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The beginning of the construction of Japan's first large-scale Buddhist temple, Asukadera 飛鳥寺, in 588, marks an important turning point in the ancient history of Japan. The construction of a Buddhist temple was a major event through which Japanese people, who had believed in traditional indigenous religion, came to embrace Buddhism, one of the major world religions. Inscribed śarīra reliquaries were discovered from the wooden pagoda site at the Wanghŭng-sa 王興寺 in Puyŏ. According to these inscriptions, Wanghŭng-sa was built in 577, 11 years before the establishment of Asukadera in 588. Based on this data, both Korean and Japanese academics have raised the possibility that Wanghŭng-sa might have provided inspiration or even a model for Asukadera in Japan. In this paper, I briefly examine reliquaries and roof tiles that have been excavated from the wooden pagoda site within the Wanghŭng-sa site and the arrangement and characteristics of the temple's building sites, including the sites of the main hall and corridors. Next, I discuss the similarities and differences between ancient Buddhist temples in Korea and Japan by comparing Wanghŭng-sa with ancient Japanese temples such as Asukadera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catholicism prides itself on being a 'global religion'. However, just how this 'religion' is contextualized into a specific culture has led to intercultural and intergenerational problems. In Japan, the Filipino–Japanese struggle to fit into a society that sees, in their Catholic upbringing, 'religious' activity that it deems un-Japanese. The concept of 'religion' (shūkyō) in Japan has been largely associated with congregational activity, an aspect that neither Shinto nor Buddhism stress. As a result, the Japanese people label acts such as the purchasing of lucky charms, temple and shrine pilgrimages, visits to power spots, and performing birth or death rituals as 'non-religious' (mushūkyō). On the other hand, they label similar Christian acts as 'religious'. Associating Christianity with 'religion' has had consequences for Japan's Filipino residents and their international families. This paper considers the role the concept of 'religion' plays in the acculturation of Filipino–Japanese children into Japanese society. Through qualitative interviews of four Filipino–Japanese young adults, it delineates, in eight sections, how the discourse of 'religion' isolates Filipino mothers from their 'non-religious' children and husbands. This begins at adolescence and culminates with the children's absence from the Roman Catholic Church of Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]