Characteristics and Issues of Survey Status for Japanese Buddhist Temples

Abstract

Religious researchers have been interested in the survival of Buddhist temples since approximately 2010. The interest stems from the concern that some temples are barely surviving owing to the decline in Japanese society population. So far, most temples have managed to survive through the Buddhist parishioner (danka) system, which is based on a relationship between a family and a temple sustained over many generations. This relationship is based on familial memorial services for ancestors (senzo) or the deceased. Although surveys on the current status of Japanese Buddhist temples are currently ongoing, there has been a revelation of the decline of temples, head priests, affiliates of temples, and parishioners, as well as a wide income gap between various temples. However, direct comparison of the different Buddhist sects with one another in these surveys is a challenge, both because the questions in the surveys differ, and the method of totaling cross tabulation differs according to the survey being used. This inability to directly compare data is considered one of the biggest challenges in these studies. Regarding the problem of method, the quantifiable questions are multiple choice questions that narrow the scope of multivariate analysis. By creating questionnaires that surmounted these problems, the surveys can provide a deeper understanding of the current status of Japanese Buddhist temples.