When speaking about Japan, and either religion or virtue are brought up, some Americans can be quite judgmental and ethno-centric when it comes to various aspects of Japanese culture, such as the general view on sexuality, or even the presumable lack of good manners in Japan.
I'm only going to touch on religion though, since a touch is all I know, but in Japan, Christians number less than 1% of the population. I'm assuming that the statistic is similar for Muslims or Jewish as well. For the most part, Japan's major religions are Shintoism and Buddhism. With small shrines and temples scattered throughout Japan, these are major tourist areas for not only foreigners, but native Japanese as well.
People will go to these shrines to pray for good luck and fortune in whatever field they may be seeking or pursuing, such as love, entrance exams, or jobs. They also sell fortunes, like a horoscope, and charms for various things, such as protection from harm or providing good luck. For me, all of this just seems to be fun stuff to do since it's not something that I'm familiar with or that I've been indoctrinated with, but for some, or rather most, people, they take it very seriously. This can mean maintaining a shrine to ancestors in their home, with the ancestors usually being parents or grandparents, and going to these various shrines to pray for good fortune for not only oneself, but also one's family, friends, company, school, city, prefecture, country, or world. The usual stuff.
Although religion does not seem to be discussed much, it most definitely runs throughout all sectors of Japanese culture, as can be expected. Most contrastingly, some people would consider the Japanese to be immoral or an Atheist nation simply based upon the openness of sex in its various forms, but the Japanese view of sex is based upon aspects of their religion in which sex and fertility are promoted. Actually, from anecdotes that I've read, there were penis festivals throughout Japan up to around the period between the 1950's and 1980's. These festivals were meant to promote fertility, and many couples, or women, who wanted children would go to these festivals to touch or receive wooden penises... replicas people, replicas!... for the most part, I assume. The way giant penis monuments and giant log penises are described in these anecdotal experiences makes it seem like it would've been a very... fun or interesting festival to take part in. Sadly, since Japan has become more Westernized, these festivals have declined in number. Hopefully I'll be able to find an active festival of this type some day... it seems like it would be quite the unique experience. :)
Here are some pics showing off various shrines and different aspects of them:
This type of fountain is usually found in front of shrines and temples. People can wash their hands with it and rinse their mouth out, or drink it. Although it's not recommended that you drink it, it does seem to be potable water since I drank some before I was advised that I probably shouldn't drink it. Anyway, it's meant to cleanse the person before they enter the shrine or temple.
This is a famous giant Buddha statue found in the town of Kamakura. It's a rather traditional town that draws in many tourists who come to see this statue among various other sights in the town.
Cool! This reminds me of the ancient Greeks who also had fertility festivals where they carried and displayed huge phallic symbols. I think the problem that westerners may have with such festivals is more related to the disassociation of the penis from the idea of fertility. With so many couples in the U.S. spending fortunes to have children by artificial means, maybe we need to have some fertility festivals just to remind ourselves of the wonder and blessing of fertility and the original purpose of our fertile organs!
ReplyDeleteThis is fascinating for one such as myself who tends to associate the Japanese with modesty, self-restraint, etc.
ReplyDeleteYet again, well written - and interesting. I'll agree with Jane, it does seem to go slightly counter to the views we sometimes have of the Japanese being modest, self-restrained and so on... But, fertility festivals are VERY old festivals that are present in many, many cultures, Native American being one...but perhaps not white, anglo-saxon? Am I missing something...forgetting something???
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've read and based on multiple conversations, the Japanese are typically reserved when putting on a public face, but when outside of the public eye, and in the presence of friends and those close to them, the Japanese are much more open.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to sexually-related material though, it is quite ubiquitous throughout the society. This can be seen from the multitudes of nude and adult-related books and magazines that are sold at every convenience store. People are not bashful about reading it openly while on the train or while waiting for a train or bus. It is just... considered to be normal or run-of-the-mill there. As you can imagine, it does represent women as objects more so than being equals. Japan is still a very male-dominated society.
I seem to remember more instances of white, anglo-saxon missionaries being the major force behind getting many natives to "cover up". For example, the Hawaiians. Their style of dress was meant to accommodate the weather of the region, but when missionaries came, they insisted that the Hawaiians cover up with dresses that ran from the neck on down to the ankles, for women.
I don't seem to recall any Western cultures that have fertility festivals, aside from what Melissa mentioned in regards to the Greeks. Although, I admit that I am not very well versed with those particular details of Western history.
You know what I find interesting.....the fact that people have this stereotype of asian people as meek and quiet (especially here in the united states) when in reality if you got o those countries or actually just pay attention to their culture (television etc.) you see that they are more open and outgoing than most people know and what you touched on today was actually a great way to notice how here in the U.S people forget to pay attention to a culture and instead proceed to make quick assumptions.
ReplyDeleteI really like this post, because while talking about Japanese culture it also highlights aspects of US culture without directly mentioning the US.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stood out to me was the comment about religion being in every aspect of life, even though it may appear otherwise to outsiders. The American "Bible-belt" culture does seem to have this idea about what it means to be a "religious" person which typically isn't what any other culture suggest it may be.
Also, I really like the idea of phallic symbols at fertility festivals, because it seems to say, "hey, women aren't the only ones necessary to make babies". I also appreciate that it takes sexual organs at "face value". I'm not sure how to better explain myself, but, inherently, the sexual organs are for reproductive purposes, not something sinful and disgusting. It seems really immature and ignorant to demonize sexual organs the way we seem to do in the US.
This was a great post. Penis festivals? Japan, I hardly know thee. Leave it to missionaries to take all of the fun out of life!
ReplyDeleteReally, really interesting post! I always look forward to reading your blog. :)
ReplyDeleteI certainly respect how Japanese culture views religion - it seems as though it's out in the open and there for the taking when you're seeking it, but it's not in your face and being shoved down your throat like it is a lot of times here in America. I can't really foresee the Japanese knocking on people's doors at dinnertime and handing out tiny little portable copies of the Tripitaka... but maybe that's just me. :)
I definitely wouldn't have expected this but I find it very interesting. I think people in general tend to think of shrines like this as quaint or antiquated, so it's nice to know that both tourists and native Japanese visit them. I think it's a shame that the Western influence has stifled some of the traditional festivals you mentioned, but hopefully they're still around to some extent.
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