“Because of the Goshuin, shrines have become closer to ... a religion professor at Hokkaido University. Historically, Buddhism arrived in Japan in the 6th century and took root.

That sounds like an airport code, but it’s what I saw in several pamphlets referring to Jozankei, a hot spring resort area in Hokkaido near ... Jozan (1805-1877), a Buddhist monk.

Over centuries, Buddhist shrines have been very much part and parcel of our culture and heritage. The artistic creations related to these shrines bear testimony to a great civilisation that existed ...