|
Most Japanese participate in rituals and customs derived from several
religious traditions. Life cycle events are often
marked by visits to a Shinto shrine. The birth of a new baby is celebrated
with a formal shrine visit at the age of about one month, as are the
third, fifth, and seventh birthdays and the official beginning of
adulthood at age twenty. Wedding ceremonies are often performed by Shinto
priests, but Christian weddings are also popular. In the early 1980s, more
than 8 percent of weddings were held in a shrine or temple, and nearly 4
percent were held in a church. The most popular place for a wedding
ceremony--chosen by 41 percent--was a wedding hall.
Funerals are most often performed by Buddhist priests, and Buddhist
rites are also common on death day anniversaries of deceased family
members. Some Japanese do not perform ancestral ceremonies at all, and
some do so rather mechanically and awkwardly. But there have also been
changes in these practices, such as more personal and private ceremonies
and women honoring their own as well as their husband's ancestors, that
make them more meaningful to contemporary participants.
There are two categories of holidays in Japan: matsuri (festivals),
which are largely of Shinto origin and relate to the cultivation of rice
and the spiritual well-being of the community, and nencho gyo (annual
events), mainly of Chinese or Buddhist origin. The matsuri were
supplemented during the Heian period with more festivals added and were
organized into a formal calendar. In addition to the complementary nature
of the different holidays, there were later accretions during the feudal
period. Very few matsuri or nencho gyo are national holidays, but they are
included in the national calendar of annual events.
Most holidays are secular in nature, but the two most significant for
the majority of Japanese--New Year's Day for Shinto believers and Obon
(also call Bon Festival) for Buddhists, which marks the end of the
ancestors' annual visit to their earthly home- -involve visits to Shinto
shrines or Buddhist temples. The New Year's holiday (January 1-3) is
marked by the practice of numerous customs and the consumption of special
foods. These customs include time for getting together with family and
friends, for special television programming, and for visiting Shinto
shrines to pray for family blessings in the coming year. Dressing in a
kimono, hanging out special decorations, eating noodles on New Year's Eve
to show continuity into the new year, and playing a poetry card game are
among the more "traditional" practices. During Obon season, in midAugust
(or mid-July depending on the locale), bon (spirit altars) are set up in
front of Buddhist family altars, which, along with ancestral graves, are
cleaned in anticipation of the return of the spirits. As with the New
Year's holiday, people living away from their family homes return for
visits with relatives. Celebrations include folk dancing and prayers at
the Buddhist temple as well as family rituals in the home.
Many Japanese also participate, at least as spectators, in one of the
many local matsuri celebrated throughout the country. Matsuri may be
sponsored by schools, towns, or other groups but are most often associated
with Shinto shrines. As religious festivals, these strike a Western
observer as quite commercialized and secular, but the many who plan the
events, cook special foods, or carry the floats on their shoulders find
renewal of self and of community through participation.
|
