Welcome back to another instalment of my 'real Japan' series.

It's always amazed me how often religious scenes are portrayed in Japanese pop culture; far more often than in western pop culture, and yet nobody seems to notice or indeed realise the underlying meaning and symbolism of such scenes. It seems that almost every day there is an image on the front page here portraying a torii gate. Any fan of Japanese pop culture will know that these gates are the entrance to a shinto shrine as a vast majority of anime / manga / etc has references to these sites; with good reason too, because they literally are everywhere in Japan. With everything having a diety in the Shinto religion, that's pretty much a given as one finds need to worship all things around you. But how many of you know such simple things as the difference between a Shinto SHRINE [link] and a Bhuddist TEMPLE? Yes they are different, but it's not my job to educate you, all I want to do is encourage your own research if Japan truly does interest you.

The primary religions in Japan are Buddhism and Shintō ("the way of the gods"). However most Japanese people do not believe in just one exclusive religion; instead they incorporate the features of both religions in their daily lives in a process known as 'syncretism'. Shinto and Buddhist teachings are deeply entangled in Japanese everyday life, though the Japanese people themselves may not be aware of it. Generally speaking, it can be difficult for outsiders to disentangle "real" Japanese religion from everyday superstition and rituals; most Japanese people do not often give the distinction much thought. -wiki [link] . From my experience of living here, modern Japanese people are not very religious, and yet celebrate all manners of holidays and rituals everyday without knowledge of their origin and/or meaning. It's kind of sad really as all aspects of religious history in Japan is truly fascinating. There are deep stories behind everything; from the patterns lining tatami mats in housing right up to why shrines and temples are shaped the way they are; distinctly different from other Asian cultures.

One of the main characteristics of Japanese religion is its tendency towards syncretism. The same person may have a wedding at a Christian church and have a funeral at a Buddhist temple. Japanese streets are decorated on Tanabata [link] , Obon [link] and Christmas [link] .

Shintoism is one of Japan's largest religions and is the native religion. It originated in and is almost exclusive to Japan. Shintō originated in prehistoric times, as a religion with respect for nature and in particular certain sacred sites. (One might draw a parallel to the Celtic religions of Druidism [link] and Paganism in Europe.) Shinto began to fall out of fashion after the arrival of Buddhism, but soon, Shinto and Buddhism began to be practised as one religion. On sites of Shintō shrines, Buddhist temples were built, and people began to adhere to both. -wiki

The religious sites of Japan are very high on my list of favourite places in Japan, simply visiting my local shrine really allows me to relax as the atmosphere in these places are beautifully peaceful and serene, its really a world away from the city life merely 10 meters away from the entrance.

Anyway enough explanation, here are some images I've found on DA to give you a better picture of what these places are really like. I've omitted photos I've used previously in other features, and of course not included any of my own photos.