Buddhism in Japan | Hey Japan!

Buddhism is one of the major religions in Japan and has played a significant role in the country's history and cultural development for over a thousand years. Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the 6th century and has since become deeply ingrained in the country's religious and cultural fabric, with an estimated 100 million followers in Japan today.

Exhibition

Hyakusaiji Temple and the Buddhist Art of Omi

An autumn exhibition in Shiga where the hidden image of Hyakusaiji, an eleven-headed Kannon of the 8th century, leaves the temple for the first time.

26 Sep – 6 Dec 2026Koka · Shiga

Mountain

Mt. Haguro

The lowest of the three mountains of Dewa in Yamagata, climbed by a stone stair through old cedars, with a five-storey pagoda that is a National Treasure.

Tsuruoka · Yamagata

Market

Iizumi Kannon Daruma Fair

An annual market held in December where visitors purchase traditional daruma dolls representing wishes for health, family unity, and prosperity.

Buddhism is one of the major religions in Japan and has played a significant role in the country's history and cultural development for over a thousand years. Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the 6th century and has since become deeply ingrained in the country's religious and cultural fabric, with an estimated 100 million followers in Japan today.

Exhibition

Hyakusaiji Temple and the Buddhist Art of Omi

An autumn exhibition in Shiga where the hidden image of Hyakusaiji, an eleven-headed Kannon of the 8th century, leaves the temple for the first time.

26 Sep – 6 Dec 2026Koka · Shiga

Mountain

Mt. Haguro

The lowest of the three mountains of Dewa in Yamagata, climbed by a stone stair through old cedars, with a five-storey pagoda that is a National Treasure.

Tsuruoka · Yamagata

Market

Iizumi Kannon Daruma Fair

An annual market held in December where visitors purchase traditional daruma dolls representing wishes for health, family unity, and prosperity.

17–18 Dec 2026Exact date not confirmed yet

Odawara · Kanagawa

Temple

Rinnoji Temple

Rinnoji is a Tendai Buddhist temple in Nikko within a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its Sanbutsudo hall and the National Treasure Taiyuin mausoleum.

Nikko · Tochigi

Market

Enmei-ji Temple Annual Market (Daruma Market)

A year-end market features daruma dolls, traditional symbols of resilience, accompanied by a distinctive soul-insertion ritual using flint sparks.

28 Dec 2026Exact date not confirmed yetMatsuda · Kanagawa

Temple

Kongobu-ji (Koyasan)

Mount Koya is a sacred temple complex where the entire mountain is treated as one unified holy domain dedicated to Shingon Esoteric Buddhism.

Koya · Wakayama

Festival

Motsu-ji Temple Hatsukayasai Festival

The final day of this week-long Buddhist observance at a UNESCO World Heritage temple features torchlit processions and prayers for good fortune.

14–20 Jan 2027Exact date not confirmed yetHiraizumi · Iwate

Temple

Saijo Inari

Saijo Inari is a 1,200-year-old Buddhist temple and one of Japan's three great Inari sites, preserving a rare form of Shinto-Buddhist syncretic worship.

Okayama

Festival

Nagasaki Lantern Festival

The festival illuminates Nagasaki's streets with around 15,000 Chinese lanterns, some reaching 10 metres, celebrating Lunar New Year traditions.

6–23 Feb 2027Exact date not confirmed yetNagasaki

Temple

Kimiidera

A 1,250-year-old Buddhist temple in Wakayama that holds the second position on Japan's oldest pilgrimage route dedicated to Kannon worship.

Wakayama

Festival

Saidai-ji Eyo Festival

An Okayama festival over 500 years old where men in loincloths compete for a wooden stick; the winner becomes the Lucky Man, believed blessed for a year.

21 Feb 2027Exact date not confirmed yetOkayama

Temple

Miidera Temple

Head temple of the Tendai Jimon sect, Miidera was founded in the seventh century and has survived repeated destruction, earning the name Phoenix Temple.

Otsu · Shiga

Festival

Urasa Bishamondo Naked Man Festival

A 1,200-year-old midwinter festival features bare-chested men competing to ascend to the temple and offer prayers to the protective deity Bishamonten.

7 Mar 2027Exact date not confirmed yetMinamiuonuma · Niigata