Fr. Andrew’s Tokyo Blog
July 7th - Tanabata - Star Festival
I open my Tokyo blog on a special festival day here in Japan called Tanabata or Star Festival. According to an old Chinese folk legend, Vega (the Weaver Star) and Altair (the Cowherd Star) were lovers. Because of an angry god, however, they could see each other just once a year after crossing the Milky Way on the 7th day of the 7th month. This legend was introduced to Japan in the 8th century and has since taken on its own meaning here.
Among the traditions of this day is the hanging of prayers or wishes on bamboo branches. On every street in Tokyo today you’ll see bamboo branches fixed to doors or fences and hanging from these branches are countless strips of paper waving gently in the breeze. On these bits of paper you’ll find written the prayers or wishes of the ordinary people of Tokyo for the coming year. Needless to say, it’s a popular custom for children, but we all got the chance to take part at the language school where I am learning Japanese everyday.
On July 8, the day after the festival, it has been the custom to float the decorations down the rivers or out to sea and say prayers for all evil spirits to be carried away at the same time.
July 18th - Church going - Tokyo style.
I have now been in Tokyo for almost three weeks and have had several opportunities to attend Church services in various places. Unsurprisingly, going to Mass in Japan is almost identical to going to Mass at home. One of the characteristics of being part of a Church that declares itself to be ‘catholic and apostolic’ means that wherever you are in the world and in whatever language you find yourself speaking the worship of the Church is similar. Even when you understand barely a word of what is being sung or said the shape of the Mass remains familiar and you know where you are most of the time.
On my first Sunday I took a
train journey out of Tokyo to the neighbouring port city of Yokohama. Yokohama is the central hub for all of Japan’s exports and imports. It is Japan’s second largest city and over the last two hundred years has been responsible for much of the trade that has made Japan such a prosperous economy. The picture (shown right) from 1861 shows the many foreign traders bringing their wares into the country and the opportunities for trade both to and from Japan.
For many years the Church has helped provide an important ministry to the port of Yokohama through the work of Missions to Seaman chaplains. The current chaplain is from England and works in the port as well as serving a small expat congregation at Christchurch, Yokohama. The Church was originally an exclusively english speaking church in the predominately expat area of the city. But today, Christchurch has many more Japanese people attending services with their own Japanese priest. The Mass I attended on my first Sunday was billed as a ‘bilingual service’ although it turned out to be a predominately Japanese Mass with the scripture readings being read in both languages and the sermon preached by the port chaplain in English with a Japanese translation for the locals. The hymns were all straight from Hymns Ancient and Modern with familiar tunes but the words were all Japanese. The Japanese priest who celebrated the Mass would be quite at home at St. John’s. There was incense used and vestments worn and the Angelus was rung before Mass began. I felt quite at home.
The last two Sundays I have been a little lazy attending Masses at St. Alban’s Church here in Tokyo. I say lazy because the Masses were all in english and the people attending the Church are almost entirely non-Japanese. Americans, Australians, Africans as well as English families make up the Church family here and they are ministered to by a charming American priest, Father Scott who has lived in Japan for some time and has a Japanese wife. St. Alban’s is a beautiful little wooden Church and the warmth and strength of fellowship here is immediately self-evident. There’s coffee after Mass at both services, even the early Mass, and last Sunday when I went to the 8 o’clock Fr. Scott even produced muffins for the faithful dozen or so people who came. The Japanese liturgy, whether used in English of Japanese, is not quite the same as the Mass at St. John’s. The hymns sung come from the American hymn book with some unusual tunes that take some getting used to. When it comes to a good tune you can’t beat the English musical tradition and the american hymnbook is definitely a ‘poor relation’ to the english ones. But I suppose it’s what you’re used to!
A day in the life... 28th July 2010
For those of you who are wondering what I am getting up to here in Japan I thought it best if I take you through an average day in Tokyo. You have to bear in mind that my weekdays are a little different to the weekend so for the purpose of this piece I will tell you about an average weekday in Tokyo.
