Brittney Washington on Christianity in Japan

By: Brittney Washington

March 2, 2009

A friend and I stopped to rest in front of a busy Shinjuku department store swarming with couples eager to try Coldstone’'s new Valentine’s Day ice cream flavor. Transfixed by the buzz of Tokyo and the relentless, grasping, flashing advertisements, we were completely startled when two elderly Japanese women motioned to us from the moving crowd.
Hands outstretched with detailed cards for their metropolitan church, they invited us to a weekend revival where we could “pray and receive the Holy Spirit.” After accepting the cards, and reassuring the women that we might come another time in broken Japanese, they were swallowed back into the bustle of a busy Valentine’'s Day.

That was not the first time I had been approached by Christian evangelists. Once a stranger asked me if I listened to Gospel music and was invited to attend a church service. Another time I was given a piece of literature, which asked, "“How’'s your health?"” in Japanese on the cover to catch the eyes of readers, and then an evangelistic message written on the inside. Although my encounters may make you believe otherwise, only about .7 to 1 percent of Japan'’s population considers themselves Christian (a percentage lower than the estimate I gave in my previous letter). This number only includes those that have been baptized and frequently attend church. In my first letter, I briefly noted that most Japanese have Christian wedding ceremonies and celebrate Christmas. However, these practices are not spiritual and do not involve any belief in the Christian faith. Some couples will hire actors as priests to conduct their wedding ceremonies. Similar to the Chinese traditional Christmas Mariel Reed describes in her letter, "“Holidays in China,"” the Japanese Christmas is a commercial holiday, viewed as a time to enjoy the company of family, friends, or lovers, not to celebrate the birth of Christ.

The commercialized images of Christmas and wedding ceremonies from America and other Western countries have prominently affected Japanese culture through globalization. While doing research on Christianity in Japan, I have found that the Japanese perception of Christianity in its early history in Japan also plays a large role in the way the religion is viewed today as well. Christianity entered Japan in the sixteenth century with the arrival of Roman Catholic missionaries, but there efforts were banned during the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1867), a period when Christians were heavily persecuted. Christianity was viewed as something foreign, a tool of the West to dominate, and was therefore prohibited during the two century long closed country policy. The government of the following period, Meiji (1868-1912), was more accepting of Japanese Christians and legalized the religion; however, there was still flourishing sentiments regarding nationalism and upholding Japanese values rather than embracing Western influence at the beginning of the era.

Strong nationalism resulted in few Christian followers, and many people found Christian doctrine problematic in relation to Shinto and Buddhism, two religions that have long histories in Japan and immense influence on Japanese culture. I believe this is why some religious groups often incorporate all three religions, sculpturing a new faith more suitable to Japanese values. For example, Christians in Shingo, Japan believe in the legend that Christ came to Shingo to escape crucifixion and started a family in their village. The people of Shingo hold annual dances performed during Kuristo Matsuri (Christ Festival), a tradition that is Shinto based. Other Japanese may feel detached from Christianity because they view it as a Western religion or find its ideology unattractive. In “Japanese Religions at Home and Abroad,” author Hirochika Nakamaki states that “sermonizing and moralizing” are not of interest to the Japanese, and the “romantic process which leads to marriage (St. Valentine’'s Day and elaborate weddings)” is more appealing. There may not be many frequent church-goers in Japan, but it is clear that Christianity has taken on many forms outside of its traditional image, becoming accommodating to Japanese culture.
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