Shintoism - Japanese Religion. Or Not.

I have arrived back in Japan after 2 weeks Christmas in England and I think I am experiencing culture shock here for the first time. I think this is because of the very abrupt change that I have experienced now, as opposed to (in hindsight) the gradual adjustment into Japanese society I experienced when I first arrived here (being with all the other jets, the Tokyo orientation, meeting an English speaking supervisor, meeting other Japanese people one by one).

Whereas now, I had come from a brilliant weekend in London with my friends, to 24 hours later – back in my Hitachi flat on my own. Though, simply arriving in Japan the country and my flat did not give me culture shock. I knew exactly what to expect, that I needed to go in and sort out the place, get it warm etc. And that was OK, I was prepared for that, and I was fine doing that.

The culture shock happened the following day; a day of too much difference, too soon (on top of no rest/ stop time since I arrived). I had been invited to accompany a group of “seniors” on their annual New Year visit to a very special shrine. A shrine to the “number 1 God” in Shintoism, so I was told. When I originally accepted the invitation I had assumed that it would be a visit to the local shrine, as that is typical to do at New Year, but I later found out this annual trip for this group (a majority of men) was to this special shrine in Tochigi prefecture – a 4 hour coach ride away.

This first negative aspect of the trip – the excessive length of journey time in comparison to the amount of time spent in the destination was, – like the Japanese approach to taking holidays (5 day trip to Europe), I knew, going to be something I hated. I cannot STAND the way people take time off, a holiday, and cram in the visit to a place where there is no time for wandering, exploring, talking to local people in a place, doing something that varies from the well-trodden picture-taking route that all visitors to the place add to.

So I knew that over 4 hours outward travel, 2 1/2 hours there, 4 hours return travel was never going to be my idea of fun, but I thought I would go because it was the chance to experience the activities of a very important time in Japanese calendar.
The start of the journey reminded me of the community nature of Japanese society - which is difficult to fully describe unless you actually live it. I realized that in this particular case, it wasn`t just the destination that was the sole purpose of this day – it was the fact all this local community were doing something they valued as important, together. The Japanese love being part of groups and communities, and it is a part of Japanese society that I do really like as well. Many people had bought some food (rice crackers, chocolate, hard-boiled eggs, satsumas) and drinks to share, and these were distributed down the bus to everyone that morning.

And of course the drink was distributed aswell. At the bus stop I noticed Tomobe-san`s friend had bought a can of beer. I was a bit surprised to see this at 6.45 in the morning – and I think he was equally surprised to see my reaction “no way! Not for me, - only in the evening!”. I clearly didn`t know what was to come, and what was customary on group trips to shrines like this one.

That man cracked open his can at perhaps 7.30 – 8 in the morning, marking the beginning of a day of continuous drinking for the two men sitting beside me in the back of the coach. A short while later, paper cups were passed back and then a big bottle of sake was passed back. Sake, rice wine, is a celebratory drink in Japan, very popular with everyone. Rice has so much importance, and is so strongly bound to Japanese culture that I wasn`t hugely surprised to see this bottle. New Year is a celebration afterall. Because of specialness of this drink, and this time of year, I thought I should accept a small glass out of politeness, which I did.

From then on, my feelings about the trip started to change. The two men beside me kept this huge bottle and were continuously refilling their cups with this strong drink, becoming increasingly drunk with more and more slurred speech. I was shocked to begin with, and as they continued became more and more disgusted with what I was witnessing.

It`s not as if I felt so appalled by this behaviour because I am a believer myself – obviously, I think that all religion is ultimately a load of crap. But, I am very respectful to sites of religious significance and have a feeling that others should be respectful of religious sites too, (because of the meaning that they hold/ have held to some people).

Maybe nobody in Japan is a serious believer in Shintoism, therefore nobody`s drunkenness or excessive picture-taking in the shrine will offend anyone now. In which case, if no-one is bothered by the lack of respect/ reverence, then nobody really believes in it seriously. So, here-in lies my big question – why do all the Japanese continue to visit shrines, and tell people they are Shinto?

