Jesus in Japan

[I, Brian]

Some possibly interesting reading on the somewhat confused attitude some Japanese have towards Jesus, Christianity, and Christmas:

Passion poster campaign:
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/07/19...assion_of.html
(poster)
http://www.jdesign.com/random/christmas_in_tokyo.html

Also, a bit more on Christmas:
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/07/20...us_in_jap.html

And don't forget Jesus moved to Japan after escaping the crucifixion:
http://www.forteantimes.com/articles/110_japson.shtml

[alexa]

Happilly only 1-2 % Japanese consider themselves as christians. Maybe those who tried to introduce christian religion in Japon had a poor vocabulary and Japanese didn't understand them. After several generations, those misinterpretations took proportions, far away from the original story. Others believe Jesus was in India during the missing twelve years, after all.

[juantoo3]

Kindest Regards!

Only glanced at the links, but considering the history and methodology of early missionary work, especially around the time the church moved into Asia, it really doesn't surprize me.

[nomanshake]

I went through these websites but I cannot stop laughing at this. They eat KFC chicken on christmas just because Colonel Sanders looks like Santa Claus..haha ( I hope it's not some kind of religious belief, as it was mentiond that only 1-2 % of japanese people are christians.)

Is Santa Claus a religious icon or religious personality for christians ? and what did he do that he became so much popular in eyes of Christians and almost the whole world ?

[Postmaster]

Very intelligent however very naive people.

Father Christmas to the Greeks is Saint Vassilis and Saint Nikolas is the patron saint of Greece not Father Christmas like other countries in Europe. Both Vassilis and Nikolas were Greeks. We don't get our gifts Christmas day but new years day.. There are many different figures of a present giver around winter to different people, my guess is this is pagan influence on later religions and traditions.

[StarshipEnterprise]

Very intelligent however very naive people.

I wouldn't be so quick to call them naive. I don't think they are as naive as most westerners are about eastern religions. I bet the average American can't even name a Hindu, Buddhist, etc. holiday.

[Vajradhara]

Originally Posted by StarshipEnterprise

I wouldn't be so quick to call them naive. I don't think they are as naive as most westerners are about eastern religions. I bet the average American can't even name a Hindu, Buddhist, etc. holiday.

they could if they read this forum

metta,

~v

[littlemissattitude]

On the idea among the Japanese that Christmas celebrates Jesus' death: I wouldn't laugh too hard. A few years back I went to a Christmas tree lighting in a small California town, and the minister who had been invited to speak barely mentioned the nativity, but he did about 20 minutes on the crucifixion. So, it isn't just the Japanese whoa re confused about this.

One thing that we should probably keep in mind is that Japanese culture looks at religion very differently from most western thinkers. Most of us seem to have the idea that you've got to be one thing, and one thing only. If you are a Christian, for example, you can't be a Jew, or a Buddhist, or a whatever. In Japan, however, things get blended with startling regularity. A number of religions have started there that blend concepts from different religious traditions, particularly Christianity and Buddhism. I wish I still had my notes from the Christianity in the Non-Western World class I took a while back, so that I could offer examples. It was a fascinating class.

Also, the Japanese use different traditions at different times of life. Births are generally celebrated with Shinto ritual. Many Japanese have Christian wedding ceremonies. At death, most Japanese make use of Buddhist ritual. In that culture, this is perfectly normal.