So much of the content on RUclips relies on people being very loud and trying chase after people's attention. But it is nice to watch someone like you here. Someone who is very deep and thoughtful.
I watched so many videos about Japan before visiting this summer that, at times, was stressful. Watching you practice English in your videos however, is calming and relaxing.
Thank you for making this video expressing yourself in English. You are very brave to talk about religious themes. I really appreciate and value the topic of religion. I am Brazilian and Christian. I am currently studying Japanese. My name is Iago.
This was a nice video to find. I find it fascinating how Eastern religions (Buddism, Shinto, etc.) have subtle similarities to Christian beliefs (more so the Apistolic branches instead of the Protestant ones). Christianity has a rich tradition and deep theology if you look into its medieval writings and the teachings of the Church Fathers.
I love watching your videos, it reminds me of when I was younger and had some friends from Japan and I would help them with their English. Also your use of “a grain of salt” was perfect ❤️❤️
Hi Shika, the dish you eat looks so good 😊 dear, and your organization is great 👍🏻 with meaning and words ,and notes yes, you have very understanding 👍🏻👌🏻 Shika and you are very wonderful person ,my prayers and luck to you dear 🙏🏻 🙏🏻
Thank you for your wonderful video today. Very good English, I was able to understand you , in everything you were talking about. Looking forward to more of your videos Shika. Good luck on your journey of life/ religious experiences. Take care.
Very good explanation and insight. When you look at it closely, there are many versions of Christianity as well. So be careful, what you read is Christianity. I hope you keep learning and explaining things to us! 😊
I'm an American living in Japan now for 5 years. This explanation really helped me to understand the holiday a lot better. Also it was nice learning the Kanji meanings. Looking forward to more of your future videos. Your English is amazing by the way. 頑張ってください 😄
お疲れさま！I really love your relaxed pace and style. Brings back memories of good friends. Nowadays people around me are usually agitated or somehow troubled and very unreligious, which is making me anxious. I also see immediately that you are a woman of God but you haven't fully discovered it yourself, perhaps ❤ my secret dream is to become a missionary in Japan in near future, before this gradually onset seven year long season of tribulation gets fully going.
I dont know why these keep appearing in my feed but it is nice to watch. I live in Japan and it is nice to see the same things you talk about. Good luck with your English. You are doing well. 英語すごい上手ですね。🎉
Hi Shika, the dish you eat looks so good 😊 dear, and your organization is great 👍🏻 with meaning and words ,and notes yes, you have very understanding 👍🏻👌🏻 Shika and you are very wonderful person ,my prayers and luck to you dear 🙏🏻 🙏🏻 Autumn Equinox and Japanese 🙏🏻 religious customs, like Shinto, interesting spiritual experience 🙏🏻love your studies ✌🏻
Thanks a lot for this interesting and insightful account on the subject. As an Italian, I often struggle to grasp the religiousness side, so to speak, of Japanese people. That is why I'd like to know more from you, dear Shika.
Thank you for sharing this fascinating video. Conversely I want to learn more about Japanese religion & have little interest in Christianity. I am always grateful. Have a great week.
"Multitudinous" is not a word I would expect any non-native speaker to know, wow! Thanks for the lesson and your thoughts, this was really interesting. I've enjoyed taking with Japanese friends about religion. They all claim they don't believe in anything, but then like you said they go 神社とお寺に and don't move 古代な地蔵 even though it would make building a road much easier, etc. I think it is the difference (in English) between "being religious" and "being reverent". I think Japanese people (with exceptions, of course) are often reverent. I think it's a beautiful way to see the world.
Fascinating! When I was last in Japan, I spoke with a local who seemed to distinctly think that Buddhist temples were 'religion' but Shinto shrines were not.
Maybe a more appropriate word is "spiritual" instead of "religious"? Very fascinating to learn about! I grew up in the very Christian Southern USA. Thank you for making and sharing your videos with us Shika chan! Best wishes to you and your family!!
It’s religious. Many Japanese are very religious, but the issue is that Western Europeans and their offspring like us, Canada etc define religious as: “Belief in a single (probably abrahamic) god, requiring oath of fealty and rigid ceremonial worship at set times in a set place each day”. In other words, Christianity, Islam or Judaism. Because Japanese religion doesn’t fit into this mold westerners say they are not religious and Japanese also parrot they are not religious because they mistakenly believe that definition of the word. But they will tell you in Japanese they are theistic (assuming they aren’t atheist) and believe in metaphysical beings shrined at shrines and temples. They are also much not superstitious than people nowadays in the west. The concept of sin is also not the same in Shinto, though karma in Buddhism can be considered similar. But the emphasis isn’t on crime and punishment as in abrahamic religions. If you want a similar concept to what Japanese religion is like, you need to look towards traditional pagan religions such as that of the Europeans before abrahamic religions converted and killed all the followers.