During the course of the journey I was keen to find out more about Japanese Shintoism from Tomobe-san. I tried to read a bit about it before I came here but it does seem to be a very amorphous, strange religion. The 80,000 gods, the hierarchy of gods, the reverence of certain sites of nature that can also be gods (like Mt Fuji I think), how it seems to combine with aspects of Buddhism aswell. It is all very confusing.

Tomobe assured me that he prayed at his small shrine in his home (every Japanese home has one), every evening. But I just don`t believe a word of it. There is absolutely no sincerity in his voice and there never is when I talk to anyone about this subject. “What can you pray about?” I asked. “We can ask for anything, for anyone and yourself!” he said accompanied by lots of laughter (this was said before he got drunk). There was no sincerity and that`s what convinced me of the fact, he doesn`t really believe in any of these gods, that they would do anything for him. Visiting the shrine, for him, and likely most of them, was just an empty ritual, that they`ve been doing all their life.

Visiting the shrine at New Year is cultural. Having a small shrine in your home is cultural. It`s attractive. It`s not religious at all I don`t think. So, why do people say that it is, why do they say Japanese people are shinto? That is the biggest thing I can`t understand. Why don`t they just call themselves atheists and be done with it? At the shrine the people I was with were, by far and away, most keen on taking my photo in front of everything that they knew to be important in the shrine. Even posing me throwing my coin into the shrine alter and praying. That`s hardly the actions of people who believe, surely. The others who weren`t with me were also taking pictures, and many, once the prayer was done simply moved to the next stage of the conveyor belt that is a shrine visit: to watch the ceremony.

Though, we arrived a little early for the ceremony we were scheduled to be a part in. I followed the group into a room inside the shrine where we could get some green tea. It was a crowded room, full of people sitting on the floor around largish pots. These were used as ash trays. Most people were sitting and smoking as they waited.

There was no sense at all that this place was anything special or held any special meaning for these people. It`s just another task of life that is done. So why not smoke and carry-on as if everything was normal. There was certainly no deeper contemplation of the meaning of life or ANYTHING remotely like that in these people.

Tomobe thought I was confused because of the polytheistic aspect of the religion, but what confuses me is the pretend belief people have. How can there be any sincerity of belief in this place when everyone behaves like this? All I can think is that shintoism means nothing to the Japanese today. It is just something that is part of their history, and the practices you can see at New Year are empty rituals that are carried out every year; to visit your local shrine/ or nearest big shrine to the number one god (as I did). To throw your coin. To say a prayer (more like – make a wish would be a better way of describing this event, I think). To watch the ceremony, if there is one.

(Incidently, this part was the only part of the shrine visit I enjoyed – sitting in silence, and I could at last attempt to meditate and contemplate things, without being hassled for a photo as I was all before. (Though I did have to deal with Tomobe falling into me periodically because he couldn`t sit up straight because of his state of drunkenness). I had thought the whole visit to the shrine would be very conducive to meditation and contemplation – how wrong I was! It was an entirely superficial experience).

I was disgusted by his state, but evidently nobody else was (although, he did hide it well – he just looked tired and spaced out). You could say that my feelings about being drunk in a religious building result from my cultural experience of religious buildings: churches. Obviously, going to church drunk, would just never happen. But I think drinking and smoking does suggest a lack of respect, or simply a lack of meaning of this place.

I was hanging back in the shrine after the end of the ceremony (in which I was given a branch of leaves and had to stand up and do some bowing at the alter along with my group). I wanted to take in the surroundings of this shrine. Afterall, I had been posing for photos for much of the rest of the time since arriving, and hadn`t had much chance to appreciate the place as a result.

