddhist and Shinto beliefs about the afterlife reflected in the types of rituals observed at temples vs. shrines?

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Common Rituals �at Shinto Shrines

See the Japan Society website �featuring this video, and sites �like this Association of Shinto �Shrines website, and you will learn about these common Shintо̄ rituals:

  • Weddings/marriage ceremonies
  • Omiya Mairi and Shichi-Go-San celebrations of babies & children
  • Matsuri festivals, kagura dancing

Common Rituals �at Buddhist Temples

See this Web-Japan article, �this guide for tourists, and this �overview of Japanese religions, �and you will learn about these �common Buddhist rituals:

  • Funeral/memorial ceremonies
  • Ohaka Mairi visits to gravesites
  • Matsuri festivals, bell-ringing, Bon Odori dancing for ancestral spirits

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Buddhist & Shinto Rituals

Fill in the rituals most commonly associated with each religion. How do these relate to beliefs about the afterlife?

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SHINTO

BUDDHISM

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ESSENTIAL QUESTION 3:

Why are Japanese Buddhist temples and �Shinto shrines often co-located?

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On a visit to Japan in June 2025, I noticed various elements from the Shintо̄ tradition (torii gates, inari fox statues, kami-summoning bells, and decorative paper shide) at Buddhist temples, as well as elaborate Buddhist temples, statues, and symbols at various Shintо̄ shrines.

Example 1: Dragon God Shrine at Daiganji Temple

Example 2: Ringing Shintо̄- Style Bell at Daishо̄in Temple

Example 3: Shintо̄-Style Bell with Buddhist Manji Symbols

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ESSENTIAL QUESTION 3:

Why are Japanese Buddhist temples and �Shinto shrines often co-located?

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On a visit to Japan in June 2025, I noticed various elements from the Shintо̄ tradition (torii gates, inari fox statues, kami-summoning bells, and decorative paper shide) at Buddhist temples, and elaborate Buddhist temples, statues, and symbols at various Shintо̄ shrines.

Example 4: Shintо̄ Torii Gates w/ Buddhist Sanskrit Towers at Kо̄yasan

Example 5: Shintо̄ Shrine with Torii Gate at Myо̄rakuji Temple

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ESSENTIAL QUESTION 3:

Why are Japanese Buddhist temples and �Shinto shrines often co-located?

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Which of the following reasons seem most persuasive to you? �Do you have ideas or theories of your own to help answer this essential question? ��1) Shintо̄ had been practiced for centuries before Buddhism came to Japan, so it was natural for Buddhist leaders to choose established “holy” sites to house new places of worship. (Wikipedia article about “shinbutsu shugo,” the syncretism of Shinto & Buddhism)��2) Most Japanese people participate simultaneously in both Shintо̄ and Buddhist religious beliefs and practices, as “the beliefs are very compatible and not contradictory.” (URI website) Consider the similarities and differences between the Shinto and Buddhist traditions (as identified in the activities on Slide 7 and Slide 9). ��3) In its long history, Japan follows cycles of “selectively absorbing foreign cultural values and institutions and then adapting these to existing indigenous patterns.” (Brittanica) “For example, Buddhist deities were adopted into the Shintō pantheon.”

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SOURCES and RESOURCES

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Works Cited

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“Beautiful Spirit of Japan.” Jinja Honcho, 2025, https://www.jinjahoncho.or.jp/en.

Donn, Lin. “Buddhism for Kids.” India, Mr. Donn, 2025, https://india.mrdonn.org/buddhism.html.

Henry, Andrew and Kaitlyn Ugoretz. “Buddhism and Shinto Explained: A Complicated History.” Religion For Breakfast, YouTube, Oct 15, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP9Vo6qJh8A.

“Kagura.” Kids Web Japan, Web Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2025, https://web-japan.org/kidsweb/meet/kagura/kagura01.html.

Kimball, Donny. “Japan’s Shrines & Temples | How to Tell Which is Which.” A Different Side of Japan, Dec 8 2017, https://donnykimball.com/shrines-temples-176408486be2?srsltid=AfmBOopPI5eWqkbrD18aBShA0rB2G3bN82MkELZqja_MEp9Xy-TFyOnK.

“Let’s Visit a Shrine and Temple.” Japan Society, YouTube, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZZhjbGPjRA.

Notehelfer, Fred et. al. “Cultural life.” Japan, Britannica, Sep 12 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/Cultural-life.

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Works Cited

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Teaching Resources

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“Practices in Buddhism: Buddhist ethics and ethical teachings” BBC, 2025, https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zkdbcj6/revision/5.

“Religion: Native roots and foreign influence.” Web Japan, 2019, https://web-japan.org/factsheet/en/pdf/e20_religion.pdf.

“Religions in Japan - Shrines and Temples.” The Japan Society, 2025, https://www.japansociety.org.uk/resource?resource=100.

“Religions unique to Japan.” Japan City Tour, 2025, https://japancitytour.com/buddhism-in-japan.

“Shinbutsu-shūgō.” Wikipedia, Aug 31 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinbutsu-shūgō.

“URI Kids: World Religions.” URI, 2025, https://www.uri.org/kids/world-religions.

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Author-made photos (Kо̄yasan, 2025)

Author-made photos (Hiroshima, 2025)

Author-made photos & videos (Miyajima, 2025)

Author-made videos (shrines at temples in Japan, 2025)

Irasutoya.com - free-use Japanese clip art

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Temples at Shrines

and Shrines at Temples

Take-and-Go Resource

​

TOTS Japan 2025 Study Tour

Resources gathered and photos taken by

Anne M. Hooghart, Ph.D. �Mott Community College & Washtenaw Community College

Tokaido, Origami, Temples and Shrines (TOTS) Japan Project

his project (TOTS) created a new, visually rich “Virtual Japan Experience” curriculum series developed by a cohort of Visit the resources at Virtual Japan.

​

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QUESTIONS?

Please keep this slide for attribution

https://slidesgo.com/

CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, including icons by Flaticon, infographics & images by Freepik

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