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In just the first five months of 2026, nine major shrines and temples have burned across Japan. ・January 15: Suga Shrine, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka ・February 7: Horenji, Matsuyama, Ehime ・February 13: Hottoji, Kuma Highland, Ehime — 1 person died ・February 20: Shorinji, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi — 5 people died ・April 24: Renshoji, Toyama City, Toyama ・April 27: Uruwashitsune Shrine, Nabari, Mie ・May 6: Furumachi Atago Shrine, Niigata City, Niigata ・May 16: Daishoji, Takaoka, Toyama ・May 20: Reikaido at Itsukushima Shrine, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima (World Heritage site) These are not ordinary fires. Many of these sacred places had stood for hundreds — some over a thousand — years. I’m not a politician. I’m not an activist. I’m just an ordinary Japanese who loves this country. Every time I see another irreplaceable piece of our history and culture go up in flames, I feel a quiet fear. Japan was supposed to be the one place where this kind of thing almost never happened. When did our temples and shrines start burning one after another?