Christianity in Japan
Less than 1% of Japan's population adheres to the Christian worldview. Of those estimated 2 million Christians, the majority live on the west coast of the main island, Honshu. This is credited to the 16th century European missionaries from Portugal. However, before it could really gain a foothold in the area, Christians started being persecuted in the late 16th century.
The most notable event was the execution of 26 Franciscans by crucifixion on crosses outside Nagasaki. Then in 1638, the Japanese government became strictly intolerant of Christian teaching which all but eliminated it. This was an effort to further control the Japanese people as the emperor became their one and only god. The silver lining came in 1853 when Japan became more open to Christianity. One may argue, though, that true acceptance and growth began after WWII. You can learn more here and here.
Katie and I had made several half-hearted attempts to find an English speaking church in Tsukuba. After 5 months of Sunday day trips, listening to sermons via the internet, and lame excuses, we finally committed to attending the 10:30 church service at Agape International Chapel. As with most of our Japanese 'firsts' this proved to be memorable in its own special way.
Another chapter in the 'Captain Heat Chronicles'
"Its our first Sunday and we're already running late!?" I said to myself as I rushed around the apartment and caught the time out of the corner of my eye. The bike ride would take about 30 minutes and it was a viciously hot day in the middle of Japan's 'hottest summer in 100 years.' No. Joke. This fact necessitated packing sweat towels and hand fans with our bibles. We would later find out this was not nearly enough ammunition to battle the overwhelming heat.
The ride to church was hot. I'm pretty sure Satan cranked up the heat and said "If you really want to get to church, you gotta ride through hell first! Wha hahahahaha!!!" ...or something like that. What made matters worse was that we were trying to make up for lost time, which lead to riding faster. Riding faster lead to riding harder. Riding harder lead to becoming even hotter. By the time we got to church we were pieces of sweaty, heat-radiating, flustered flesh. Needless to say, my little dinky sweat rag got saturated before we even stepped in the door.
As soon as we walked in, worship music filled our ears and we were inundated with people handing us programs, visitor forms, and radios for the real time Japanese --> English translation. All the while our sweat dripped on everyone and everything we came into contact with.
Just as we sat down and tried to get our perspiration under control, it was time to stand up and say good morning to everyone. Seriously!? I strived to maintain my composure as I perpetually gave out sweaty handshakes and hugs. Of course, everyone was very kind and acted like they were talking to a normal looking couple. This is despite the fact we looked like we took a quick dip in the river on the way to church. However, every once in a while I could detect a slight hesitation when someone would place their hand on my damp shoulder...sorry man.
More worship music followed the morning greeting. Their music is quite similar to the modern Presbyterian music style I'm familiar with. They have two projectors displaying the lyrics in Japanese characters, Romaji (alphabet letters so you can sing along), and an English translation of what the song is about. You can view a video of them singing a song below.
A message followed the worship, which is where the real time translation comes into play. We were given small radios with ear plugs. A man sits in a 2nd floor booth and translates the sermons into English for the non-Japanese speaking members. In fact, I would say that almost half of the church body consists of foreigners. Most of these people are from places like Africa and Papua New Guinea. The translation itself is an invaluable tool for us, since we obviously would have no idea what was being said otherwise.
During the announcements at the end of the service, we were introduced to the whole church. Katie and I were finally sweat free so we welcomed this opportunity to stand up and show the drier side of ourselves. Speaking of dry, we wanted to stay that way a little while longer so we opted to stay and eat lunch with everyone at the church.
The calm after the storm
Lunch was amazing. Not only was the food delicious, but we were able to truly meet people. We talked with both the translator and his wife, Junichi and Kaolu. We found out that Junichi got his MS from Columbia University and Kaoru might be the nicest person I've ever met. We also met our good friend, Akira. He and I connected instantaneously. So much so that he invited Katie and I over to his house that night to have dinner and meet his wife.
After lunch we rode through Satan's inferno once more to get back to the Ninomiya House. At least this time we were able to go slower and cool off when we got home.
Less than 1% of Japan's population adheres to the Christian worldview. Of those estimated 2 million Christians, the majority live on the west coast of the main island, Honshu. This is credited to the 16th century European missionaries from Portugal. However, before it could really gain a foothold in the area, Christians started being persecuted in the late 16th century.
