The Christian Heritage of Japan

[Exiled_Child]

japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2014/08/04/commentary/world-commentary/christian-heritage-japan/#.U-HFu1bIoy5

"NAGASAKI – Last month, the Japanese government formally announced its intention to make Churches and Christian Sites in Nagasaki its official candidate for UNESCO World Heritage status in 2016. This decision has shone a spotlight on a side of Japanese history that many around the world have little awareness of.

The story of the Catholic Church in Japan is a human story unlike any other. It begins with the arrival of the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier in Kagoshima in 1549, and unfolds much like one of Shakespeare’s great tragi-comedies. It is complex and compelling, and certainly has the potential to be of interest to a wide range of people across the world…."

This is an interesting column that talks a little bit about the history of Catholicism in Japan. When I was growing up I spent some time with people in Nagasaki’s Catholic community, and I can attest that it is vibrant. Also, Nagasaki is a very beautiful city, reminiscent of San Francisco in a lot of ways. The city is built on hills looking over a bay, and everywhere you go there are these great vistas of the waterfront and the ocean. It would make a spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the fact that it’s also Roman Catholic makes it interesting, among many other reasons.

christian-nagasaki.jp/en/
osservatoreromano.va/en/news/japanese-catacombs#.U-HO31bIoy4
pref.nagasaki.jp/s_isan/en/
ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201404250075
tokyoweekender.com/2013/02/japans-hidden-christians-goto-islands-nagasaki/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churches_and_Christian_Sites_in_Nagasaki

 

[CatholicWhovian]

Good to see awareness of the history of Christianity in Japan. No surprise that most of the sites are in Nagasaki, since it was the only place where foreign traders were able to do their business in the country.

In contemporary times the Japanese have a somewhat strange relation with Christianity. About 1% of Japanese are Christians yet they have made an impact on modern Japan during the Meiji Restoration and beyond. In fact Japan has had eight Christian prime ministers in its history - three of the are Catholic.

In Japan the attitude towards Jesus is that of a popular culture figure, somewhat like how the West treats the Buddha. There’s even a “Jesus-themed” restaurant in the country (I don’t know which city), which I find rather blasphemous.

 

[KathleenGee]

EWTN has a beautiful and deeply spiritual documentary on the history of Japanese Catholics.

I read about those in power who decided to drop the A Bomb on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Only the president, a scientist, and military officer were behind it, but Gen. Eisenhower and a great number of military opposed dropping the bomb, the Japanese were already preparing concessions, and then even suggested the bomb be dropped on a nearby forest instead.

The only reason the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki that day, a cloudy one, was that there was a sudden opening for the sun, so the bomb was decimated and it dropped on St. Mary’s Church while the parishioners were standing in line for confession.

The military did not have guilt about Hiroshima, but they felt alot of guilt for weeks after dropping it on Nagasaki. Why Hiroshima OK, I must have missed that. (The people there wondered why nothing happened for some time, seeing American bombers flying, then realized they were targeted for the bomb.)

A Japanese Catholic said he believes the Catholics of Nagasaki were used as sacrifical lambs to bring an end to the war…and may be…that no nukes will ever be used again…we should ask their intercession for this intention…they who were as if glorified into heaven.

As we know, the war ended August 15, Mary’s assumption into heaven feast day.

 

[Exiled_Child]

Good to see awareness of the history of Christianity in Japan. No surprise that most of the sites are in Nagasaki, since it was the only place where foreign traders were able to do their business in the country.

In contemporary times the Japanese have a somewhat strange relation with Christianity. About 1% of Japanese are Christians yet they have made an impact on modern Japan during the Meiji Restoration and beyond. In fact Japan has had eight Christian prime ministers in its history - three of the are Catholic.

In Japan the attitude towards Jesus is that of a popular culture figure, somewhat like how the West treats the Buddha. There’s even a “Jesus-themed” restaurant in the country (I don’t know which city), which I find rather blasphemous.

Hi CatholicWhovian,

I had no idea there’ve been so many Christian Prime Ministers in Japan. I also didn’t realize that it’s 1% of the Japanese populace that’s Christian. That seems weird to me, because I’ve met Christians in every part of Japan, not just Nagasaki. I met Christians in more than a dozen cities, and these were people who didn’t know each other or have any other connection to on another aside from knowing me. I also know plenty of Buddhist families there, but it seems strange that I would have encountered so many Christians if they’re only 1% of the population. Anyway, I feel very fortunate for knowing so many wonderful, devout people over there!

