Will Miss #333 - funky good luck charms

There are a lot of shrines in Japan. In fact, it is downright shocking how many there are for a country in which people state they are absolutely not religious. At many shrines, various good luck charms are on offer. The charms are good for a year and various types are supposed to bring you particular types of good fortune - driving, health, studies, etc. Though I am no fan of the fact that

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Won't Miss #313 - "law and order" moral mentality

Those who study psychology are familiar with Kohlberg's stages of moral development. For those who don't know about it, this theory breaks down the way our moral sense develops into 3 levels with various stages. At the second level is "law and order" determined morality. Japan is a shame-based culture, not a morality-based one (this ties into the lack of a strong religious backing which I

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Will Miss #302 - spiritual use of incense

Back home, incense was associated with people who smoked pot. Anyone who used incense was viewed with suspicion or mocked as some sort of bizarre New Age hippy type. In Japan, incense is used at shrines as part of spiritual practices. One of my students brought me back an incense burner and sticks as a gift from her travels to an Asian country. I think I wouldn't have been given such a gift back

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Will Miss #294 - ground blessing ceremonies

The Japanese have a curious relationship with spirituality. Most of them don't believe in anything, but they still go through the motions, even when it costs them money. One of the things you find people will fork over a wad of cash for even though they don't deeply believe in a) demons or b) God, is ground blessings (jichinsai). A priest comes to a place where a new building is to be built

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Will Miss #292 - Meiji Shrine

You know the Japan that tourists and people who have never been here talk about? You know, the one which portrays Japan as a country which is full of reserved, polite, quiet, respectful people who have a lot of quaint and deeply spiritual traditions and who live in harmony with nature? I'm talking about the one in which there are rock gardens, minimalist homes of immaculate cleanliness, and a

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Won't Miss #230 - Japanese cemetaries

As I mentioned in the previous post, I grew up around a cemetery and I have had an interest in grave markers as a result. The designs of the stones, the words written upon them, and the epitaphs always told me something about the people and how they felt. Some of the graves even told me something about how the people looked as photos were included as part of the stone design. Burial markers are

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Will Miss #205 - Buddhas

I like Buddha statues, even though I'm not a real Buddhist (though I embrace at least some principles of Buddhism). There are Buddha figures and statues everywhere in Japan, each in different poses and styles, and they all give me a sense of peace or happiness. In the U.S., it's a largely Christian culture, but their symbolism is all about pain and suffering. I grew up with pictures of Jesus

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