Very interesting content. Thank you for sharing! It seems like what you were describing, Japanese seeing God in everything, is kind of similar to the philosophical view that God is the universe itself. This theological view is called Pantheism (I just looked it up 😂). It's kind of interesting that the Abrahamic God of Israel (the Christian God) told his followers that his name is יהוה (transliterated as YHWH). Funnily enough, no one is really sure how the ancient Hebrews pronounced this name because the word does not contain any vowels and there is no consensus among scholars regarding how it should be pronounced. Scholars lean towards the pronunciation of "Yahweh" as the most likely pronunciation, but the Latinized version "Jehovah" is still widely used in Western culture. This name is roughly translated to, "I am become" or "he causes to be, to become", meaning that the God of Israel becomes whatever he needs to be. I feel like that sentiment is kind of similar, perhaps at least in spirit, to the Japanese idea of seeing God in everything. I recently saw a RUclips video of a Chinese man preaching about Christianity to an Asian audience. He argued that Asians should not view Christianity as a western religion because the Chinese also used to worship a monotheistic, supreme God millennia ago, prior to the time of the ancient Hebrews. This God was the supreme deity of the religion widely practiced in Chinese civilization at the time, and the Chinese called this deity Shangdi. Apparently, Western scholars have tried to align the idea of Shangdi with the idea of the Christian God as well. It was a random video that popped up in my RUclips feed though, so I cannot attest to the integrity of the content in the video. 😅 In English, people who do not practice a specific religion but who also do not reject the idea of a God are called "agnostic". Further along this line, if the same people incorporate the ideas of supernatural believes into their lives, they are usually called "spiritual".
I teach English in Japan at the moment and just did a class today on the Autumnal equinox day. Unfortunately my teacher warned me the class may not know what the Autumnal equinox day is despite it being a Japanese holiday/bank holiday. Nice video! :)
I actually admire Shinto very much. I enjoy the Shrines, customs, etc. I also enjoy visiting the Buddhist Temples and feel like they coexist very well. The Torii is one of the best architectural designs in human history. I love it. Also, when it comes to Religion I think the difference is that for many people Religion is too specific. Japanese people ARE very spiritual people, though. Among the most in the world. And I think that’s what matters most. 🙏🏻 To me, it’s more important to be spiritual than religious. But of course someone can be both.
There is a similar tradition in the Catholic church called All Hallows. In Italy, for example, where I live, on All Souls Day (2nd November every year) many people visit their dead relatives at the cemetery. The day before (1st November) is All Saints day, which is a Catholic celebration of all the Saints who don't already have a day of celebration. The day before that (31st October) is Halloween, a festival dating back to Pagan times and adopted by many Christians - even though strictly speaking it isn't allowed in Christianity. It is supposedly the day when the dead can visit the living. There are interesting parallels between the Buddhist celebration of お彼岸 (higan) and the Catholic celebration of All Hallows.
this autumnal equinox things you talked about are interesting. im a very poorly catechized catholic christian, so take this info with a grain of salt too. i think praying or thanking your ancestors is similar to All Saints Day / All Souls Day which happens around Halloween/early November. also i heard every Shinto shrine has a god of something which sounds similar to saints and what they are a patron of. For example, i often ask St. Dympha to intercede for me. I’ve heard she is the patron saint of mental illness, anxiety, stress, etc. Maybe she does help? We don’t pray to saints but rather they intercede for us with God. anyways, I didn’t really know much about my faith (and I still don’t lol 😅) despite going to catholic public school, but I guess ill take it one step at a time? it is a challenge and struggle to follow the teachings i must say. also, you should try listening to Gregorian chants sometime. I just learned about them around 2020-2021. They sound awesome. I especially like to listen to Litany of the Saints. You should listen to some classical or Gregorian chant Virgin Mary pieces too.
Thank you, we have similar holidays. The river between the living and the dead is traditionally known to us as the river styx. People would place 2 coins in the pocket of someone who died. Sometimes the coins would be placed over eyes. These coins are to pay the ferry man to cross the river.
Another Japanese Christian author you may want to read books from or about is Mitsuo Fuchida, who was involved in the Pacific War and the attack on Pearl Harbor, and became a Christian afterward.
@@Olivia-k1n I see. I wonder if they have additive sugar in red bean paste here.. I live in America so im used to businesses adding sugar into foods. I still really like it 😋
What a wonderful and respectful day you described i do something similar on my friends birthday who died and i leave a glass of whisky at his grave for him to drink every year. oh and an easier pronunciation of deceased would be to break it up like this in English du·seest.
