Difficulties of being a Christian in Japan:


David and I had the opportunity to sit in on a discussion with some of the church members here at Shimonoseki Christ Bible Church. The discussion was about their difficulties after becoming believers in Christ. It was wonderful to hear many of their personal stories and how we can better for pray for them as they strive to show Christ in their neighborhoods and at family gatherings.

·      The primary religions in Japan are Buddhism and Shintoism. Shintoism is a religion native to Japan that teaches that everything has a spirit. In Japan a birth is celebrated at a Shinto shrine, while funerals follow the Buddhist traditions. Below is a photo of a Japanese style cemetery. They are sometimes built in the sides of mountains to save on space and people are usually cremated with the urn at the cemetery.

·      One of the hardest things for Japanese deciding whether or not to accept Christ is to fully choose Christ and reject idol and ancestry worship.

·      There is pressure from family members and neighbors to continue to worship idols as well as the ancestors after the new believer have made a decision for Christ.

·      After accepting Christ and choosing not to worship idols and ancestors many Japanese Christians experience friction with family members daily or at family get togethers. 

·      For Japanese Christians, accepting Christ has to be complete lifestyles change not just a change in their Sunday routine. 

·      There are many neighborhood temples. The people in the neighborhood are expected to pay fees to take care of the temples. Japanese Christians have to make a decision to continue paying the fees or be different from the other neighbors and choose not to pay the fees. The church member who found our apartment is negotiating with our building so that we do not have to pay these fees. Below is a photo of the temple right across the street from our apartment. The arch is the entrance and then you walk up the steps.

·      Japanese Christians have to make a decision whether or not to participate in a neighbor’s funeral.  The funeral is a Buddhist style funeral, which entails worship of idols and possibly that neighbor. They often experience rejection from other neighbors for not attending the funeral.

·      There is something that is referred to as a 'God Shelf.' This God Shelf is usually a closet in the home near the entrance where idol objects and photos or relics are kept of family members who have passed. When a family member enters a home he or she is to give reverence to the ancestors in the God Shelf. Below is a photo of a God Shelf.

·      Sometimes the God Shelf is kept in a closet and some of these Japanese Christians have to literally and figuratively close that closet and choose not to participate.

·      One Church member said that she struggles with 'How to share Christ and not participate in these types of worship?'

·      Children of believers who have grown up in the church struggle also because it is hard to find Christians to marry.

·      They have to choose to 'put marriage on hold' and wait for a believer or choose to 'not wait' and marry a non-beiliever. One mother said that her daughter decided to wait for a Christian man and is married now and they live in a different city. Another mother said that her daughter choose to marry a non-believer and she expressed her heartache over that and how her daughter is expected to carry on the God Shelf traditions.

·      The Family God Shelf is passed down from generation to generation to show honor to the ancestors. The family is connected to one another through the God Shelf.

·      The daughter/daughter-in-law is expected to carry on the God Shelf and teach the children. One woman said that she was asked to leave the family by her mother-in-law because she did not want to carry on the tradition of the God Shelf. The mother-in-law took this as her not being responsible for the family traditions.