Within the stunningly decorated wooden walls of an immense temple in Kyoto, you'll find an unusual artifact of human hair ...

SANBAGAWA, Gunma Prefecture--Benmou Suzuki’s dilapidated 420-year-old temple, located deep in the forest near a tiny Japanese mountain village, hardly looks like prized real estate. Yet the monk ...

Shikoku, although the smallest of Japan's main islands, plays a huge role in the country's spiritual heritage. It's home to ...

An curved arrow pointing right. A centuries-old tradition ended in 2024 due to Japan's aging population and decline in birth rates. The Somin-sai was one of the three major Hadaka Matsuri, or ...

The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.

As Japan’s population increasingly ages, with family values becoming more diverse and younger generations moving to cities, small shrines and temples in rural Japan struggle to survive, with ...

TAKATORI, Nara —Walking through the vast areas on the mountainside of Mount Takatori, you will see many eye-related things: ema votive tablets with a large “me” (eye) hiragana character ...

Situated on Otowa Mountain in eastern Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera Temple wows travelers with its stunning natural scenery, which visitors say is best viewed from the verandah off the temple's main building.

The oldest religious site in Tokyo is also its most visited. The Senso-ji Temple sees about 30 million annual visitors and its inception dates all the way back to year 628. Despite its claim to ...