its interesting about Shinto it seems very old religion maybe older than the modern japanese, japanese migrated from Gobi desert when it was still lush and green during the ice age, then when climate turned warmer it became desert
Thank you for sharing some Japanese culture. Oh! Is that a special fork for おはぎ or do all Japanese forks have only 3 tines? American forks have 4 except for pickle forks. They usually have 3. 1:35 「This is special rice cake...」 This is a special rice cake... 1:47 「This is how おはぎ looks like.」 This is what an おはぎ looks like. or This is how おはぎ looks. 1:51 「The red one is red beans おはぎ and the brown one is soybeans おはぎ.」 red bean おはぎ soybean おはぎ No plural on the flavor part of the name. 4:15 「...the young does not 和菓子 that much, especially...」 ...the young doesn't eat 和菓子 that much, especially... 'especially' has no 'r' 4:56 「Autumnal equinox」 Autumn equinox is more common. Autumnal equinox is scientific sounding. There is no ミ kana in Autumnal. 8:10 「deceased」deceased has 2 syllables: de·ceased you were pronouncing it as: de·ceas·ed 9:34 「...they can come to 彼岸 area...」...they can come to the 彼岸 area... 9:53 「So our ancestors come get closer to us on 秋分の日 so we...」 So our ancestors come and get closer to us on 秋分の日 so we... 11:50 「 ideas」'ideas' has no 'r' 13:35 「people」'people' has no 'r' 13:44 「Shinto」 しんと not 'C'んとう 15:08 「atheist」atheist has 3 syllables: a·the·ist you were pronouncing it as: a·theist 16:40 「celebrate」you pronounced the 'r' as 'l' 16:51 「party」In this context, it becomes plural: parties 20:36 「believe」has no 'r' It is difficult to talk about religionsだね。Especially maintaining 平和 with your viewers. 緊張 I hope you didn't pay for a bible if you have one ー they should be 無料. マタイ 10:8 It's good to see that you're making fewer mistakes with the 'r's and 'l's. There is a saying: "Practice makes perfect!" (but we still make mistakes sometimes) アップロードしてくれてありがとうございました。
@@Olivia-k1n Thank you, it was a good hike! The weather was perfect. I hiked from Hakkoda Ropeway to Sukayu Onsen, and took the bus back to Aomori City from there. 6 or 7km distance, and beautiful views!
I think something a lot of people seem to completely get wrong about Christianity is exactly what it entails. A lot of people/bots post comments on videos saying repent and believe and Jesus but more often then not when people read those comments it’s just a name. Other people get hung up on which denomination/church you follow Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, ect. Christianity has its rules and laws yet people fail to understand why we follow them. Most people believe to be a Christian is to follow the Ten Commandments and go to church, that’s not what Christianity is, Christianity is understanding who Christ is and allowing Him to change your heart to be able to love people and yourself more fully. The reason why people hate Christianity is because it asks us to face and let go of sin. As human beings, we really don’t like to let go of our pride. I have been living in Japan as a Christian for over a year now, I sadly don’t have a church because there isn’t one close to me, so me and my friend do a small Bible study. That’s my church. I guess people can smack me with “keep your religion away from me.” Yet, it seems that a majority of Japanese woman I have known all seem to be in this state of hopelessness. I already almost lost one friend to death by over work. The common theme I noticed they all have a father who doesn’t care and a mother who is over baring. I would say it’s isolated cases but I am only close to a few Japanese people and all the woman I know seem to have this experience. I guess I could stand by and say, well that’s just Japanese culture, but if it’s causing people to get to the point in life where there is no hope, then something is wrong. Even the woman who came from an abusive background who I know is in her 50s has overcome a lot of her hard ships but even so, her advice to the younger woman going through this stuff is simply “control you emotions.” Father’s should love their daughters, a person shouldn’t need to be a part of a religion to know this is true.
Thanks for these videos, they're a fascinating insight! (And your English is fantastic!) I'm curious, have you read Kojiki or Nihon Shoki? I've been (slowly) learning Japanese, and a big part of that for me has been learning not *just* the language, but also leaning more about the culture, history, religion, and so on.
Yes, I have read both kojiki and nihonshoki. But those stories are more like textbooks as ancient literature. So I'm a very beginner in this field as well as you in term of ancient Japanese literature 😅 What you're saying is definitely right! We can learn Japanese culture and other stuffs not only Japanese as language.
For my understanding of "彼岸" is "the shore over there". And this shore reminds me as the border. I was not knowing the word "此岸" even I'm Japanese. But this "此" usually means as "here". Let's say 此の方 means the one right here. Then 彼の方 means the one over there. Please take my suggestion for your reference.
I'm actually glad there are places like Japan where people are not, in general, dogmatic about religion. We have enough problems in the rest of the world.
Hello, Shika! I am doing well today, resting and relaxing! It's interesting to learn about this. Here in the US, the main religion is Christianity. I have to believe there is some greater power. I would feel pretty hopeless if I didn't. Looking at it scientifically, if we are made up of molecules and atoms, what are the odds of all these molecules to line up and come together so perfectly and give us all life? Are you familiar with 'The Day of the Dead' in Mexico where they remember family and friends that have passed away? And are you familiar with Native America Indian culture? Very spiritual as well. I have never tried Ohagi to my knowledge. Today, I'm eating chili dogs and a hamburger. Does it get any more American than that? LOL! I wish you the best on you reading into Christianity! Take care of yourself Shika! You are such a sweet person! Matane!
