In ‘nonreligious’ Japan, shrines still exert a pull

(The Christian Science Monitor) Yasunori Ueda may visit the Ise Grand Shrine every summer to pray to for his family and good health, but that doesn’t make him religious.

“Visiting a shrine to pray is different,” he said while walking along the gravel path that leads to the main shrine, the most sacred spot in Shinto, Japan’s indigenous religion. “Most Japanese, including me, don’t think about whether we’re religious or not.”

It’s a common refrain at Japan’s more than 80,000 shrines and temples. Yet evidence of a spirituality that infuses daily life can be spotted across the country, from the small shrines tucked behind busy Tokyo streets to the sacred grounds that dot rural byways.