The most notable event was the execution of 26 Franciscans by crucifixion on crosses outside Nagasaki. Then in 1638, the Japanese government became strictly intolerant of Christian teaching which all but eliminated it. This was an effort to further control the Japanese people as the emperor became their one and only god. The silver lining came in 1853 when Japan became more open to Christianity. One may argue, though, that true acceptance and growth began after WWII. You can learn more here and here.
Monument to the 26 Martyrs in Nagasaki
Katie and I had made several half-hearted attempts to find an English speaking church in Tsukuba. After 5 months of Sunday day trips, listening to sermons via the internet, and lame excuses, we finally committed to attending the 10:30 church service at Agape International Chapel. As with most of our Japanese 'firsts' this proved to be memorable in its own special way.
Another chapter in the 'Captain Heat Chronicles'
"Its our first Sunday and we're already running late!?" I said to myself as I rushed around the apartment and caught the time out of the corner of my eye. The bike ride would take about 30 minutes and it was a viciously hot day in the middle of Japan's 'hottest summer in 100 years.' No. Joke. This fact necessitated packing sweat towels and hand fans with our bibles. We would later find out this was not nearly enough ammunition to battle the overwhelming heat.
The ride to church was hot. I'm pretty sure Satan cranked up the heat and said "If you really want to get to church, you gotta ride through hell first! Wha hahahahaha!!!" ...or something like that. What made matters worse was that we were trying to make up for lost time, which lead to riding faster. Riding faster lead to riding harder. Riding harder lead to becoming even hotter. By the time we got to church we were pieces of sweaty, heat-radiating, flustered flesh. Needless to say, my little dinky sweat rag got saturated before we even stepped in the door.
Emphasis on Sweat Gland
As soon as we walked in, worship music filled our ears and we were inundated with people handing us programs, visitor forms, and radios for the real time Japanese --> English translation. All the while our sweat dripped on everyone and everything we came into contact with.
Just as we sat down and tried to get our perspiration under control, it was time to stand up and say good morning to everyone. Seriously!? I strived to maintain my composure as I perpetually gave out sweaty handshakes and hugs. Of course, everyone was very kind and acted like they were talking to a normal looking couple. This is despite the fact we looked like we took a quick dip in the river on the way to church. However, every once in a while I could detect a slight hesitation when someone would place their hand on my damp shoulder...sorry man.
More worship music followed the morning greeting. Their music is quite similar to the modern Presbyterian music style I'm familiar with. They have two projectors displaying the lyrics in Japanese characters, Romaji (alphabet letters so you can sing along), and an English translation of what the song is about. You can view a video of them singing a song below.
A message followed the worship, which is where the real time translation comes into play. We were given small radios with ear plugs. A man sits in a 2nd floor booth and translates the sermons into English for the non-Japanese speaking members. In fact, I would say that almost half of the church body consists of foreigners. Most of these people are from places like Africa and Papua New Guinea. The translation itself is an invaluable tool for us, since we obviously would have no idea what was being said otherwise.
During the announcements at the end of the service, we were introduced to the whole church. Katie and I were finally sweat free so we welcomed this opportunity to stand up and show the drier side of ourselves. Speaking of dry, we wanted to stay that way a little while longer so we opted to stay and eat lunch with everyone at the church.
The calm after the storm
Lunch was amazing. Not only was the food delicious, but we were able to truly meet people. We talked with both the translator and his wife, Junichi and Kaolu. We found out that Junichi got his MS from Columbia University and Kaoru might be the nicest person I've ever met. We also met our good friend, Akira. He and I connected instantaneously. So much so that he invited Katie and I over to his house that night to have dinner and meet his wife.
After lunch we rode through Satan's inferno once more to get back to the Ninomiya House. At least this time we were able to go slower and cool off when we got home.
From left to right: Akira, Kaoru, Chelsae, and Junichi. This was taken during a fireworks festival about a month after we started going to Agape. They are teaching Chelsae how to make takoyaki. That's a whole other post on its own (coming soon).
Becoming involved with the church has helped us refocus our lives and meet amazing people. Braving the heat that day has lead to nothing but positive changes for us. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.
-Seth
October 14, 2010 at 8:16 PM
Kaoru nicer than Justin Nail? Can't be true.
Way to battle the heat!
October 15, 2010 at 8:10 AM
So funny!