Yes, I know that Mexican religious custom. I guess this was portrayed in "Remember me" Disney movie? I'm not familiar with Native American Indian culture yet.. but I'm interested in it! Thank you for watching ☺️
You have to understand the connotations that the word "religious" has in English. There is a strong negative sentiment towards the term for a lot of people. Religious people tend to be very narrow minded and reject anything outside their religion. When you say Japanese people respect all Gods and religions, that makes them not religious in the eyes of many westerners. As someone who speaks Japanese and has spent a lot of time over there, I would never call Japanese people "religious". They are spiritual and they have a lot of spiritual customs and they respect tradition. But they aren't religious. And that's a good thing.
The Christmas Story, the way it's usually told -- God, born a man in a manger, and all of that -- escapes some moderns; mostly, I think, because they seek complex answers to their questions, and this one is so utterly simple. So, for the cynics and the skeptics and the unconvinced, I'd like to submit this modern parable. The man I'm talking about was not a scrooge,1 now. He was a kind, a decent, a mostly good man; generous to his family and upright in his dealings with other men. But he just did not believe in all of that Incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas time. It just did not make sense, and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He could not swallow the Jesus story about God coming to Earth as a man. He told his wife, "I’m truly sorry to distress you, but I’m just not going with you to church this Christmas Eve." He said he’d feel like a hypocrite, that he’d much rather just stay home, but that he would wait up for them. So he stayed, and they went to the midnight service. Now, shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier. Then he went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound; and then another; then, yet another. At first he thought somebody must be throwing snowballs against the living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled out there, miserably, in the snow. They had been caught in the storm. In a desperate search for shelter, they had tried to fly through his large landscape window. That was what had been making the sound. Well, he couldn’t let those poor creatures just lie there and freeze. So, he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter. All he would have to do is direct the birds into that shelter. Quickly, he put on a coat and galoshes, and he tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. And he opened the doors wide. And inside the barn, he turned on a light so the birds would know the way in. But the birds did not come in. So, he figured that food would entice them. He went back into the house and fetched bread crumbs and sprinkled those on the snow, making a trail of bread crumbs to the yellow-lighted, wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs. The birds just continued to flop around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them -- he could not. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms, but instead they scattered in every direction -- every direction except into the warm, lighted barn. And that's when he realized that they were afraid of him. They were afraid of him. To [them], he reasoned, I'm a strange, terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me, that I'm not trying to hurt them but to help them. But how? Any move he made tended to frighten them and confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him. And he thought to himself, "If only I could be a bird now," -- "I could be a bird and mingle with them and speak their language and tell them not to be afraid, then I could show them the way to the safe, warm barn. But I would have to be one of them, wouldn't I? So they could see, and hear, and understand." At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells, Adeste Fidelis, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. And he sank to his knees in the snow. Paul Harvey -- I hope for you and those you love, this will be a wonderfully Merry Christmas.
I'm glad to hear you are interested in religion, especially Christianity. If I ever visit Japan, I want to go to Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Tokyo, an Orthodox Christian Church founded by St Nicholas of Japan. Have you ever considered visiting Holy Resurrection Cathedral? You might find Orthodox Christianity very interesting.
Those interested in Christianity say that the life of Jesus Christ is what is most attractive to them. However, there are many who call themselves Christians, but do not follow the example displayed through the life of Jesus Christ.
@youtuber-cc8sx im listening to other people days, life and problems. But for what. Nowadays Everybody wants to speak out but not listen to others. Everybody is a superstar. Quite self-centered everything. And when you sincerely offer support, no feedback even. I feel no connection. Id better watch smth that would bring me at least smth informative. Maybe some other topic chanels. In our time of information overload we need to choose carefully 😳
Im offerin u a religion dat warenty u a places dat decent and always happy and u wil never ever die that is heaven and we meet our creator seein his faces as gift dat we never ever have it before if u accepting islam u will obtaining dat and ill make sure to know dat u are know this massage and all people who read this and i hope u are hear me..