But, it was clear, that once the performance was over, there was nothing left for people there. The conveyor belt of a shrine visit moves on: time to move on to the next step on the trail: Lunch. No time for individual appreciation, or exploration of the place, of course.

Lunch; soba noodle soup, and tempura, and that Konnyaku jelly-like starch vegetable for a starter was eaten the small restaurant/ café place at the back of the souvenir shop. I`ve almost become desensitized to this now. At EVERY SINGLE place of enjoyment/ interest there is always a large souvenir shop where you can buy boxfuls of local omiyagae (usually bean cakes or mini cheese cakes are most common) you must buy for your collegues/ to prove that you have been to the place.

So after lunch, the obligatory stop at the souvenir shop for everyone to buy their omiyagae, a group photo (in front of the coach I think) and then we all tramped back on to the coach. A total of 2 hours 15 mins at the shrine, and then back on the coach for the 4 hour journey back to Ibaraki.

I was getting sad at this point. The cumulative cultural shocks of being offended, surprised and shocked by their behaviour, and being crammed on this bus where the drinking continued as if it had never been interrupted, by a supposedly “special” once-a-year visit to a “sacred” shrine.

Cans of cocktail were cracked open, and more sake glugged out into the paper cups. I was recounted the story of the third man in our back row who was so very drunk on this trip last year. They all laughed as they told me this, but I was just disgusted.

They thought I was looking upset because of my fortune paper I picked out. (This is another typical feature of shrines. You pay \100 to pick out a piece of paper from a big box of papers on which your fortune is written. Most Japanese clearly think this is rubbish because I didn`t see many people do it. But, I was encouraged to get one because they must have thought I would want to do this new cultural experience). My fortune paper was I think the worst one. I could tell that from their slightly strained reactions as they read it, as they were thinking how they could explain this in a positive light to me. Apparently, it was entitled “latest luck”. My luck will come later in life. Obviously, I don`t believe a word of that crap (like them I suppose – not that they would admit it), and I didn`t care a less about it.

But, they seemed to think it was that, that was bothering me. They kept on telling me – “you`ll be the BBC announcer!” (as I had told them, it was my ambition to work for the BBC in the future).

Those fortune papers were superstition, and as I`ve been writing this, I`ve come to think that that is all Shintoism is to the Japanese now. A superstition to go and pray at the shrine/ make a wish each New Year. That`s why they do these rituals that they do. Not because it holds any real meaning for them. Just because it is part of their culture, been done by all Japanese people for generations. That; respect and wanting do continue the tradition done by their elders, and the shallow superstitious feeling about it, is what I think motivates most Japanese people in visiting their shrines.

As it became dark and we were nearing Hitachi the three men I was sitting with were desperate for me to come to the Izakaya with them. More drinking! I was incredulous. By this time I was quite upset, and just had to escape. Luckily I could as the bus made a stop at Taga station and I got out as quickly as I could and caught the bus home.

I was shocked very much by the behavior that day. But perhaps that`s because I was viewing the day through the glasses of a British/ European/ Western culture. Where religion is taken so seriously these days. I don`t think it is very common for a (for example) Christian, and not take that as a serious part of their lives these days.
But here, religion is a completely different phenomenon from it`s counterpart in the west. Day to day it has no meaning. Once or twice a year there is a ritual (New Year and O-bon in August) to visit the shrine, where Japanese people go through the motions. But it is definitely nothing more than being an aspect of their culture. This doesn`t mean that they don`t want to do it, of course. They actively want to visit shrines, but it is for a cultural reason only (comparable to me going to a carol service at a church at Christmas, I guess).

I suppose it is surprising for me to be complaining that people aren`t serious about their religion. There are obviously serious problems, wars, human rights abuses in the world today because of religions. But, I also hate superficiality and pretence. I come across superficiality in several different aspects of Japanese society (for example, superficial holidays to places because they only spend 5 minutes there). People should be honest about why they do things and why it is important to them, I think.

