Asakusa Kannon Temple
Tokyo
Oct. 24, 2004
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On Sunday afternoon I joined a tour of
traditional sites in Tokyo, including the Imperial
gardens and this temple, originally built in 628 A.D.,
to house a little gold statue of the goddess of mercy.
Our guide told us
that more than 90% of Japanese consider themselves
Shintoists, paying reverence to ancestors and, in
some cases, any one of several million spirits
believed to reside in nature around us. Shintoism,
she said, mostly addresses needs and desires in the
here and now, and so when Buddhism arrived in Japan,
it neatly complemented Shintoism with its emphasis
on a moral and spiritual progression over
many lives. More than 80% of
Japanese also practice Buddhism; there's
no conflict between the two, as neither demands
exclusivity. When Christianity arrived in the 15th
century, some Japanese tried to add it to their
retinue. But as the Old Testament reminds us,
Jehovah "is a jealous God."
Monotheism doesn't look kindly on multiple
religious passports, so Christianity fell out of
favor in Japan.
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