Holy Places

I saw these two women on the train today coming back from a religious shrine I visited in Chiba. People in white uniforms bowed all along the way to the temple. They repeated over and over the phrase,"Congratulations on the New Year."

The faithful in this particular religion, which is related to both Shintoism and Buddhism, number nearly 900,000 in Japan. Today, people came both from Tokyo and from the countryside. The former wore the short skirts and boots and fancy hairdos of the fashionable; the latter wore simple clothes and often had rugged faces from working in the sun. Some of the country people actually stared at me, the only obvious gainjin who was present this afternoon, among thousands of Japanese pilgrims.

For the first time during this visit, I felt conspicuous. Since I do not share any religious belief, the best I could do was to bow politely to the faithful, but I could hardly pray, though I tried to a little bit. Many of the displays in the buildings I toured told the story of founder of this church, who passed away in the 1980s. There were the early implements he used as he carved his beliefs out of the earth. There was the simple, elegant rooms where he prayed and studied.

Inspired by his quest to find meaning in life, people gradually joined him, and together they built a magnificent garden, with waterfalls and blossuming trees, rock sculptures, and beautiful temples.

So this place I visited today, 1.5 hours from Koenji, truly felt like a spiritual place. It was so nice to see all of the people who were visiting the shrine, and how happy it made them to be there. This clearly is a compassionate religion, where the faithful devote themselves to try and be better people, kinder, and more forgiving of others.

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Afterwards, I visited a place that is the polar opposite of the temple -- the largest store in Tokyo, filled with every consumer item imaginable.



It was WalMart on steroids, nine vast floors of consumer goods sold at discount prices. There were too many choices: I felt over-stimulated, and had to leave. I like the small shops with the mechanical cats in the window.



So, my journey took me from the Holiest to the Unholiest of places in one afternoon! Along the way I noticed an advertisement for the Happiest Place on Earth, which is a precise replica of the original in Anaheim. This New Year, 2007, is well underway in Japan, while back in my country, my alma mater is preparing for the second half of play in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Go Blue!

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