The photo below is from that fantastic web magazine article I linked to above at christian-nagasaki.jp.

 

[Exiled_Child]

EWTN has a beautiful and deeply spiritual documentary on the history of Japanese Catholics.

I read about those in power who decided to drop the A Bomb on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Only the president, a scientist, and military officer were behind it, but Gen. Eisenhower and a great number of military opposed dropping the bomb, the Japanese were already preparing concessions, and then even suggested the bomb be dropped on a nearby forest instead.

The only reason the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki that day, a cloudy one, was that there was a sudden opening for the sun, so the bomb was decimated and it dropped on St. Mary’s Church while the parishioners were standing in line for confession.

The military did not have guilt about Hiroshima, but they felt alot of guilt for weeks after dropping it on Nagasaki. Why Hiroshima OK, I must have missed that. (The people there wondered why nothing happened for some time, seeing American bombers flying, then realized they were targeted for the bomb.)

A Japanese Catholic said he believes the Catholics of Nagasaki were used as sacrifical lambs to bring an end to the war…and may be…that no nukes will ever be used again…we should ask their intercession for this intention…they who were as if glorified into heaven.

As we know, the war ended August 15, Mary’s assumption into heaven feast day.

Hi Kathleen,

I looked for that documentary on the EWTN website; is it the one called Let Me Walk This Path? I’m thinking about purchasing that one, because it sounds really promising, and also because it’s four hours long! I’m totally interested in the subject and I’m guessing that doc must be pretty in-depth if it’s that’s long.

I had never heard that before about parishioners standing in line for communion when the bomb fell. It’s a poetic image, to be sure. When I was in Japan I was just a kid. I spent most of my eleventh year and part of my twelfth there. I was just totally devastated and traumatized after I visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial because it’s intensely graphic and real, and so the times I was in Nagasaki I never even went to the peace park there. I was seriously emotionally mutilated after the Hiroshima museum, with recurring nightmares and the whole nine yards, so my parents didn’t take me to the other one. And yeah, I think you’re right, “sacrificial lambs” sounds absolutely accurate. The US must have known all along, too, because, as you mentioned, during the entire course of the war there was a “hands off, don’t touch” policy for the US Air Force to not mess with Nagasaki at all. They wanted a pristine product testing ground for their new toy.

Below is a photo of a memorial mass for the victims of the Nagasaki atomic bombing.

 

[Exiled_Child]

Hi Kathleen,

I looked for that documentary on the EWTN website; is it the one called Let Me Walk This Path? I’m thinking about purchasing that one, because it sounds really promising, and also because it’s four hours long! I’m totally interested in the subject and I’m guessing that doc must be pretty in-depth if it’s that’s long.

I had never heard that before about parishioners standing in line for communion when the bomb fell. It’s a poetic image, to be sure. When I was in Japan I was just a kid. I spent most of my eleventh year and part of my twelfth there. I was just totally devastated and traumatized after I visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial because it’s intensely graphic and real, and so the times I was in Nagasaki I never even went to the peace park there. I was seriously emotionally mutilated after the Hiroshima museum, with recurring nightmares and the whole nine yards, so my parents didn’t take me to the other one. And yeah, I think you’re right, “sacrificial lambs” sounds absolutely accurate. The US must have known all along, too, because, as you mentioned, during the entire course of the war there was a “hands off, don’t touch” policy for the US Air Force to not mess with Nagasaki at all. They wanted a pristine product testing ground for their new toy.

Below is a photo of a memorial mass for the victims of the Nagasaki atomic bombing.

I need to correct something I said above. It was actually Hiroshima that was officially off limits to the Air Force; Nagasaki was simply inconvenient to bomb. Sorry for the mistake.

 

[KathleenGee]

Yes, they had no interest in Nagasaki. It only got the bomb because a ray of sunlight broke through the clouds.

If the clouds had remained over Japan those days in August there would have been a longer delay in dropping them.

Oppenheimer was most enthusiastic as he wanted to see the effects of both bombs, meaning how many people could one bomb kill and how they died. That is why he was called Dr Death. I believe the one dropped on Nagasaki was plutonium.

