The way of the gods

There are many 'gods' (or 'kami') in Japan. Millions of them. And they can appear anywhere. We've been posting entries recently about the religious context in which we find ourselves. Shinto is the traditional 'religion' of Japan. Perhaps more than a religion, it is a set of customs and rites; a way of life; traditions and ceremonies to be followed by Japanese people. Shinto literally means the way of the gods. While Buddhist priests deal with funerals and anything associated with death and the afterlife, Shinto is all about life in the here and now. There are ceremonies connected to birth, childhood, adulthood, marriage, land and buildings to name just a few. It is common all over Japan to see Shinto shrines, often with a 'torii', the distinctive entrance gate. The summer months in particular see many festivals connected to the local shrine and often the local deity is paraded round the streets on one special day in the year. Here in Hiragishi we see the marks of Shinto too. There is a park near us with an old 'torii' and prominent shrine. It is surrounded by beautiful gardens . Many Japanese would say they are not religious but most would abide by some or all of the traditional 'ways' handed down through the generations. Jesus said that he is the way to God. The challenge is to share that message in this context, building on the contact points (of which there are many) and pointing the people of Japan to the way that truly does lead to life.

World Cup fever

We'll take a break from commenting on the religious atmosphere around here and move on instead to football. It is after all World Cup time. Actually some people would see football as a kind of religion anyway. Football (or soccer as they refer to it here) is not traditionally a Japanese sport. They excel more in baseball, sumo and the martial arts. Yet Japan has once again qualified for the World Cup finals and had their first outing last night. The result - a 1-0 victory over the mighty Cameroon. And that's been enough to send the Japanese media into a frenzy. Star striker Keisuke Honda poked the ball over the line and the commentators were marvelling over such a 'brilliant goal'. It was replayed constantly during the half-time interval. This is Japan's fourth appearance in the World Cup finals and they are aiming for the semi-finals. The manager says that has nothing to do with the fact that rivals Korea reached that stage eight years ago when the finals were held in Japan/Korea. There is little hope of that but the victory last night is getting the fans going. It's a talking point. A church near us is even holding an outreach event on the night of the next match showing the game live on a big screen in the church. For us, we are more and more getting to know Calum's football friends and their parents as we gather regularly to cheer on the team. That gives us natural opportunities to chat and befriend people and we hope in time will lead on to deeper conversations. Meanwhile we will join the millions here in rooting for the Blue Samurai in their next match.

Death and life

There are many reminders of death in the area where we live. The large graveyard is right opposite our house. There are several buildings used for funerals. The crematorium was once here (it's now a swimming pool!) And there are Buddhist temples. Death in Japan and the various rites and ceremonies associated with dying and the afterlife are invariably Buddhist. Most funerals are conducted according to Buddhist rites with the Buddhist priest chanting the sutras and incense being passed round during the funeral ceremony. The same priest would visit the home of the deceased regularly afterwards to carry out certain rites which are prescribed for the dead spirits. And they charge high fees into the bargain. The temples nearby us are Buddhist. One smaller one belongs to a sect of Zen Buddhism. Another much larger one belongs to a different sect. The priests who work from these temples are generally involved in conducting funerals, rites in connection with the deceased spirits, and ceremonies which take place at different times in front of the family grave. Where we live we often see signs pointing to the place where Buddhist funerals are taking place. And in the summer especially we see and smell (incense!) all the activity in the graveyard as people travel from great distances to the family grave to join with the spirits of the deceased which are said to return at that time. We have been to Buddhist funerals and so often they appear to be all ceremony and ritual with none of the hope which can be found in a Christian funeral. The signs of death are all around us here. All the more reason for there being a church which offers not just empty ceremony, but life and indeed hope beyond the grave.

Be my witnesses...

