Connection Between Japans Biodiversity and Cultural Diversity

The connection between Japans biodiversity and cultural diversity relies

heavily on religious practices. The two main religions of Japan are Shinto and
Buddhism, which both value peace and meditation. Both religions use their
surrounding environments and the nature around them in ways of worship and
other sacred practices.
In Buddhism, they have a respect for life and appreciate the
interconnectedness to all things that are alive, including animals and plants. The

things are interrelated and do not have an

autonomous existence. (Religion and
Biodiversity). He believed that the health of the
whole, that being nature, the people, plants
and animals, reflected on the health of the parts. They were inseparably from
each other, and the parts reflected on the whole.
In the Shinto religion there is also a connection to biodiversity. Shinto is
based on beliefs that concern the nature and
attributes of Kami, which is a sacred power
found in all individual things. Shinto religious
sites are usually located on sites that have
spiritual integrity and force, and are surrounded by large groves of trees.
Because this religion is usually based in areas of rural agriculture practices,

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Buddha taught those who followed him that all

many ceremonies are held that guide the relationship between people and
nature.
Some of the most sacred places of these two religions are found in

are specifically located on spiritual sites that have been

deemed sacred. Shrines, such as the Great Buddha of
Kamakura and Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, can be found in
lush gardens, surrounded by wildlife. Temples, such
as Zeniarai Benten in Kamakura and Kinkakuji in
Kyoto, are also found on sacred lands in the forests of
Japan. This brings the biodiversity and cultural
diversity together and connects them on a religious level.

Zeniarai Benten
http://www.sacreddestinations.com/japan/kamakur
a-zeniarai-benten-shrine

Meiji Shrine
http://www.sacreddestinations.com/japan/tokyomeiji-shrine

beautiful gardens, or forest in Japan. Shrines and temples

Sources

Religion and Biodiversity. (2010, December 20). Retrieved December 4,

2014, from http://www.englisharticles.info/2010/12/20/religion-andbiodiversity/
Sacred Destinations. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2014, from
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/japan/sacred-sites
Japanese Religion and Spirituality. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2014,
from http://www.ushistory.org/civ/10a.asp
Biological diversity in Japan. (2008, August 22). Retrieved December 4,
2014, from http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/150622/