TOKYO >> Buddhist monk Shinsui Kobayashi learned the hard way that during a pandemic, what’s good for the soul is not necessarily good for the body.

Upon hearing in January that a fellow monk had tested positive for COVID-19, the head priest of Kokunji temple in Fukuoka immediately closed the temple. He shared the news on Kokunji’s website, contacted the local health center and hired a cleaning specialist. He had been exposed while chanted sutras with his stricken colleague. In total, Kobayashi and six others affiliated with the temple were infected.

The temple cautiously reopened in February. He said Kokunji adheres to strict protocols, limiting visits and livestreaming sermons.

The pandemic has proved challenging to Buddhist and Shinto institutions that rely on donations from parishioners. Already burdened by a shrinking, aging population, the coronavirus has prompted a reckoning.

Hidenori Ukai, a chief priest at Shogakuji temple in Kyoto, estimates that revenue for Japan’s temples fell to about $2.5 billion last year, compared to $4.9 billion in 2015.

“Once the situation stabilizes, I think we will see worshippers return en masse,” he said. “In the meanwhile, there are new, unique initiatives being rolled out that are changing the way people worship.”

In January 2020, Soo Iwayama, the abbot of Ganshuji temple in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, launched an online meditation service called Flying Monk.

Temples have historically relied on the danka system, in which parishioners provide financial support in exchange for religious services. But many of the 77,000 temples in Japan don’t have enough patrons to maintain their upkeep, including Ganshuji.

“Typically, about 150 danka are necessary to keep a temple open and to feed the priest and his family. At Ganshuji, we have four danka,” said Iwayama, who is married with two children.

Together with other Zen priests, Iwayama began offering zazen sessions on Zoom. A 30-minute session costs about $9. They quickly caught on, and clients include companies such as Google Japan and people overseas.

Iwayama also began selling small, affordable burial plots on temple grounds. The graves can be purchased without the owner becoming a danka of the temple. He sold 80 plots last year.

Meanwhile, the slump in tourism has hit the coffers of Japan’s approximately 81,000 Shinto shrines, which rely primarily on cash offerings from visitors and ceremonial fees. But the shrines have become creative.

At Kashima Shrine in Ibaraki Prefecture, priests revived an ancient tradition. When parishioners asked for a way to pray remotely, it welcomed an oshi, a representative who prays on behalf of worshippers.

The ritual is livestreamed, and for the service, patrons provide offerings starting at $64.

The pandemic has also prompted changes to traditional funeral rituals.

A typical Buddhist funeral involves a wake, a funeral, cremation, a reception and more. The entire process takes two to three days and costs between $9,000 to upwards of $18,000. But since the pandemic, memorial services are being shortened, postponed or even canceled.

Tomonobu Narita, the head priest of Zenryoji temple in Yokohama, offered one-day funerals during the first state of emergency last spring.

“Financially, it’s damaging for the temple, but that’s just one consideration,” he said. “Religious organizations need to consider ways to adapt to the new landscape … while cultivating new revenue streams.”

At Zenryoji, that means operating an adult day care facility. It’s filling a need in a country with a severe shortage.

“Temples running such facilities are still a rarity,” Narita said. “But there are more than 70,000 temples in Japan — what if more of them ventured into this field?”