NYT discovers

that Buddhism is "dying out" in Japan. The real question is: Has it ever, ever been widely practiced by the general public? Other than among some elites and a minority of the population, the answer would be no*. It was/is not like Christianity in the US, for example. The "no" includes the Zen Buddhism of western fantasy too.

According to the article Buddhism is losing its place even at funerals:

a religion that, by appearing to cater more to the needs of the dead than to those of the living, is losing its standing in Japanese society.

The real "religion" of the Japanese is nihonjinron.

2:05pm: *Except for the occasional ceremony such as for funerals as discussed in the article.