When you come to a new land as a missionary, there is much to learn. Language is a top priority at the beginning. Then there is the culture. The ways of doing things. The customs. The food. The list could go on and on. We have now been here almost twelve years and are still learning - every day! Last year we moved to this area to start a new church. And of course that does not happen in a vacuum. We live among a community of people, in a particular setting, with a history and local traditions. One part of that setting is the religious aspect. We have mentioned before that our house is opposite a huge graveyard. Hiragishi was once on the suburbs of Sapporo so it was a good place to site the resting place for the dead as well as house the Sapporo crematorium (which is now our local swimming pool!) There are several funeral halls round about where we live. There is a large Buddhist temple nearby and a smaller one just along the road from our house. On the main street around ten minutes walk from where we live is a large building known to everyone in the area, home to what is called the PL (Perfect Liberty) Church, which has nothing at all to do with church and is one of the many new religions in this country. That is our context. And that makes it hard to make headway here. Yet it also points to the necessity of there being a witness to Jesus in this area. In subsequent blogs, we will share a little more about the religious context in which we find ourselves and the challenges that presents.

Sports Day

One of the biggest events in the calendar for primary schools is sports day. There is nothing like it. The children spend weeks practising their races, dances and all the ceremony which is part of the day. The previous day sees hundreds of mothers (or granny if mum is not around) turning up at the school to secure their patch for viewing the races. All of this decided by lottery and as your number is called, you can race to a place already marked with white lines to grab your spot. This year we were No 149 in the pecking order but we had still had a great view. The day begins at 6.30 with fire crackers loud enough to wake the whole neighbourhood being set off to tell everyone that sports day is on. Even before that time, many mothers will have been up preparing the feast which is needed for the sports day lunch. This is no ham sandwich and potato chips job. Everything begins with due ceremony - speeches, lots of bowing, communal team cheering and the obligatory warm-up exercises. From start to finish it lasts over five hours. There are individual races, team races, energetic dances, fun events and even a tug of war for parents. This year we had one boy in the white team and one in the red so we were going to end up with one winner and one loser. The sun shone, the boys won their individual events and the lunch was great. And as always it is an opportunity for us to be visible and chat to all the parents, grandparents and others who gather for this event of the year. Roll on next year.

Sushi!

Ask anyone what food they associate with Japan and the answer will invariably be sushi. We have had guests with us recently so we thought we would take them to a sushi bar, one of those places where the plates of sushi move past on a revolving conveyor belt. It's noisy as the sushi chefs go about their business and greet the customers as they come in. The rice is shaped and then the various types of fish cut and placed on top of the rice. Then the different sushi is put on different coloured plates which spin round and you can just choose what you like as it goes past. The different plate colours represent different prices and at the end the staff simply total up the number of different coloured plates to work out your bill. We feasted on copious amounts of raw tuna, salmon, eel and octopus, with the added 'kick' of the wasabi (tastes a bit like horseradish) and the hot green tea to wash it down. Great food and a great experience was made even better when a freshly -caught octopus, still wriggling, was paraded before the assembled customers to a round of applause. Not long afterwards said octopus was on our plates as sushi - it's better just not to think about it! Eating sushi is not something we do everyday but it's an experience to be savoured. Fresh, healthy, delicious - what could be better!

The Art of the Apology

Knowing how and when to apologise is quite an art in Japan. Of course there are different levels of apology depending on what has happened and who is involved. The sight of a company president bowing low to the ground with his fellow directors is not all that unusual when some scandal or other wrongdoing has been committed by someone in the company. Yet, even in the midst of daily life, there is much bowing and exchanging of set phrases which are unconnected to any grave misdemeanour. If you have been a bother to someone, or caused them trouble, or been an inconvenience, then it would be appropriate to express your apology. Often there are exchanges of apology over what might seem quite trivial matters. An apology is not necessarily anything to do with who is right and who is wrong. This is a culture that values harmony and the right words expressed in the right way at the right time can put the relationship on even keel again. Just last night another mother bringing back Calum from a football match bumped her car just as she was dropping Calum off. There were no injuries and little damage to either car but the police were called and the two drivers went about the business of sorting things out, with much bowing and exchange of apologies. David went out too as one of our children had been in the car and was able to apologise for Calum having been in the car. Later there were exchanges of texts and a phone call from the other mother with a mutual exchange of apologetic language. Getting all of that right in this culture is so hard. We usually find it is better to err on the side of caution and just apologise anyway. We're always learning.