 

[KathleenGee]

Hi Exiled,

Yes, I am thinking that is the documentary. The faith of the Japanese deeply moved me, and I learned some things from them in being a better Christian.

My point about the politics, was that it was really a handful of men behind the bombing, with the rest of the military against it. I consider those men war criminals. The Bomb was truly a crime against humanity.

And being a Washington state native, I am well aware of Hanford and downriver issues. Hanford was where the bombs were manufactured and some say it is the most dangerous nuclear spot in the country. My husband wanted to move to Richland and told him he would be coming home at night all lit up. It is a beautiful, beautiful small city, and they are very safe, but you never know about up river.

 

[weller2]

As a Catholic chaplain I watched as the Boxcar, piloted by a good Irish Catholic pilot, dropped the bomb on Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki, the center of Catholicism in Japan.

 

[KathleenGee]

So profound…some how I came across the piece…that it was a tiny minority in government that called for the dropping of the Bomb…

This piece is very deeply provoking…it causes one to think we carry the sins of our country on our shoulders…

So much need for penance…so much need…

Thank you so much, Weller, it has to be one of the most modern prophetic reflections I have read. Sincerely mean that.

kathleen

 

[Exiled_Child]

As a Catholic chaplain I watched as the Boxcar, piloted by a good Irish Catholic pilot, dropped the bomb on Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki, the center of Catholicism in Japan.

Hi Weller,

Oh, that article is just fantastic. I just now read it straight through three times in a row! Every word of it rings true, as far as I’m concerned. Thanks a million for making me aware of Father Zakelba. I’ve bookmarked that page. When I was looking around the web to try to find out more about him, I came across this quote:

“God, Christ, lives in every human being. Our Lord tells us that what is done to the “least” is in fact now done to Him (Mt 25). I believe that! That is the only kind of God that I could adore and love, a God who lives in human history and suffers with people. I could only fear a god that sat as a depersonalized king above the anguish of humanity. This is part of what the Incarnation is all about. Christ suffers and dies at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Therefore to condone or support war is to condone or support the call to “Crucify Him.” To kill in war is, in fact, to be a “Christ-killer.” I’m sorry I can say nothing else – if Calvary is a holy place, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are holy places. -Fr George Zabelka”

There’s been a film made about him as well:

imdb.com/title/tt2014408/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl

So far I haven’t been able to find a DVD of it, though. Maybe it was just on TV or something.

This is a photo of Oura Cathedral in Nagasaki. It’s from that christian-nagasaki.jp article I linked to above.

 

[Exiled_Child]

That’s just how Americans talk - even if your family’s been living in the states for 350 years you still call yourself “Irish” or “German” or whatever. I’ve heard lots of actual Europeans start laughing after hearing an American do this, but somehow it feels natural to us. Actually, it’s far more common to hear “African American,” “Italian American,” “Greek American” and on and on, but it’s just “Irish” with most Irish Americans. They seem to have a tremendous fondness for their heritage, even if they’ve never set foot in Ireland itself. They just really love their heritage and history. My Grandfather, Jack, came from Ireland, but my other ancestors all came from England centuries ago, so my heritage is mostly English. I’ve certainly never referred to myself as “English” or “English American,” although my surname kind of makes it obvious I guess. My best friend, John, is Native American, and I find his approach the funniest. He says, “I’m not American, I just live here.”

Anyway, that link Weller2 posted is out of this world great! Father Zabelka comes across as a really clear-eyed, honest and decent person, and his way of speaking is particularly lucid and to the point. It’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever read, actually.

 

[GKC]

So profound…some how I came across the piece…that it was a tiny minority in government that called for the dropping of the Bomb…

This piece is very deeply provoking…it causes one to think we carry the sins of our country on our shoulders…

So much need for penance…so much need…

Thank you so much, Weller, it has to be one of the most modern prophetic reflections I have read. Sincerely mean that.

kathleen

I’m so glad I missed this thread, though I suspected some such was going to appear around this time of year. It usually does.

The history of the use of the bombs in Japan has been a major hobby of mine for over 20 years. Not much of what you have posted on it is accurate. And it is the history that I post on, not the RCC judgement on the morality of the bombs.

I suspect that there are somewhere around 500 posts on the boards, over my name, discussing the relevant history of this topic. I don’t plan to do it all again, but they are there for the searching.

