Hatsumode is the first visit to a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine in a new year. There is the custom in Japan of making visits to temples or shrines at New Year, even if people are not Buddhist or Shinto believers, in order to pray for health and happiness in the new year. On the occasion of hatsumode, people give money offerings, draw lots for written oracles, and buy good luck charms. The crowds at famous temples and shrines are huge and are always broadcast on television newscasts.
In Japan long ago, Buddhism, which came from abroad, and Shinto, which is a folk religion, occasionally came together in a synthesis. Because Buddhism is not a theistic doctrine and Shinto principally worships nature, there were no contradictions in synthesizing them. This is called shinbutsu-shugo. This tendency continued for a long time after Buddhism was introduced in the sixth century as seen in Shinto shrines supporting in building Buddhist temples . When Japan began to function as a modern nation state in 1868, shinbutsu-shugo was prohibited because the government set a policy of strengthening Shinto. But now, it is quite commonly practiced to set up both Buddhist family altars and Shinto family altars in the same house, or to have weddings with Shinto rituals and funerals with Buddhist rituals.
Dosojin are deities that defend against evil spirits, protecting travelers and maintaining safety on trips. They are set up at roadside and crossroads. They are shaped out of stone, usually with the characters for "dosojin" carved into the stone and the figures of both sexes carved in relief. Originally, they were used to mark village boundaries and were apparently taken to be deities that protected villages against the invasion of evil spirits. Now they are regarded as deities that arrange to make a couple or else as gentle deities with an affinity for children.
Jizo-bosatsu is thought to relieve all living things in the world, from when Buddha has died until the Benevolent Bodhisattva appears. In Japan, stone jizo statues, usually about one meter high, are erected as boundary gods at the boundaries of towns and villages and at crossroads. Jizo are said to rescue the spirits of children when they die and have even been erected at the actual spot where traffic accidents with children have occurred. Most people today feel a closeness to jizo, fondly calling them "o-jizo-san(dear jizo)".
Ennichi are the days connected to certain Shinto or Buddhist deities. It is said that there will be special returns to the prayers offered on these days at shrines or temples of those deities. A crowd of people gather on these occasions, but most have no particular consciousness of the religious background and come to enjoy the lines of street stalls. Ennichi feature shops with nostalgic foods, toys and games. Especially on summer evening ennichi, many people sally forth in informal cotton kimonos partly for enjoying the cool evening breeze and create the distinctive atmosphere only seen in summer.
Torinoichi is a festival that occurs at Shinto shrines on set days in November and is also called "Honorable Rooster"(otorisama). Originally, it was a festival at Otori Jinja that celebrated the gods of luck and business prosperity, but now it occurs at other shrines too. Festival days occur two or three times in November and are known as the "First Rooster," "Second Rooster," and "Third Rooster" in order. On these days, lots of street stalls selling bamboo rakes as good luck charms, and the like are set up in the shrine compound.
Jikkan-junishi are a method of placing order on time and space and were created in ancient China. The ten signs called jikkan and the twelve signs called junishi, independently or in combination, express dates, years, months, times and directions. The combination of jikkan and junishi is also called the sexagenary cycle(eto), but now the term eto chiefly refers only to junishi, the signs of which correspond to twelve kinds of animals--rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, serpent, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, boar. Saying, "I was born in the year of the dog," expresses one's age, and the animal expressing that year is drawn on New Year's cards. Moreover, there is the custom of celebrating one's 60th birthday, for the combinations of jikkan, on the decimal scale, and junishi, on the duodecimal scale, complete a full cycle and return to the original combination of the year when one was born.
On'yodo is an art brought from China that interprets natural phenomena to pass judgement of good or bad fortune on man to avoid calamity. It is closely related to astronomy and the calendar, and all sorts of festivals and Shinto purification rituals are performed for it. At its height in Japan during the Heian Period(794-1185), On'yodo came to have so much impact on people that they became conscious of good or bad fortune, even with directions. Moreover, later, people had come to assign good or bad fortune to days, such as "the lucky days" and "the most unlucky days". This way of thinking is prevalent in contemporary life, in avoiding, for example, "the most unlucky days" for weddings, and choosing instead "the lucky days". In the same way, "the trail days" are avoided for funerals, for they mean to trail a friend(into death).
Kirisutokyo was transmitted to Japan in 1549 when the Jesuit priest Francis Xavier began his missionary work. In its history in Japan, Christianity underwent severe pressure brought by TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi, the most powerful man in the late sixteenth century, as an obstacle to the establishment of feudalism, it was denounced during the Second World War as a foreign religion. At present, freedom of religion, of course, is recognized by the constitution. The proportion of Christian believers, compared to Buddhists, is quite small, but they have built up a definite social standing with various kinds of activities. Especially in the area of education, there are a lot of private schools, from kindergartens to universities, that base their education on Kirisutokyo. In addition, in literature there are Christian novelists, like ENDO Shusaku, who are internationally known.
Daruma are dolls without hands and feet representing the sitting meditation(zazen) posture of Bodhidharma, founder of the Zen sect, who was born in southern India and crossed over to China. Bodhidharma's legs were said to be paralyzed because he meditated continuously on top of a rock for some nine years with his legs crossed, and he became unable to walk. Most daruma are made of papier-mache and, except for the face, are painted red. The bottom is heavy and works as a tumbler. Because it bounces back to its original position when it's pushed over, it serves as a good luck charm. There is the custom of painting in the eyes, which are usually white, when a wish has been fulfilled.