Well, the day begins at around 7.30am when I get up and perform my daily ablutions and devotions. At the moment I am not really taking breakfast at this time but prefer to grab some brunch halfway through the morning. Breakfast Japanese style is quite different from England and comprises of rice, miso soup, some fish and pickled vegetables.
I usually leave my apartment at around 8.30am to begin the journey to school. The underground station is just five minutes walk away and the train journey takes about 35 minutes in total including a quick change of trains at a place called Shinjuku Sanchome.
At this time of year the temperature in Tokyo rises to around 30°C by 8 o’clock so it’s a relief to know that the stations as well as the trains are fully air-conditioned. If they weren’t the journey would be totally unbearable. Tokyo is the largest city in the world and quite a large proportion of the population make their way on the transport system first thing in the morning.
But despite the crowds there is always help at hand with special station staff who have the job of pushing people onto the train. Thankfully, the train I take each morning is not quite as bad as the picture above and although it’s a real squeeze, we manage to get on unaided by the staff.
By 9.10am I have arrived at Shibuya and walk for another five minutes to the language school where I am currently learning Japanese. The school occupies one floor in a small office building. It’s a small private school with a friendly atmosphere. The students at the school come from all over the world and most of them are in their late teens or early twenties. My class is one of the smallest with just six students. Apart from myself there is one American, two Italians, one Spaniard and a young girl from Mongolia. Three women and three men - we work together well and help each other as best we can. During the week we have three different teachers who take it in turns to teach us Japanese. Lessons begin at 9.30am and break for twenty minutes at around 11am. This is the point at which I grab some brunch - usually a bottle of ice coffee and a rice ball (called an Onigiri) filled with either tuna or chicken.
The School day is mercifully short ending at exactly 1pm. In an attempt to loose weight and keep fit I have decided to walk home every day from school. This is no mean feat in the oppressive heat. Nevertheless, each day I walk home to my apartment - a distance of about 6km that takes me about 1½ hours. However, I try to vary my walk each day and lengthen the journey home with various stops along the way. When the heat becomes too much I can always pop into a convenience store or shopping complex where the air-conditioning is blasting out cold air. Other interesting distractions include Yoyogi Park, one of the largest parks in the city. What is now Yoyogi Park was the site of the first successful powered aircraft flight in Japan in 1910. During the post World War II occupation, it was the site of the Washington Heights residence for U.S. officers. It was later the site for the main Olympic village of the 1964 Olympic Games.
I usually get back to my apartment by around 3.30pm and the first thing I do is switch on the air-conditioning. I have to complete my homework, of course, and every other day we have a short test so I have to make sure I am ready for the next day.
At some point, I think about having something else to eat. The intense heat means that hot food is quite rare these days. Sushi is a popular choice or just a good old fashioned Salad.
But the day would not be complete without an ice cold Gin & Tonic!
A short visit to Seoul, South Korea. August 9th 2010
Seoul is just two hours by plane from Tokyo and is a popular place for Japanese tourists.
The ties between Japan and Korea are well established for better or worse. Indeed, Korea was under Japanese rule for over thirty years, a rule that finally ended with the conclusion of the Second World War in 1945.
The city of Seoul is a fascinating place to visit. The downtown area of the city is fairly easy to navigate even for the first time. Although the city is large the central area is quite manageable either on foot or by using the city’s Metro. My first observation was that Seoul was very similar to Tokyo, a little less developed perhaps but with plenty of life and colour - slightly more than that of Tokyo it seems.
Like most cities in Asia Seoul is an eclectic mix of old traditional buildings and modern skyscrapers with no apparent plan or design in either sector. The modern buildings often occupy the smallest of footprints and yet reach high into the sky. The older buildings, full of character, demonstrate a clearly different way of life.