Thank you for sharing your beliefs and interests! I think religion is very important, regardless of our personal beliefs, because many of our traditions come from religion, and many of our values are rooted in religious beliefs. Even though in modern times there's an effort to separate values and traditions from religion, I believe it's important to respect and understand religions, as this helps us learn more about ourselves. There are many teachings in religion that remain relevant today. It's fascinating to see how different religions have similarities and teachings that seem universal, but it's also great to appreciate the differences! It’s great to see young people interested in these topics because most are caught up in the distractions of modern life
Very interesting ! "it s not the place where we are living in..." => "it is not the place we are experiencing...", "keep watching upon us", "say thank you to our ancestors" => "to thank them". "with a grain of salt", very nice : ) When you say automnal, try to void the "mu", instead of autoMUnal, try autonal. Neither do i believe much in what is commonly called "religion", maybe there is such a ting like god, maybe not. Maybe time exists, maybe not ; ) If I were to describe what i believe in, in those religious words, i d say we are energy ray, god would be something called Evolution. Something i do not understand about shintoism, does every cell have a god too ? Therefor, the hand cream has a god, made of of the many gods of each cells, made of each god of each atoms, made of each god for each protons and nucleus ? like a russian puppet. And then, does it mean there is a bigger god that is made of all those smaller gods, like a god for a nation, a god for a planet, a god for a star, a god for a system solar, a god of the universe ? :-/
So much of the content on RUclips relies on people being very loud and trying chase after people's attention. But it is nice to watch someone like you here. Someone who is very deep and thoughtful.
I agree. This is my new favorite channel.
Should try them some day when moving to Japan
Thank you for sharing your day, your talks are so interesting, I learn more about Japanese culture with every video.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and the explenation of Ohagi. I find it really interesting. You're really doing a great job. Thnx again.
Thank you for this. Always great to see you and listen to your re-assuring voice, and learn something too.
I watched so many videos about Japan before visiting this summer that, at times, was stressful. Watching you practice English in your videos however, is calming and relaxing.
I recently started learning 日本語, ありがと for helping me to learn something 新しい。
This was like ASMR, very informative and also very relaxing haha
Thank you for making this video expressing yourself in English. You are very brave to talk about religious themes. I really appreciate and value the topic of religion. I am Brazilian and Christian. I am currently studying Japanese. My name is Iago.
Nice to meet you, lago san😊
Very interesting 👏👏👏please keep doing these videos for us ありがとうございます
Your videos are so interesting, great info and more deep thoughts than normal RUclipsrs do. Arigato Gozaimasu 🙏🏻 Kiitos 🙏🏻 Greets from Finland 🇫🇮
Really cool to learn about, thanks for sharing!
Excellent
This was a nice video to find.
I find it fascinating how Eastern religions (Buddism, Shinto, etc.) have subtle similarities to Christian beliefs (more so the Apistolic branches instead of the Protestant ones). Christianity has a rich tradition and deep theology if you look into its medieval writings and the teachings of the Church Fathers.
The food looks delicious! Enjoy, God bless you❤️
You are doing great. 🙂
love seeing your growth. a
Thanks for your videos. It's fun to slowly get to know you and your thoughts better.
I didn’t know! Thank you for sharing this wonderful knowledge Shika. 🙂
I love watching your videos, it reminds me of when I was younger and had some friends from Japan and I would help them with their English. Also your use of “a grain of salt” was perfect ❤️❤️
Thank you 😊
You're in my prayers.
I'm heartened to see another person interested in Jesus, and I highly encourage you to continue your research.
Hi Shika, the dish you eat looks so good 😊 dear, and your organization is great 👍🏻 with meaning and words ,and notes yes, you have very understanding 👍🏻👌🏻 Shika and you are very wonderful person ,my prayers and luck to you dear 🙏🏻 🙏🏻
Thank you for your wonderful video today. Very good English, I was able to understand you , in everything you were talking about. Looking forward to more of your videos Shika. Good luck on your journey of life/ religious experiences. Take care.
Very good explanation and insight. When you look at it closely, there are many versions of Christianity as well. So be careful, what you read is Christianity. I hope you keep learning and explaining things to us! 😊
Very interesting, thank you for sharing😊
I'm an American living in Japan now for 5 years. This explanation really helped me to understand the holiday a lot better. Also it was nice learning the Kanji meanings. Looking forward to more of your future videos. Your English is amazing by the way. 頑張ってください 😄
お疲れさま！I really love your relaxed pace and style. Brings back memories of good friends. Nowadays people around me are usually agitated or somehow troubled and very unreligious, which is making me anxious.
I also see immediately that you are a woman of God but you haven't fully discovered it yourself, perhaps ❤ my secret dream is to become a missionary in Japan in near future, before this gradually onset seven year long season of tribulation gets fully going.
I dont know why these keep appearing in my feed but it is nice to watch. I live in Japan and it is nice to see the same things you talk about. Good luck with your English. You are doing well. 英語すごい上手ですね。🎉
Hhmm interesting recommendations, anyway your English is so good
lovely
Hi Shika, the dish you eat looks so good 😊 dear, and your organization is great 👍🏻 with meaning and words ,and notes yes, you have very understanding 👍🏻👌🏻 Shika and you are very wonderful person ,my prayers and luck to you dear 🙏🏻 🙏🏻 Autumn Equinox and Japanese 🙏🏻 religious customs, like Shinto, interesting spiritual experience 🙏🏻love your studies ✌🏻
❤ you are the best
Thanks a lot for this interesting and insightful account on the subject. As an Italian, I often struggle to grasp the religiousness side, so to speak, of Japanese people. That is why I'd like to know more from you, dear Shika.
