My Japanese friend Kanae and I were walking to school one morning when I noticed that a gigantic Christmas tree, stretching five stories high, had suddenly appeared on the side of the Ito Yokado department store that we pass everyday. Banners exclaiming "Very Merry Christmas Time!" filled the windows.
While I know that there are about one million Christians in Japan (less than one percent of the population), I wondered how the rest of the Japanese population celebrated Christmas, and if it was anything more to them than a time for big sales.
Kanae, who does not adhere to any one religion - a common practice among the Japanese - stated that it really was not much more to her and her family than a time to buy things for each other, to have "special" food, and to decorate a small, fake tree in her house with origami paper cranes. I asked what sort of "special" food she would have with her family, and Kanae laughed and nearly refused to tell me.
"We usually have Kentucky Fried Chicken," she said after awhile. She explained that while KFC is not really a delicacy in Japan, it's ubiquitously American and because Christmas is a Western holiday, several Japanese families will opt to have American fast food to celebrate. The other
common food eaten on Christmas in Japan is the Christmas Cake, which Kanae explained as nothing more than a giant, decadent cake.
Although Christianity found its roots in Japan in the 1500s, it did not become more stable until the 1800s, and only continued to prosper after World War II due to the numerous Christian influences brought over by members of the U.S. military in Japan. Today, of the approximately one million Christians in Japan, the majority are still of foreign descent or have strong ties and associations with the Western world.
The fascinating thing about religion in Japan is that it's so non-existent, yet so omnipresent at the same time. This phenomenon is syncretism, or the process of combining different belief systems together. For example, it's perfectly common for a Japanese woman to have a traditional Western wedding at a Christian church, but to request that her funeral be held at a Buddhist temple. Japanese religious holidays are celebrated just as much as Christian holidays - but the degree to which these holidays are truly and properly observed varies greatly.
While most Japanese will say that Buddhism and Shintoism are the two most popular religions in the country, many Japanese do not profess attachment to one particular religion. In fact, according to some of the Japanese people I have spoken with about this, it is often advised that they avoid becoming attached to one religion. The reasons for this still remain a bit murky and unclear to me, but my friend Shota explained that it has a bit to do with how the Japanese who practiced Shintoism and Buddhism were treated during and after the war.
Briefly, Shintoism was the first real religion to establish itself in Japan. It's a polytheistic belief system, where most objects are considered to have god-like spirits. Buddhism arrived in Japan in the sixth century and emphasizes ethical conduct, meditation, study, and the ability to overcome suffering.
Despite whether or not a single Japanese person will choose to claim attachment to Buddhism or Shintoism, it plays an ever-present part in everyday Japanese life, from the architecture and design of all types of buildings, to the way in which the Japanese flock to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples on New Year's Eve to ring in the New Year. My "Urban Planning and Architecture of Japan" professor, Sugiyama-sensei, explained how the Meiji Shrine in Omote-sando, Tokyo, is notorious for being one of the most popular and dangerous places to be during New Year's.
"I went there one year with my wife and there are so many people there that you physically can't voluntarily move yourself - you just have to stay relaxed and let the crowd push you along the paths until you reach the shrine and can pray," he said. Sugiyama also added that most of the people are drunk and are throwing coins of Japanese yen over the crowds of people, often resulting in some sort of major injury every year.
There are a few other religions that exist in Japan, but their followers are even fewer than those of Christianity. According to Sugiyama, Confucianism remains a strong part of "the Japanese way of thinking," but is not practiced as a religion. Islam is gradually growing in Japan, but has fewer than 1,000 followers, a number that is not expected to significantly increase in the foreseeable future.
Judaism has an estimated 600 followers who reside in Japan, almost all of which are foreigners who live in the urban areas. I recently went to the Chabad-Lubavitch Center of Japan with Ari, a Jewish friend of mine here, mostly because we were curious as to what kind of people would be in attendance.
We went to a Friday evening service, conducted by the Rabbi Mendi Sudakevich, and quickly learned that those who attend the services at the Chabad-Lubavitch Center are typically foreign business men and women who are temporarily in Japan for business purposes, Jewish members of the U.S. military, and some Jewish-Americans and Jewish-Europeans that are living in Japan for one reason or another. We did not see a single Japanese person, and the service was conducted entirely in Hebrew.
Back at the Ito Yokado store, Kanae and I were finishing our discussion on religion in Japan.
"I guess the Japanese are just greedy - they always want to have a holiday so they can relax and spend time with family and buy nice things for each other," said Kanae half-jokingly. And really, what's so bad about that? Happy holidays from Japan.
Allison Roeser is a junior majoring in English. She can be reached via e-mail at allison.roeser@tufts.edu.<$>
