Do you see the resemblance?
Elaborate decoration of the main gate to the Ueno Toshogu shrine in Tokyo; 1627 c.e.
photo by author, 17 Jan 2009
Varied turrets of the Mediterranean Harbor Fortress of Exploration at Tokyo Disney Sea; 2000 c.e.
photo by author, 12 Jan 2009
How about now?
Houzoumon gate, people, and incense at Sensouji Buddhist temple at Asakusa in Tokyo; 645 c.e.
photo by author, 13 Jan 2009
The Tower of Terror viewed over the shops and houses of the Mediterranean Harbor in Tokyo Disney Sea; 2000 c.e.
photo by author, 12 Jan 2009
What it's all about...
I came to Japan during the busy and difficult travel season of late December in part because I wanted to experience what my Japanese friends told me was an important and memorable celebration: oshougatsu (New Years). Most of the celebration consisted of great food and drinking, but the centerpiece was a visit to an enormous shinto shrine. Although in my experience Japanese people seem on the whole to be rather secular, it seemed like all of Tokyo showed up at midnight to ask the kami (local shrine god) for luck in the coming year.
Religion in Japan is an interesting thing. It is often pointed out that Japanese people seem to adhere to religious strictures as is convenient: They are born into Shinto, have Christian weddings, and perform Buddhist rights surrounding death. This is certainly not universally true of Japanese people, but the very idea of mixing religions tends to mystify those unfamiliar with Japan and is a reality worth exploring.
I think the mysterious place of religion in Japanese culture can more easily be understood in light of another more recent phenomenon. It's called "Dreamland" by Japan's young people, and it opened in 1983 with a second park being added in 2001. It's Tokyo Disney Land/Sea.
Sure it's fun to go to Disneyland, but it's just as important to be able to say, "We went to Disneyland for our 1 year anniversary" or "My friends and I celebrated our college acceptances with a day at Dreamland." The role it plays in the lives of young people is to mark important occasions in life. Religion here performs a similar task, and it is not uncommon to hear things like, "Were having a Shinto priest bless the new branch office when it opens," or, "Our wedding was in the Christian style."
The structures and practices found at both Tokyo Disney and Japan's shrines and temples serve to make the mere act of visiting an important one. Most of the young women and many of the young men you see at Tokyo Disney wear a character's "ears" on a hat or hairband while they are at the park. However as soon as the park is behind them and their train is headed toward Tokyo, the ears come off. It's a tradition which lends significance to the event, and it is not unlike the practice of visiting a shinto shrine to toss 5 yen, bow twice, clap twice, pray briefly, bow once more, and leave.
This is what I've gathered.
For the curious, here is a picture from when I celebrated New Years at a shrine in Tokyo. There is an enormous torii (god arch) standing over a noisy crowd just minutes before the new year.
photo by author, 31 Dec 2008
Mata ne! (Later!)
