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Published through Journalist | February 4, 2024
Almost weekly Momo Nomura makes time to visit Shinto shrines. She performs the prescribed rituals, cleansing her hands, ringing a bell, bowing, and clapping. But her main purpose is getting a Goshuin, a stamp with elegant calligraphy that shrines provide for a fee to certify the visit.
She loves the stamps she started collecting during the pandemic. He started giving one away with blue hydrangeas.
“Because of the Goshuin, shrines have become closer to me, but I don’t consider this a religious activity,” Nomura said after getting her stamp and taking selfies at Sakura Jingu, a western Tokyo shrine established in 1882 as a minority Shinto sect focused on traditional values.
Nomura, who talks about her hobby on social media as Goshuin Girl, says she likes stamp designs and that visits to the shrine allow her to have a moment of reflection and a replacement for the speed of her busy life as a graphic designer and entrepreneur. Differences between devout sects are a problem, he says.
“For me it’s kind of mindfulness,” Nomura said. “I’m not religious. “
According to surveys, about 70% of Japanese people have similar non-religious feelings. Their responses reflect a long history of pragmatism toward classical religions, which serve more as links to family and the network than as theological guides, as in the West. .
Nomura, a graduate of a Christian university in Tokyo, says her parents aren’t religious either. Still, she vaguely remembers going to shrines with her circle of relatives as a child for Shichi-Go-San ceremonies, where parents prayed for their children’s health. and prosperity. He also visited a shrine dedicated to the god of schooling before university exams.
On a recent weekend, at Onoterusaki Jinja, a ninth-century Tokyo shrine that is part of a larger Shinto history, other people came and went, some praying or just sitting in pews. Masami Takeda brought his 6-year-old grandson and they bought a stamp with autumn leaves. “I never think I’ll visit places of devotee,” Takeda says. But now I’m praying for my grandson’s health. “
Japan’s unique relationship to faith is on full display during the final week of the year: People celebrate Christmas with an exchange of presents, ring Buddhist temple bells on New Year’s Eve, and hours later go to Shinto shrines to celebrate the New Year. During other seasons, Japanese flock to Buddhist Bon dances and Shinto-related festivals involving “mikoshi,” or portable shrines.
“In Japan, faith is not a vital component of faith, unlike Christianity or Islam, where understanding the Bible or Quran is mandatory and theology serves as an advisor for daily life,” says Ryosuke Okamoto, a professor of faith at the university. . Hokkaido University.
Historically, Buddhism arrived in Japan in the 6th century and took root there. Beginning in 1640, as part of a campaign to ban Christianity, temples kept family records of the inhabitants of the area, creating a culture of ancestor worship that is still observed today. Most Japanese return to their hometowns during the Bon holiday week in August to spend time with loved ones and stop at the graves of their ancestors. Most funerals in Japan are held in a Buddhist style.
Japan’s indigenous faith, Shintoism, is largely rooted in animism, which believes that there are thousands of “kami,” or spirits, that inhabit nature. It is strongly connected to the country’s imperial family: around 1870, Japan made Shinto the state faith and used the imperial cult to stoke ultra-nationalism and aid World War II, which was fought at the emperor’s behest. Japan’s postwar letter drafted through the United States promises freedom. of faith and the separation of faith and state, the conservative government still today attaches wonderful importance to the imperial cult.
“Young people tend to have an even more pragmatic view and less interest in religion-like principles,” Okamoto said.
According to statistics from the Agency of Cultural Affairs for 2022, the number of Japanese linked to Shintoism, Buddhism, Christianity, or other religions amounted to 180 million, a figure that exceeds Japan’s population of 126 million. This suggests that most people adhere to Shintoism. and Buddhism. Christians account for about 1% of this total.
Many Japanese are especially cautious about new religions, an impact of the 1995 deadly sarin attack led by the Aum Shinrikyo cult that shocked the nation and ruined the image of new religious sects.
Allegations of fraudulent business practices through the Unification Church and its decades-long political ties to Japan’s government have surfaced in investigations into the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abel last year, reinforcing public weariness with non-traditional religion. The alleged killer told police he killed Abe because of the politician’s ties to the Unification Church, which the suspect hated because his mother’s gigantic donations to the organization had put him at risk. A bankrupt family.
According to a survey among Japanese conducted through the Niwano Foundation for Peace in 2019, the majority of respondents said they had not participated in any religious activity in recent years and more than 70% said they had no faith. However, positive sentiments toward shrines and temples have increased over the past 20 years, likely due to growing interest in religious travel and stamp collecting, according to the survey.
The popularity of Goshuin stamps and visits to spiritual spots like shrines and temples is not a show of faith, experts say, but instead suggests people feel an affinity for the traditions without a need to be deeply involved. Some compare the stamp collecting to a blessed version of baseball cards.
Karin Kodashima, a priest from Onoterusaki, says the stamps are becoming increasingly popular, allowing visitors to “connect with the gods. “The seals may also be an advent to Shintoism, he says, as he prepares for an upcoming fall festival that includes rituals. , lectures and court music.
For many people, shrines offer an opportunity for reflection, even if it is not a devout experience. Kodashima says, “I believe that shrines will continue to be a component of people’s lives and serve as a place of tranquility and peace. “
Some Buddhist temples, such as Tsukiji Hongwanji and Komyoji in Tokyo, will reach out to younger people and have opened cafes, yoga and meditation classes, as well as discussion sessions and concerts.
A Komyoji monk, Yuken Kihara, serves his homemade desserts, tea and coffee every Wednesday at Open Terrace café on a temple balcony, available to anyone with reservations.
“I hope to offer an area where other people can stop by and relax,” Kihara said. “The Japanese are secular, but I think it’s a price that you can’t just answer with yes or no. “
As Japan’s population ages, family values diversify, and more younger generations move to cities, small shrines and temples in rural Japan struggle to survive, and many are on the verge of closing.
In an effort to connect suffering shrines and temples with those likely interested in history, architecture, or stamps, a young entrepreneur has created an online data site. There are about 160,000 temples and shrines in Japan, according to government statistics.
“Hotokami”, a word that combines Hotoke (Buddha) and Kami (God), introduced through Ryo Yoshida in 2016 after organizing visits to ancient sites for 3 years.
The online service now has 1. 2 million monthly users and has worked with rail operators, adding those in Yokohama and Osaka, as well as shrines in the region, to arrange stamp collection trips.
Yoshida says he feels a connection to Buddhism and Shintoism. Every morning, for 10 minutes, he listens to a YouTube program through a monk founded in a temple in Kamakura. When it comes to his family’s religion, he sets his sights on a Buddhist temple next to his grandfather’s space in Shiga Prefecture.
Yoshida says, “I love the Shinto appreciation of nature and ancestors, as well as Buddhist values about how to live a better life. But he adds, ‘If you ask me if I have faith, I’m sure. ‘”
Mari Yamaguchi
Associated Press
Tokyo, Japan
Eugene Hoshiko (AP), Mari Yamaguchi (AP), Shuji Kajiyama (AP), Ayaka McGill (AP) and Iam Lukyeee, Khun O, Thiti Sukapan (via Shutterstock)