22.日本の宗教
[Keyword]
①神道と仏教がある
②神道は日本発祥、多神教、神社に祀られる。開祖も経典もない
③仏教はインド生まれ、中国・韓国経由で伝承。悟りに至る方法を説教。日本の文化に影響おおよぼす。
④日本人は神社と寺の共存を疑いなく許容している。信仰の目的が違うからだと思う。
I would like to talk about Japanese religion.
Japan has two main religions as Shinto and Buddhism.
On hand, Shinto is an indigenous religion of Japan.
Shinto is. polytheistic and Its gods are enshrined at Shinto shine called Jinjya.
Shinto has neither a specific founder nor any books of scripture.
The other hand, Buddhism was founded in India and introduced though Chine and Korea to Japan.
This teaches a way to enlightenment and exerted great influence on mental and cultural life of the Japanese
Japanese people accepted the coexistence of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples without question.
Japanese people go to Shinto shrines for occasions related to current life, such as a new yer’s day, a newborn baby’s blessings or Japanese traditional style weddings.
And we go to Buddhist temples for occasions related to life after death, such as funerals and memorial services.
Some of Shrines and temples are valuable as historical monuments and are designated as national treasure, important cultural assets and world heritage.
[165 words]

23.絵馬
[Keyword]
①絵馬は馬の絵が描かれた五角形の木の札
②人々は進学や恋愛成就や家族の健康などの望みを書いて神社や寺に掲げる。
③そもそもは神の使いとされていた本物の馬をお供えしたらしい。
④最近の絵馬は馬が描かれていないものもあって形も変わったものもある。
⑤明治神宮に行くといろんな外国語で望みが書かれた絵馬を見つけることもできる。
The word “ema” literally means “a picture of a horse”.
It is a wooden tablet in the shape of pentagon on which a picture of a horse is drawn.
People writes a wish on this tablet and offers it to a temple or shrine.
Wishes are mostly for success in passing entrance exam or in one’s love.
Some people wish for the well-being of the family.
Originally people offered the real horse since the horse was believed to be a ride of deities.
But gradually the custom changed, and people started offering this picture of a horse drawn on the wooden pieces.
Now most Ema do not necessarily have drawings of horses on them, and shapes of the tablets have varied.
If you visit well-known shrines such as Meiji Shrine in Tokyo,
you may be surprised to see the picture tablets on which various wishes are written in various languages.
Now ema is getting more and more popular among foreign visitors.
[163 words]