Quality penmanship, nicely done!
Thank you for sharing this fascinating video.
Conversely I want to learn more about Japanese religion & have little interest in Christianity.
I am always grateful. Have a great week.
Nice video
Thank you for making this
"Multitudinous" is not a word I would expect any non-native speaker to know, wow! Thanks for the lesson and your thoughts, this was really interesting. I've enjoyed taking with Japanese friends about religion. They all claim they don't believe in anything, but then like you said they go 神社とお寺に and don't move 古代な地蔵 even though it would make building a road much easier, etc. I think it is the difference (in English) between "being religious" and "being reverent". I think Japanese people (with exceptions, of course) are often reverent. I think it's a beautiful way to see the world.
Fascinating! When I was last in Japan, I spoke with a local who seemed to distinctly think that Buddhist temples were 'religion' but Shinto shrines were not.
ASMR動画だと思ってて見始めたけど違うようだ。英語全然分からないけど、Shikaさんの声は聞き心地すぎてASMR感覚で観させていただく🇧🇷
Maybe a more appropriate word is "spiritual" instead of "religious"? Very fascinating to learn about! I grew up in the very Christian Southern USA. Thank you for making and sharing your videos with us Shika chan! Best wishes to you and your family!!
There are "religious" Christians and religious Muslims, Buddhists, Hinduists, animists, voodoo followers, etc.
It’s religious. Many Japanese are very religious, but the issue is that Western Europeans and their offspring like us, Canada etc define religious as: “Belief in a single (probably abrahamic) god, requiring oath of fealty and rigid ceremonial worship at set times in a set place each day”. In other words, Christianity, Islam or Judaism.
Because Japanese religion doesn’t fit into this mold westerners say they are not religious and Japanese also parrot they are not religious because they mistakenly believe that definition of the word. But they will tell you in Japanese they are theistic (assuming they aren’t atheist) and believe in metaphysical beings shrined at shrines and temples. They are also much not superstitious than people nowadays in the west.
The concept of sin is also not the same in Shinto, though karma in Buddhism can be considered similar. But the emphasis isn’t on crime and punishment as in abrahamic religions. If you want a similar concept to what Japanese religion is like, you need to look towards traditional pagan religions such as that of the Europeans before abrahamic religions converted and killed all the followers.
Very interesting content. Thank you for sharing!
It seems like what you were describing, Japanese seeing God in everything, is kind of similar to the philosophical view that God is the universe itself. This theological view is called Pantheism (I just looked it up 😂).
It's kind of interesting that the Abrahamic God of Israel (the Christian God) told his followers that his name is יהוה (transliterated as YHWH). Funnily enough, no one is really sure how the ancient Hebrews pronounced this name because the word does not contain any vowels and there is no consensus among scholars regarding how it should be pronounced. Scholars lean towards the pronunciation of "Yahweh" as the most likely pronunciation, but the Latinized version "Jehovah" is still widely used in Western culture. This name is roughly translated to, "I am become" or "he causes to be, to become", meaning that the God of Israel becomes whatever he needs to be. I feel like that sentiment is kind of similar, perhaps at least in spirit, to the Japanese idea of seeing God in everything.
I recently saw a RUclips video of a Chinese man preaching about Christianity to an Asian audience. He argued that Asians should not view Christianity as a western religion because the Chinese also used to worship a monotheistic, supreme God millennia ago, prior to the time of the ancient Hebrews. This God was the supreme deity of the religion widely practiced in Chinese civilization at the time, and the Chinese called this deity Shangdi. Apparently, Western scholars have tried to align the idea of Shangdi with the idea of the Christian God as well. It was a random video that popped up in my RUclips feed though, so I cannot attest to the integrity of the content in the video. 😅
In English, people who do not practice a specific religion but who also do not reject the idea of a God are called "agnostic". Further along this line, if the same people incorporate the ideas of supernatural believes into their lives, they are usually called "spiritual".
I teach English in Japan at the moment and just did a class today on the Autumnal equinox day. Unfortunately my teacher warned me the class may not know what the Autumnal equinox day is despite it being a Japanese holiday/bank holiday.
Nice video! :)
I actually admire Shinto very much. I enjoy the Shrines, customs, etc. I also enjoy visiting the Buddhist Temples and feel like they coexist very well. The Torii is one of the best architectural designs in human history. I love it.
Also, when it comes to Religion I think the difference is that for many people Religion is too specific. Japanese people ARE very spiritual people, though. Among the most in the world. And I think that’s what matters most. 🙏🏻 To me, it’s more important to be spiritual than religious. But of course someone can be both.
must be the best part of your day. making these videos i mean.
There is a similar tradition in the Catholic church called All Hallows.
In Italy, for example, where I live, on All Souls Day (2nd November every year) many people visit their dead relatives at the cemetery.