Objectively, I can see that my strong negative reaction is perhaps a bit strange. Given that I am not at all religious. But, I think I am quite spiritual, in the sense I really value the inner calm I get from sitting quietly and emptying my mind (or thinking about things). I love getting that feeling knowing it comes from me only, and I love talking about religion and not-religion with my various meditation, quaker and christian friends. In fact I do miss that aspect of my life from university.

In Japan you cannot get this experience, or have this sort of discussion when you relate it to religion, because they would relate it to what they think is their religion – shintoism. And there certainly isn`t any meditative aspect to a visit to a Shinto shrine I experienced.

Parts of Buddhism is also related to Japanese shintoism but yet meditation isn`t really practiced as part of that here either. Again, the Buddhism aspect to the “religion” of the Japanese is in fact, a cultural one. From what I gathered from Tomobe-san, the Japanese follow shintoism in life but they believe aspects of Buddhism once a person has died. This practically evident in the fact people have Buddhist gravestones, (and perhaps they “believe” in a cycle of continuous reincarnation until nirvana is reached – but I haven`t asked anyone about that yet).
I asked Tomobe-san about meditation (as it seems to me an important part of Buddhism) but he said for him sleeping is like meditation. Fair enough. I often used to sleep a little in meditation at Durham I think. I knew he wouldn`t meditate. To be honest, I can`t imagine the majority of the nation have time for such a thing with all the work they do! (exaggeration).

There are obviously many extremes to Japanese society, which foreigners have an impression of. One of those impressions is that of the Buddhism and the meditative calming space of the Japanese zen gardens. I wonder where this impression comes from. I don`t often see this meditative aspect to Japan and Japanese people at all (they work too hard).

In fact the only time I do experience this calmness is during tea ceremony. I love tea ceremony. Watching the tea being made is very calming and the whole thing is very much like a meditative experience. I mentioned this too my supervisor. She said that is also why all Japanese like it so much – for that same reason as me. I love tea ceremony because it is an aspect of traditional Japanese culture that is so strongly held up today (tea ceremony clubs at all schools are very popular, and women take lessons in the art aswell – all the variants of it are very complicated). I can tell it has some genuine meaning to the Japanese. It is a part of their culture - well valued and respected and upheld by all.

What I object to is the superficiality of many aspects to Japanese culture and religion. I value and respect things and people that are genuine and honest.

When I told Tomobe-san about my incredulity at all the drinking that was going on in the back of the bus he kept saying that the Japanese religion was flexible.

It`s not a flexible religion they have – it`s a non-existent one! The shrine visit is for cultural history – surely! Why do they keep this pretence of religion? They pay a lot of money to travel on this trip to the shrine, it takes a long time, they bow and make a wish.

It obviously is important to people because everybody DOES do it, EVERY year. People obviously know what to do. They knew what the different aspects of the shrine visit meant. But, that doesn`t mean they believe it. It means they know the history – they know what people used to believe – they know how the historical beliefs of people created the cultural objects/ rituals that we can see/ participate in today – and what they value. That history and that culture that is created, and is THEIRS. That`s why they do it I think. And that by no means necessitates that they believe it. Because they don`t!

This was an annual visit, to allegedly, a shrine of real religious significance. From my cultural standing point if you had any belief of the significance of this big trip, or reverence towards this important shrine, you would NEVER behave like this, never show such a lack of respect to a supposedly religious place, by becoming so drunk.
Now that the trip is over I am left with the feeling, that perhaps it was the travelling as a group that was the most highly valued part of the trip. I certainly didn`t feel that the Shrine, the Shinto religion has any real significance, importance of deep meaning to this group of people (and therefore most Japanese). My supervisor did say to me that she thought that if you pray when drunk the gods would not grant(?) your prayer. But, the manner in which she said that sentence it was like it was a superstition rather than a proper religion. I think that is the best way to describe it - Shintoism is a superstition that is held by all Japanese and they visit the shrine for this, and cultural reasons.