 

[GKC]

The good Father’s memory is slightly faulty. The plane was the Bock’s Car (or in some account’s Bocks Car), as related in the pilot’s (then Major Charles Sweeney) account of his experiences, WAR’S END.

And here I am again, where I said I wouldn’t be.

GKC

 

[Tenofovir]

I’m so glad I missed this thread, though I suspected some such was going to appear around this time of year. It usually does.

The history of the use of the bombs in Japan has been a major hobby of mine for over 20 years. Not much of what you have posted on it is accurate. And it is the history that I post on, not the RCC judgement on the morality of the bombs.

I suspect that there are somewhere around 500 posts on the boards, over my name, discussing the relevant history of this topic. I don’t plan to do it all again, but they are there for the searching.

Having a hobby of 20 years will not make an evil act morally correct.

IMO Catholic and Christian Americans should realise that Japan would be a more Christian place was it not for their government’s decision to drop that bomb on those Christian civilians. BTW dropping the bomb on Buddhist or Shinto civilians would have been just as evil and regretful. So much lost evangelisation. Such a pity.

 

[Dave_Noonan]

Having a hobby of 20 years will not make an evil act morally correct.

IMO Catholic and Christian Americans should realise that Japan would be a more Christian place was it not for their government’s decision to drop that bomb on those Christian civilians. BTW dropping the bomb on Buddhist or Shinto civilians would have been just as evil and regretful. So much lost evangelisation. Such a pity.

I have a friend who is Japanese and Catholic. While he says he’s not discriminated against per se, he also says the Japanese people do continue to associate the dropping of atomic bombs with “official” Christianity and wonder why anyone would want to follow such a religion. The number of Christians in Japan is quite small as has already been noted.

 

[Exiled_Child]

I have a friend who is Japanese and Catholic. While he says he’s not discriminated against per se, he also says the Japanese people do continue to associate the dropping of atomic bombs with “official” Christianity and wonder why anyone would want to follow such a religion. The number of Christians in Japan is quite small as has already been noted.

Well, some poor devils just cannot grasp the simple concept of nuking cities for world peace. May God have pity on their ignorant, uneducated, unenlightened souls….

 

[Eldee]

The Japanese people are “poor devils” who are “ignorant, uneducated, unenlightened souls”, according to Exiled Child. It’s this Euro-centric supremacist mentality that is at the heart of the reason why Catholic Christians make up only 3% of Asia’s population. Thank the Lord we finally have a Pope who recognizes that for too long “Catholic”, has been a misnomer. Let’s hope that God will grant him the long life denied St. Francis, who fell ill and died, just one step away from entering China in the 16th century.

 

[GKC]

Having a hobby of 20 years will not make an evil act morally correct.

IMO Catholic and Christian Americans should realise that Japan would be a more Christian place was it not for their government’s decision to drop that bomb on those Christian civilians. BTW dropping the bomb on Buddhist or Shinto civilians would have been just as evil and regretful. So much lost evangelisation. Such a pity.

I don’t deal with the morality of the use of the bombs, as taught by the RCC. What the RCC teaches, all RCs should affirm, at the appropriate level of theological certainty. I consider that position, as applied to the two bombs in Japan, to be grossly immoral, but I don’t participate in discussions on it. What I deal with is history. And having a major hobby on an historical point, for 20 years, can make one reasonably informed, as to that history.

There was no intent to drop the bomb at Nagasaki on any particular religious group (I assume the reference you made is to the second bomb). There was no original intent to drop the bomb on Nagasaki, period. The original mission was to bomb Kokura, which, for visibility reasons, proved impossible, though Sweeney made three attempts. The alternate target was Nagasaki. Which also was overcast. The rules of engagement, laid down by Tibbbets, was to bomb visually. And certainly the official history says that that was done, while admitting that Sweeney and Ashworth, the bomb control officer on board were, in fact, preparing to bomb by radar. The official history says that there was a brief opening in the cloud cover, at the last moment, which permitted a visual fix on an alternate aim point: the two major complexes of the Mitsubishi plants, about two miles north of the original aim point. This changed aiming point saved a considerable number of lives on the ground; the original point would have covered more populous areas. But it brought the hypocenter of the explosion close to the Urakami Cathedral (OL of the Immaculate Conception). Which was full of worshipers and the death toll there was heavy.

And the death toll for the whole Pacific theater was closed, shortly there after.

GKC