The day before (1st November) is All Saints day, which is a Catholic celebration of all the Saints who don't already have a day of celebration.
The day before that (31st October) is Halloween, a festival dating back to Pagan times and adopted by many Christians - even though strictly speaking it isn't allowed in Christianity. It is supposedly the day when the dead can visit the living.
There are interesting parallels between the Buddhist celebration of お彼岸 (higan) and the Catholic celebration of All Hallows.
Very interesting, also really good English, I'm not a native English speaker so I understand the difficulty
Interesting to learn that the japanese are just as confused about their own religious syncretism as foreigners are trying to understand it.
this autumnal equinox things you talked about are interesting. im a very poorly catechized catholic christian, so take this info with a grain of salt too. i think praying or thanking your ancestors is similar to All Saints Day / All Souls Day which happens around Halloween/early November.
also i heard every Shinto shrine has a god of something which sounds similar to saints and what they are a patron of. For example, i often ask St. Dympha to intercede for me. I’ve heard she is the patron saint of mental illness, anxiety, stress, etc. Maybe she does help?
We don’t pray to saints but rather they intercede for us with God.
anyways, I didn’t really know much about my faith (and I still don’t lol 😅) despite going to catholic public school, but I guess ill take it one step at a time? it is a challenge and struggle to follow the teachings i must say.
also, you should try listening to Gregorian chants sometime. I just learned about them around 2020-2021. They sound awesome. I especially like to listen to Litany of the Saints. You should listen to some classical or Gregorian chant Virgin Mary pieces too.
How wonderful you are! A true star 😍
luv❤
5k subs let’s gooo🎉
cool
Thank you, we have similar holidays. The river between the living and the dead is traditionally known to us as the river styx. People would place 2 coins in the pocket of someone who died. Sometimes the coins would be placed over eyes. These coins are to pay the ferry man to cross the river.
Another Japanese Christian author you may want to read books from or about is Mitsuo Fuchida, who was involved in the Pacific War and the attack on Pearl Harbor, and became a Christian afterward.
thanks for sharing! I love red bean. Is it super sweet because they add sugar to it?
Yes, it's so sweet because of tons of sugar in red beans.
@@Olivia-k1n I see. I wonder if they have additive sugar in red bean paste here.. I live in America so im used to businesses adding sugar into foods. I still really like it 😋
What a wonderful and respectful day you described i do something similar on my friends birthday who died and i leave a glass of whisky at his grave for him to drink every year.
oh and an easier pronunciation of deceased would be to break it up like this in English du·seest.
its interesting about Shinto it seems very old religion maybe older than the modern japanese, japanese migrated from Gobi desert when it was still lush and green during the ice age, then when climate turned warmer it became desert
Thank you for sharing some Japanese culture. Oh! Is that a special fork for おはぎ or do all Japanese forks have only 3 tines? American forks have 4 except for pickle forks. They usually have 3.
1:35 「This is special rice cake...」 This is a special rice cake...
1:47 「This is how おはぎ looks like.」 This is what an おはぎ looks like. or This is how おはぎ looks.
1:51 「The red one is red beans おはぎ and the brown one is soybeans おはぎ.」 red bean おはぎ soybean おはぎ No plural on the flavor part of the name.
4:15 「...the young does not 和菓子 that much, especially...」 ...the young doesn't eat 和菓子 that much, especially... 'especially' has no 'r'
4:56 「Autumnal equinox」 Autumn equinox is more common. Autumnal equinox is scientific sounding. There is no ミ kana in Autumnal.
8:10 「deceased」deceased has 2 syllables: de·ceased you were pronouncing it as: de·ceas·ed
9:34 「...they can come to 彼岸 area...」...they can come to the 彼岸 area...
9:53 「So our ancestors come get closer to us on 秋分の日 so we...」 So our ancestors come and get closer to us on 秋分の日 so we...
11:50 「 ideas」'ideas' has no 'r'
13:35 「people」'people' has no 'r'
13:44 「Shinto」 しんと not 'C'んとう
15:08 「atheist」atheist has 3 syllables: a·the·ist you were pronouncing it as: a·theist
16:40 「celebrate」you pronounced the 'r' as 'l'
16:51 「party」In this context, it becomes plural: parties
20:36 「believe」has no 'r'
It is difficult to talk about religionsだね。Especially maintaining 平和 with your viewers. 緊張
I hope you didn't pay for a bible if you have one ー they should be 無料. マタイ 10:8
It's good to see that you're making fewer mistakes with the 'r's and 'l's. There is a saying: "Practice makes perfect!" (but we still make mistakes sometimes)
アップロードしてくれてありがとうございました。
Enjoy your autumnal equinox Day. Today I'm visiting Japan, in Aomori, and I am going for a hike on Mt Hakkoda.
Oh, welcome to Japan ☺️
Aomori is such an amazing place!
