#Christianity in Japan

[kaurwreck]

oooh I’m curious about your bsd religion hcs. I keep seeing you mention it but I don’t understand it well

Oh! Oh!! I love this topic, but I'm not totally prepared to infodump yet— my copy of The Dilemma of Faith in Modern Japanese Literature: Metaphors of Christianity doesn't arrive until tomorrow, I've bookmarked but not yet read Ryuunosuke Akutagawa's The Man From the West and it's sequel, and I'm still in the thick of a 400-page dissertation on Doppo Kunikida. In other words, I have several resources I want to dig into before I try to articulate anything substantial.

That said, and to further clarify the above, my headcanons for their religious inklings come from (1) the irl authors' relationships with religion and (2) Kunikida's expressed spirituality in Osamu Dazai's Entrance Exam.

I've been jotting notes on which authors (or characters, re: Gin) were Christian or engaged with Christianity more than others, which I've summarized for my personal reference into a rough/informal/irreverent/snarky outline. I've copied and pasted the outline below, although it's mostly editorializing and the supporting documentation is scattered among my separate posts/research materials/group chats.

I'll follow up once I have a more substantive response ft. examples and citations for you!

Catholic (disrespectfully/either literally or incidentally satirizing it)

Verlaine

Gin

Catholic (by proxy/childhood exposure)

Chuuya

Rimbaud

Christian (by conversion)

Kunikida (Protestant, Calvinistic)

Verlaine (Roman Catholic)

Very Eastern Orthodox

Fyodor

Nikolai

Not Christian but Suicidally Depressed Enough to Be Obsessed with Concepts like Hell and Original Sin

Dazai

Akutagawa

Christian but Loves Blasphemy and Hates Organized Religion

Rimbaud

Kunikida

Harbors Disdain for Christianity as Expressed by Others/Generally Irreverent

Dazai

Akutagawa

Rimbaud

[janamonji]

'The Colors Within' and the Colors Without ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Animation Is Film 2024

From the beginning of the Japanese animated feature film, “The Colors Within,” we’re entering a strange world and that’s not because the dialogue is in Japanese, but because it starts with a child praying to God. A young girl prays that she will learn to accept the things she cannot change. “The Colors Within” about the formation of a band seen through the eyes of Totsuko Higurashi (Sayu…

[kensatou]

j… jesus oppa ;____;

[bfoux]

The Church of Light in Japan. Designed by Tadao Ando, the same architect that designed the Modern in Ft. Worth. Beautiful.

[maetel26]

Co&Lu (Cocolulu) winter collection adverts.

Top spread: Egg Dec 2008 Middle spread: Egg Dec 2009 Bottom spread: Egg Dec 2011

[worldhistoryfacts]

Early contacts between Japan and the West were commemorated by Japanese artists in screen paintings. In this example, Kano Naizen depicted scenes associated with the “southern barbarians” arriving in Japan:

Zooming in, we can see the carrack that carried the Portuguese to Japan:

The mingling of Japanese and Portuguese merchants, with a focus on the animals that the merchants brought to Japan:

And, in the upper right corner, a temple where worshippers bow before an image of Jesus:

{Buy me a coffee} {WHF} {Medium} {Looking Through the Past}

[ammonitetestpatterns]

十字紋黒織部茶碗, cross kuro oribe chawan

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

The world if people stopped applying their understanding of "conservatism" and "religion/christianity" through a very modern, deeply American view onto Death Note (a manga from the Early-mid 2000s which is very much set in the cultural and societal context of early-mid 2000s Japan and all that entails):

[elitehanitje]

"The Bastard's back!" - PAC

[hanyoonseul]

Chapel ⛪🕰

Photo by Yoonseul ʚᰔɞ

[sergle]

lollll stevens insta post is so tone def too like uhh u can smell the privilege coming off this 🧍

ohhhh... I think I'm going to hurt him

[blushblushbear]

Hellooooo! 👋

Thank you again for taking my previous request with the immortal x reincarnation Headcannons 🥺 I forever love that trope to death

I enjoy seeing others Headcannons for the guys💖 thus why i’m requesting another Headcannons for once again, the Kitsunes

Since it’s December 👀 do you think you could come up with some Headcannons for what the three Kits would do on Christmas?

Like Aki trying to trap Santa for example🥺

SO! 👏

A quick history lesson to preface this! (Which I had to google, these fox idiots and fan fics involving them have me googling so much lately)

While Christmas first appeared in Japan in the 16th century, it wasn't widely celebrated until the Meiji Era (1868-1912)

If we take their release date as the canon date for things (so they got foxified 200 years prior to their release) that means they got turned into foxes around 1823, aka the Edo Period

So yeah, they have been foxes for the whole of christmas being a major/regular thing in japan and also being kitsune probably did not even celebrate it cause it might be competition???? (would they bro out with Jesus or try and fist fight him in a parking lot?????? surely not on the dude's birthday! No one is that cruel)

but yeah, it's safe to say their christmas this year (or maybe in 2023 cause they WERE released on December 5th, how quickly did you unfox them??) with you is like---- their first christmas EVER

ALSO SPEAKING OF CHRISTMAS IN JAPAN

it's considered a couples' holiday-- or at least one you spend with friends at a party or something

sooooo with that being said

Aki:

ya know originally when you said he'd try to catch santa I was like 'nah' but then I thought about it and like

actually you're so right??

he totally would though

at least he would try

is he gonna ransom santa??

beat him up???

strike some kind of deal for presents???

