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::: new year's day in japan is characterized by conspicuous aspects of shintoism and regional folk religions...according to findings from a three-year study (1981-84) conducted by british anthropologist david c. lewis, the two main attitudes towards new year shrine visits are:
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• to pray for safety or happiness in the coming year; and

• a "custom" because everyone else does it (the unseen face of japan, p. 75)

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... following a quiet morning of Christian celebration and study about shintoism, this afternoon claire and i took a long walk in an adjacent farming valley framed by small mountains...walk with us as you view these pictures...


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...in this valley is a historic shinto shrine (taisanji)...the walkway leading to the shrine starts with a gate...


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...the cobbled road leading to the shrine is peaceful and scenic...this area is one of my favorite places to pray and memorize scripture...the three-character sign reads tai - san - ji...


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...this road is lined with traditional homes with magnificent gardens...


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...look closer...under the gate...do you see a hanging ornament?...

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...with an orange (mikan) adorned with shinto-folk symbols as its centerpiece, this charm is designed to protect against unclean spirits and maintain a circle of purity...this is another conspicuous aspect of new year's day...you see these charms everywhere -- homes, businesses, and the front hoods of cars...

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...the end of the road leads to taisanji, a sacred place that fuses elements of chinese and japanese architecture...

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...here we are...past the front gate and into the main courtyard...to our immediate left is a booth where you pay 300 yen (about $2.80) to enter...with no money on us, we loitered on the fringe...during our time in taisanji, we prayed through hebrews 9:1-14, particular verse 11...

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...verse 11 argues against an attitude of christian superiority...it states that the way of Christ ushers in a greater and more perfect posture toward God...one implication arising from verse 11 is that other systems of belief and practice -- in today's case, shintoism -- cannot be simply labeled "inadmissible" because they do not contain overt christian elements or frameworks...

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...in fact, quite the opposite...it seems appropriate to appreciate many aspects of the japanese aesthetic and imagination, even going so far as to hold them as "great"...high regard for inward purity, outward harmony, creation care, and the intersection between the pursuit for enlightenment and the path toward emptiness, among other things, are nothing short of great...but short it still falls...

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...the truth in heb. 9:11 allows for recognition of this sort of greatness, but it also compels another recognition: that the way of Christ is a greater and more perfect way...holding these two recognitions in tension is part of the challenge and rewards of cross-cultural ministry...

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