The centre of Seoul is dominated by a number of key cultural sites some of which carry ‘World heritage’ status. The palaces that often look similar in architectural style, represent a very different way of life to 21st century Korea. The ‘Five Grand Palaces’ built by Joseon kings, all remain remarkably well preserved, idyllically located and very easy to get to. And although spring is arguably the most ideal time to visit as all the palace grounds are festooned with cherry blossoms and azaleas, the palaces regularly remain a great getaway from the distant drones of city life that emanate from beyond the elegant enclosing stone walls.
One clear distinction between Japan and Korea that was immediately self-evident is the influence of Christianity in the country. In Japan you have to look quite hard to see the presence of the Church in the country and only a small percentage of people are Christians. However, Christianity in Korea is everywhere to be seen and in every conceivable style and variety. I was able to visit the Anglican and Catholic cathedrals during my visit and happened to stumble across a Vivaldi concert in the Anglican Cathedral that provided a welcome break from the busy life of a tourist.
A tale of two cities - 28th August 2010
I write to you having just returned from a week-long train journey through the southern part of Japan. Many of you will have heard about the highly advanced Japanese railway network with its super fast ‘Bullet trains’ and accurate keeping to their timetable. Trains are rarely delayed and keep to their schedule to the minute.
Hiroshima is a city of some 2.8 million people - the largest city in the Western Honshū region of Japan. But globally, Hiroshima is a city that requires little by way of introduction. On the 6th August 1945 at 8.15am an American B29 bomber called Enola Gay discharged the Atom bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” 580 metres above the city. The result was instant and devastating. In less than a second a kilometre-wide radioactive fireball consumed the city. The heat was so intense that all that remained of some victims were their shadows seared onto the rubble. 80,000 people died in that second and by the end of the year another 60,000 people died from the effects of the bomb.
Since that terrible day, Hiroshima has become a byword for the devastating effects of the atomic bomb, and for this reason alone millions visit the city every year to pay their respects at the Peace Park and museum. But apart from the formal memorials - the city itself is testimony to the power of life over destruction and the modern-day city of Hiroshima was both an interesting and enjoyable place to visit.
However, the importance of Nagasaki reaches much further into the history of this nation. This was the place where the first foreigners landed. Portuguese traders first sailed into Nagasaki, then a small fishing village of just 1500 inhabitants, in the year 1750. They returned the following year to establish a trading post and Jesuit mission. For many years the town became a key entry point for Chinese, Spanish, British, Dutch and other traders. As a result the town of Nagasaki, even after the ravages of the bombing retains some of the character it attained through the influences of cultures quite different to its own. European style houses and quaint old trams can still be seen as well as countless numbers of churches. Nagasaki is the centre of one of the most Christian parts of the country and home to the oldest Church in the country - the Ōura Catholic Church.
One of the reasons for the preservation of Nagasaki after the effects of the atomic bomb is the topography of the area. Unlike Hiroshima, that is fairly flat, Nagasaki is a long thin city nestling on the hills and valleys of the Urakami River. Nagasaki, like Hiroshima before was a lovely place to visit. Both have very moving museums dedicated to the destruction of the Atomic bombs of World War Two and both also have a life and vibrancy today that bears witness to the ultimate triumph of the human spirit over such evil and devastating acts.
I am not going to enter into debate here about the argument for a just war. Japan was, of course, our enemy during the period when these bombs were dropped. Despite the tragic loss of life in both these cities, many more people lost their lives during a single night of allied bombing over Tokyo in the very same year. The Japanese too, are said to have brutally massacred a similar number of soldiers and civilians in Nanking, China in 1937. Ultimately, in war, we are all victims of such great and often innocent tragedy.
The chance that I had to visit these two cities that have become famous for all the wrong reasons was something that I will always remember. I suppose they remind me, more than anything else, that war is so often a supreme declaration that we have failed as human beings to sort out our differences and live together as children of God.