Shinto Shrine 𝑂𝑅 Buddhist Temple? How do you tell the difference?

It’s inevitable that you’ll be visiting at least a few of Japans many shrines and temples in your travels and having a good understanding of the cultural significance of these sites, and the etiquette expected within them, is essential to ensure you’re courteous as a guest in a foreign country. But Japan has both Shinto Shrines and Buddhist Temples, and each has its own unique customs and stands to serve a different religion, so how can you tell the difference?

SHINTO SHRINES

Shinto, Japan's indigenous religion, centers on reverence for nature and kami, considered gods or spirits within natural elements. ‘Kami’ embody various qualities and reside in mountains, rivers, and animals, emphasizing the sanctity of nature.

Shinto shrines can be distinguished by the large torii gate standing at the entrance to the grounds, the torii gate acts as the gateway allowing us to pass from our world, into that of the kami (gods), and are often made of wood that's been either left natural or painted red (the most iconic) or stone. Within the grounds of a Shinto shrine, you’ll also likely come across ‘shimenawa’, rice straw ropes with ‘shide’, zig-zag patterned paper streamers hanging from them to ward off evil. These ropes symbolize the presence of ‘kami’ and mark spaces where the divine is believed to dwell, often Shrine entrances, sacred trees, or near important objects within the shrine.

BUDDHIST TEMPLES

Buddhism, originating from the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha), is a spiritual philosophy emphasizing enlightenment and liberation from suffering.

A Buddhist Temple can be told apart from a Shinto Shrine first by the gate marking the boundary of the sacred grounds. A ‘sanmon’ is a wooden structure with a sloped roof and is often separated by large collum’s into 1-5 sections. The sections at each end house guardians known as ‘niozo’, and the central three, are open to allow worshipers to pass through. Just like at Shinto Shrines, sanmon represent the gateway allowing us to pass from our world, into that of the gods, however unlike a Shrine, no gods are enshrined within the grounds, instead the buildings offer places of worship, keep sacred scriptures safe, and house statues of deities. One of these deities, a common sight within the grounds of Buddhist temples, is ‘jizo’, a bodhisattva deeply revered in Japanese Buddhism as a protector of children, travelers, and those in the afterlife. Jizo are often recognizable as a Buddha like character donning a red bib and sometimes, in the colder months, red hats, designed to protect them and the children they protect from malevolent forces.

The differences between Shinto Shrines and Buddhist Temples can be hard to spot, especially because there are also many things that can be found in both. For example, ‘jizo’ are exclusively Buddhist, but the red bibs they wear can be worn by deities represented in Shinto Shrines as well. ‘komainu’, or lion-dog statues, can be found on the sacred sites of both Shinto and Buddism protecting the deities residing there, as well as the ‘shachihoko’, a legendary creature with the head of a tiger and the body of a fish which sits atop buildings of significance (shrines, temples, AND castles) to protect them from fire. And just to make it even more confusing, sometimes, both can exist in the same space!