Well, following on from my last entry, here I go with a bold title!
Japan is one of the few countries in the world that is said to have no religion, and the Christian population is only 1% even in the last 100 years (since the arrival of American Protestants at the Meiji Restoration).
This is according to religious historians, and there are only two places in the world where Christian evangelization has not been successful: India and Japan.
I think I understand India. It has a huge Buddhist source and Hinduism, which is almost a natural religion, so it must have been tough for Europeans to penetrate there.
Of course, in some areas, Christianity was introduced by the British and spread to other parts of the country, which is now the world's most populous country with a diverse mix of faiths.
What about the other most unique country, Japan?
Christianity has not spread in the past 100 years, and I wonder if it will spread in the future. As a Christian, I am also concerned.
Christianity was introduced to Japan, of course, before the Meiji period.
In the 16th century, Francis Xavier introduced Catholicism to Nagasaki and other parts of Kyushu, and it spread considerably, but it was severely suppressed during the reign of Toyotomi Hideyoshi due to the revolt of Christian feudal lords and others.
Later, during the reign of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Edo shogunate became very wary of Western religions and suppressed Christianity, even coining the term "Nambanjin" (means who is from western aggressive people) to describe the threat they posed.
This was the era of the so-called "Trampling Era.
On the other hand, the reason why missionary work was possible was linked to trade.
In order to promote trade, I think the situation at that time was that we had no choice but to accept culture from the West.
History tells us that the Portuguese persecution of Buddhism and Shintoism and their aggressive behavior angered the shogunate, which led to the cessation of missionary activities.
I believe that the Japanese have a temperament of being earnest and diligent, and if they believe, they are single-minded, but if they feel betrayed, they will never accept it again.
The flip side of sensitivity is a kind of weakness, a vulnerable spirit behind the caring and compassion.
I think that is where Westerners at that time could not commit well.
The "fear of Westerners" felt by the Tokugawa family later led to national isolation, and it seems that the xenophobia of the Japanese people has continued unbroken from this period.
When I talk with most Japanese people, I feel a kind of subconscious wariness toward foreigners. Even in this globalized age.
They are very paranoid that security will deteriorate, that they will be invaded, that their land will be bought up and controlled before they know it, etc., etc., etc.
Well, it is true that there is no ethnicity that obeys rules and is less violent than the Japanese, so it is not hard to understand.
For example ,
They may do us harm, don't you think? and They imagine it from the point when nothing has happened.
Is this...is this a gene of the Tokugawa family? I even feel that this is the Tokugawa family's gene.
Going back to history, the Tokugawas effectively collapsed, the Meiji Restoration took place with Yoshinobu Yoshinobu as the last one, and Christianity was re-propagated in Japan. It was not Catholicism, but a less strict and more life-oriented form of Christianity than the American Protestantism known as Catholicism.
Well, in content, it was a slightly more realistic style of faith based on Catholicism.
Despite the fact that the way of life became Americanized at once, this Christianity did not spread that far.
Of course, many missionaries came to Japan, the Japan Christian Church was established, churches were built, and a certain number of believers were secured. But, the Christianity did not spread until then.
It seems as if Japan as a whole has rejected Christianity.
The subsequent world wars may have also had an influence.
The U.S. has launched many wars and become a huge superpower, and countries that wage war always use religion as a shield, especially Christian and Muslim countries that are said to be monotheistic, which would have appeared as a great contradiction in the eyes of the Japanese people.
It is also typical of the Japanese to have a sharp critical eye for such contradictions.
So what would be the situation if we were to seek Christianity even after overcoming these contradictions?
I think the time has come for us Christians to seriously consider this matter.
In Japan, where Shinto rituals, festivals, and services to the local deity have all but disappeared, will the day ever come when Japan, a country that has abandoned even its own God, will believe in Christianity, the religion it fears the most?
In Part 2 of this series, I would like to explore this question in more depth.
Will Christianity spread in Japan?
The Gene of Ieyasu Tokugawa
#Isolation
#Evangelism
#Christianity
#Allergy to Religion
#God and Japan
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
