Why has Catholicism not been accepted and grown in Japan?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Krisdun
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Krisdun said:
perhaps if Japanese priests introduced the faith to their own people rather than ‘forceful’ or ‘intimidating’ foreigners it may have developed differently.
Click to expand...
Maybe so. But it might be more subtle than that. The developing importance of the Emperor, which one could say reached its high point with Meiji or even perhaps Hirohito represented a philosophical/religious change, or so some claim. From being a revered but powerless and frequently penurious nonentity, the Emperor became the pinnacle of Japanese society both in this life and in the next (to the extent Shinto really allowed for a “next”). When Japanese soldiers in WWII charged into American machine guns or flame throwers and sure death, they did it to enhance their position in the afterlife under the spirit of the emperor and others of importance in this life.

That is extremely non-Christian, but it was encouraged and emphasized under leaders beginning with Hideoshi. A child brought up under that when it pervaded the family and all of society, might not readily take to Christianity. Also of some note is the fact that there are “below caste” people in Japan, and have been for a long time. Christian virtues were the kind of thing Japanese culture associated with the “Eta” or bottom of the social ladder.

Caste can matter in any society.
 
Yes the Emperor probably did see Christianity as a threat to his power. Although we should also consider that the Roman Emperors also had a similar issue with early Christians but thankfully accepted the faith eventually.
 
anecdotal alert

There was a thriving Catholic community in Misawa (Aomori Prefecture), outside the air base where I was stationed a total of six years. The parish priest was a Quebecois, Father Andre. They had a three-year kindergarten, considered by many parents in town to be the premier kindergarten in town, and we sent our older son there for two years.

/anecdotal alert

D
 
Krisdun said:
Another thing to consider would be whether the mass or certain feasts could be adapted slightly to incorporate more of their culture but I suppose you can only go so far with this…

E.g. make use of cherry blossom trees in spring blossom instead of palms for use on Palm Sunday? Or perhaps design their churches so they are similar in style to their ancient castles/temples? Perhaps use Japanese instruments for music? Use Japanese rice wine (Sake) for Communion?
Click to expand...
Whoooooa, Nellie! You’re getting into REALLY non-Catholic territory. Almost EVERYthing about the Mass, altar accoutrements, and even the priest’s vestments—right down to the number of buttons—have a reason.

Go back to the story about the palms and how palms played into the lives of even those living before the birth of Christ. Find out why a particular wine, and only that wine, must be confected. In this decade now, so long after Christ lived, though, I can see a provision for Japanese musical instruments being conceivable, especially if the music created is beautiful and turns one’s thoughts to higher realms.
 
I think in Japan, the Catholic Church has established many universities, schools and other welfare facilities. So even if there are few converts, seems to me there is wide acceptance of Catholic values.
 
Good point do they have Catholic schools in Japan incorporating religious education as part of the curriculum?
 
I think India is a much more perplexing case; the faith was brought there by an Apostle and still has hardly made a dent in the subcontinent.

Probably all of the factors @Katsuobushi mentioned worked together, but none of them alone can explain why Japan is not a majority Catholic country today. Christianity was brought very late to the Americas, by an arrogant Western colonial power; it was harshly oppressed under the Roman Empire, which saw the belief in Jesus as Lord as a political threat; Christianity was always intolerant of other religions and wiped out European paganism; and it was brought to the island nations of Britain, Ireland, Iceland and the Philippines.

I watched a documentary about the Jesuit missions in Japan, and one of the Daimyo, Oda Nabunaga, was interested and tolerant of Christianity; but he was betrayed and lost his power, and committed seppuku. Perhaps it would have been different if rulers like him had lived and gained influence. Japan unfortunately never had a Constantine. [Although Constantine wasn’t even Catholic.]
 
Last edited:
In the case of India the British Empire may also have played a part in suppressing Catholicism?
 
And yet Servant of God Dr. Takashi Nagai attributed the bomb’d direct hit on the Catholic neighborhood to divine Providence. He likened the Catholics killed (including his wife) to an unblemished lamb sacrificed as a burnt offering. St. Maximilian Kolbe was vindicated by the atomic bomb, as he deliberately built his mission on the opposite side of the mountain from where feng shue recommended, and it survived the bomb unscathed. At Hiroshima, a Catholic church miraculously survived very close to the hypocenter, and not only that, but those inside were not only uninjured but unharmed by the radiation. At that range, one would expect the church to have been completely destroyed and the occupants killed instantly by the blast and heat, besides which the radiation dose at that range should have been fatal. Even so, these signs had little effect on evangelizing Japan.
 
It is not possible to consecrate anything but unadulterated wheat bread and grape wine. While it is lawful to use low-gluten bread and low-alcohol wine, they must still retain the properties of wheat bread and grape wine without adulterants. For this reason, it is impossible to consecrate gluten-free bread (pure wheat flour won’t bind together without some gluten) or pasteurized grape juice (boiling destroys the life within the juice so that it can’t ferment).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top