Japanese religious festivals

Religious festivals, which constitute an important aspect of Japanese socio-religiouslife, have a long history and persist to be a part of Japanese culture. Although there are somestudies about Japan in various fields in Turkey, there is no single scholarly work dedicated toJapanese religious life in general and Japanese religious festivals in particular.One of the main subjects of this study is the concept of matsuri, which is used forreligious festival in Japanese language, and its place in Japanese culture. Beside, origins andhistorical development of religious festivals celebrated in Japan are other important topicswhich have been dealt with in details. However, the main focus of this work is to find answerquestions such as how the festivals are celebrated in contemporary Japan and in whichrespect these festivals influence Japanese people .In order to understand Japanese religious festivals, one has to primarily be familiarwith religious traditions of Japan. In this respect, Shintoism and Buddhism are two importantreligious traditions of Japan. In the current study concise information has been provided forthe historical development and contemporary state of the above mentioned religions in Japan.It is expected that the current study will contribute in Turkey to understand Japaneseculture and religious life of Japan.Key words: Matsuri, Shintoism, Buddhism, Japan, Japanese Culture