JUST VIBE WITH THE DUDE????

even he's not sure, he's gonna see how it goes

I think he's very santa focused until he hears that christmas is a couple's holiday

then his gears shift so so fast

and don't even get me STARTED about after he heard about mistletoe

his santa trap plans become you trap plans so quickly

and all of them end with you kissing him

also he heard there's cake and fried chicken and frankly

he thought all this was really silly when he first heard it but it's low key one of his favorite holidays now

Haru:

Hoe hoe hoe

okay but no LISTEN

there's this saying that the most sex in japan is happening on christmas or something to that tune

so like

Haru has known about this holiday for a while

he's actually the only one who knew about it before hand

though his views on it are very like-----

in a horny japanese way

he only knows it as the go to a party and getting laid holiday

which fair

but yeah

his views on things sort of change a little now that he's got his powers back and is not stuck in fox mode for the first time during this holiday

well-- his views haven't changed but the mood has for him

he's still wanting to take you out and wine and dine you and also end up back at one of your places

but 1) it's more romantic to him now than just a fun lay like it would've been before you

and 2) frankly this is just his usual m.o. just more christmas flavored

it's like a pre-valentine's day as far as he's concerned

aka another excuse to take you out, show you off, give you a good time then end the night with some alone time back at your place <3

Fuyu:

The oldest and most shinto-y of the bunch, he's the most taken aback by this holiday

he doesn't hate it or anything but he does see it as humans doing kooky human things

but you've opened him up to a lot of new experiences recently so ya know what??

alright!

let's go out and have a modern little christmas date

it's different but it could be fun!

and it is fun actually

he tries a lot of new things and he actually has a good amount of fun with you

it's very much a cute little sweet christmas date

he tries fried chicken for the first time

well, okay--- yakitori exists but my understanding is that that's more grilled, and tempura exists but that's sort of different to like------- KFC style deep fried shit

he's def had stuff like it but not like---- KFC ya know????

he likes it fine

lil greasy for his taste but it's nice for a treat

but yeah it's mostly just a pleasant little date, you and him just kinda enjoying the sights and sounds together in this new world that he refused to partake in for so long

and it def ends with a christmas cake

and maybe you showing him mistletoe

aaaand maybe telling him about the spike in spicy times if you feel so inclined ;3

[itmlyljlaaid]

[umseb]

"We wonder how our bee friends are doing at Buzzin' Corner… 🐝 🇯🇵" - march 31, 2024 📷 @.f1 / instagram

[doctorbunny]

Amane's birthday flower tweet

(tweet links here)

Happy Birthday to everyone born today. Today is also Amane Momose from #MILGRAM's birthday. Her birth flower is Passiflora caerulea (tokeisou/Blue Passion Flower). The name "Passion flower" [tl note: passion as in "the passion/suffering of Christ, not enthusiasm] was used by Christian missionaries, it comes from the stamen's resemblence to the Crucifixion of Christ, with the 10 petals representing 10 Apostles. The passion flower's hanakotoba are "Faith", "Sacred Love" as well as "Religious fervour". Just so you know, this is simply an annecdote about the flower, it's not directly related to Amane's origins. Hanatokoba is purely allegorical. Simply put, just because the blue passion flower has this kind of backstory and hanakotoba, it doesn't mean Amane's religion is the same. Just added this supplement in case this is the first time you've had a run in with the Hanakotoba Guy and found it hard to understand. [Note: 花言葉おじさん Hanakotoba ojisan aka Hanakotoba Guy/Old Man Hanakotoba/Mr Hanakotoba is Yamanaka's nickname for himself when he does these things, he also used the term in Mikoto's birthday tweet]

本日お誕生日の方おめでとうございます。 #ミルグラム では桃瀬遍の誕生日でもあります。 誕生花はトケイソウ。十字架にかけられたキリストに似た雄しべと10人の使徒に見える花弁から別名「受難の花」と呼ばれ、キリスト教の布教に利用されました。花言葉は『信仰』『聖なる愛』そして『宗教的熱情』。 ちなみにこの花に関してのエピソードなだけで、本人の出自とは直接関係ありません。花言葉はあくまで寓意です。 噛み砕いてわかりやすく言うと、トケイソウってお花にそういうエピソードと花言葉があるってだけでアマネの信教がそうだって話じゃないよってことね。花言葉おじさんと邂逅するのが初めてだとわかりづらいだろうなと思って補足。

[worldhistoryfacts]

Even though Christianity was officially illegal, some Japanese Christians continued to practice their faith in hiding. They even created images for worship, cleverly disguised as non-Christian images. People especially liked to use the Buddhist bodhisattva of compassion, Kannon, who often appeared with an infant. She could stand in for Mary and the baby Jesus:

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