Buddhism in Japan movement to eradicate Buddhism and bring Shinto to ascendancy arose throughout the country due to the strong connections of Buddhism to the Shōguns. During the Meiji period (1868–1912), after a coup in 1868, Japan abandoned its feudal system and opened up to Western modernism. Shinto became the state religion. Within the Buddhist establishment the Western world was seen as a threat as well as a challenge to stand up to. Buddhist institutions had a simple choice: adapt or perish. Rinzai and Soto Zen chose to adapt, trying to modernize Zen in accord with Western insights, while simultaneously maintaining a Japanese
Christianity in Japan Christianity in Japan Christianity in Japan is among the nation's minority religions. Around 0.5 percent of the population claims Christian belief or affiliation. Most large Christian denominations, including Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodox Christianity, are represented in Japan today. Since the mid-1990s, the majority of Japanese, despite claiming to be nonreligious, wed in Christian-style ceremonies which has had a major impact on Japanese Christianity. The Japanese word for is a compound of kirisuto (キリスト) the Japanese adaptation of the Portuguese and Spanish word for Christ, and the Sino-Japanese word for , like in "Bukkyō" (仏教, Japanese for Buddhism). Japan remains