How do the Japanese....

Every culture has their own way of explaining what happens to a person when they die. How do the Japanese people explain it?

Its more every religion has different ways of explaining what happens towhen people die, I guess it would really depend on which religion a person in Japan maybe in their views.

Good point, well.... since alot of Japanese follow the Shinto religion(I think), how do people who follow SHinot view death?

a lot are plain christians too. everyone knows about that belief. the heaven and hell thing. not sure about the shinto and zen but. i asked my japanese wife but she doesnt believe so she has no idea either, but best bet there would be a heaven hell situation as well

I see... Thanks for the info.

... no beginning and no end ...

For Shinto and Buddhists, death is viewed as part of life/death cycle. It's not viewed as "THE END" since life is viewed as a cycle, circular v. linear (Western).

It just "is"...

This is an overly simple view. Various sects may have specific views and I am no expert.

There's no one answer, and it'll depend on who you ask. I most people would state no religious affiliation but do practice some relious activities.

It's very difficult that we Japanese explain Japanese Shiseikan(the view of death and life) toward Gaijin especially westerners.
Have you been conscious of the existence of air? Also I have not been conscious of it on daily life.
But, when confronting someone's mortality(it may be a person, a cat, a dog or may be a mouse), everybody will think about that we came from where and are going to where.
So, it's natural that Japanese young men who have no personal experience are professed atheists.
But, when even such young men climbed Fuji-san, they worship the rising sun. It's never the mummery, but it is the prayer for the thanks from the bottom of their hearts.
Japan is a country of polytheism of the nature and ancestor worship essentially. Even Buddhism changed and improved by polytheism and people's wisdom.
Also Christianity is not an exception. Japanese Christians accept Christianity by the sensibility and the spirituality of Japanese.
(Sorry, Japanese only)
http://www2.biglobe.ne.jp/~remnant/20040418.htm
Maybe we are used to worshipping different gods.

We Japanese have two important donnees.
Rinne tenshou(the reincarnation as the cycle of rebirth) & Inga ouhou(the cause and effect is linked).
Therefore, nanshi's view is not a wrong.

That is probably the best explination I have heard, thank you.

Living in a western, predominately Christian environment, it seems to me that westerners are preoccupied with the notion of death. Maybe because it's linear--there is birth (a beginning), then there is death (the END). Where do I go? What happens to me? Is there an afterlife? How do I make sure I go there? These are good questions.

Because Japanese see the world as circular (as do other indigenous people)and they are part of the universe, there seems to be less concern with "what happens after...?" and more thought on "what do I do with the time I have?"

As actual death approaches, maybe there is the universal human fear of the pain associated with death and not seeing loved ones again but maybe with more peace and calm? Because it's not the end but another journey.

When diaster strikes, I have noticed less of a "why, me?", "what did I do wrong?" attitude but more of "what do I do now?", "what lesson is to be learned before I go?"

But then again, that is my own experience among Japanese with traditional views. Modern Japanese may have a completely different point of view.

SHINTO, by C. Scott Littleton explained that many japanese people begin their lives on the note of shintoism being presented at the shrine and end their lives with buddhism being burried at a temple. The book also suggested that due to this shift, as people become older, they often identify more with buddhism. "Shinto is essentially a 'life religion'and is primarily concerned with the here and now, the abundance of nature, and human and animal fertility. Since the advent of Buddhism, specifically Shinto ideas of life after death and the salvation of the soul have become confined to the belief that a person's spirit persists after death and remains effective for the benefit of the living. The tama (ancestral souls) are considered part of the social group to whom one is duty-bound not to fall into a state of shame. The tama of the newly deceased are therefore nourished with offerings at the kamidana (family shrine); in return, they are expected to protect the living." This is quite a complex subject that I am just begining to explore. I appreciate any corrections, input. Thanks.

I think in what japanese belive in is thier mythology you just have to research.