I want to try to climb Mt. Hakkoda once.
I hope you had a safe hiking there 🙏
@@Olivia-k1n Thank you, it was a good hike! The weather was perfect. I hiked from Hakkoda Ropeway to Sukayu Onsen, and took the bus back to Aomori City from there. 6 or 7km distance, and beautiful views!
I think something a lot of people seem to completely get wrong about Christianity is exactly what it entails. A lot of people/bots post comments on videos saying repent and believe and Jesus but more often then not when people read those comments it’s just a name. Other people get hung up on which denomination/church you follow Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, ect.
Christianity has its rules and laws yet people fail to understand why we follow them. Most people believe to be a Christian is to follow the Ten Commandments and go to church, that’s not what Christianity is, Christianity is understanding who Christ is and allowing Him to change your heart to be able to love people and yourself more fully. The reason why people hate Christianity is because it asks us to face and let go of sin. As human beings, we really don’t like to let go of our pride.
I have been living in Japan as a Christian for over a year now, I sadly don’t have a church because there isn’t one close to me, so me and my friend do a small Bible study. That’s my church. I guess people can smack me with “keep your religion away from me.” Yet, it seems that a majority of Japanese woman I have known all seem to be in this state of hopelessness. I already almost lost one friend to death by over work. The common theme I noticed they all have a father who doesn’t care and a mother who is over baring. I would say it’s isolated cases but I am only close to a few Japanese people and all the woman I know seem to have this experience. I guess I could stand by and say, well that’s just Japanese culture, but if it’s causing people to get to the point in life where there is no hope, then something is wrong. Even the woman who came from an abusive background who I know is in her 50s has overcome a lot of her hard ships but even so, her advice to the younger woman going through this stuff is simply “control you emotions.” Father’s should love their daughters, a person shouldn’t need to be a part of a religion to know this is true.
Can you talk more about shinto? this conversation was really interesting
Yes, I can. I'll do it some time soon!
Is おはぎa traditional dish? does it has a meaning ? and if it does would you be kind enough to share? お願いします。
Thanks for these videos, they're a fascinating insight! (And your English is fantastic!) I'm curious, have you read Kojiki or Nihon Shoki? I've been (slowly) learning Japanese, and a big part of that for me has been learning not *just* the language, but also leaning more about the culture, history, religion, and so on.
Yes, I have read both kojiki and nihonshoki.
But those stories are more like textbooks as ancient literature. So I'm a very beginner in this field as well as you in term of ancient Japanese literature 😅 What you're saying is definitely right! We can learn Japanese culture and other stuffs not only Japanese as language.
For my understanding of "彼岸" is "the shore over there". And this shore reminds me as the border. I was not knowing the word "此岸" even I'm Japanese. But this "此" usually means as "here". Let's say 此の方 means the one right here. Then 彼の方 means the one over there.
Please take my suggestion for your reference.
You talked about reading a couple of books written by a Japanese author who is a Christian. How is your reading coming along?
very nice, I think Japan food similar to viet food
I'm actually glad there are places like Japan where people are not, in general, dogmatic about religion. We have enough problems in the rest of the world.
ビデオくれてありがとう
見てくださりありがとうございます！
Hello, Shika! I am doing well today, resting and relaxing!
It's interesting to learn about this. Here in the US, the main religion is Christianity. I have to believe there is some greater power. I would feel pretty hopeless if I didn't. Looking at it scientifically, if we are made up of molecules and atoms, what are the odds of all these molecules to line up and come together so perfectly and give us all life?
Are you familiar with 'The Day of the Dead' in Mexico where they remember family and friends that have passed away?
And are you familiar with Native America Indian culture? Very spiritual as well.
I have never tried Ohagi to my knowledge. Today, I'm eating chili dogs and a hamburger. Does it get any more American than that? LOL!
I wish you the best on you reading into Christianity! Take care of yourself Shika! You are such a sweet person!
Matane!
Yes, I know that Mexican religious custom. I guess this was portrayed in "Remember me" Disney movie? I'm not familiar with Native American Indian culture yet.. but I'm interested in it!
Thank you for watching ☺️
👍👍👍💛
💪🏾
そもそも英語力高いやん
どうやって英語学習したのか、持ってる資格なども発信して欲しい
バリ島 から、よろしく
Ohagi
You have to understand the connotations that the word "religious" has in English. There is a strong negative sentiment towards the term for a lot of people. Religious people tend to be very narrow minded and reject anything outside their religion. When you say Japanese people respect all Gods and religions, that makes them not religious in the eyes of many westerners. As someone who speaks Japanese and has spent a lot of time over there, I would never call Japanese people "religious". They are spiritual and they have a lot of spiritual customs and they respect tradition. But they aren't religious. And that's a good thing.
September 22 is my birthday by the way 😊😊
Happy birthday 🎉☺️
I am wearing Ohagi underwear right now.
Buddhism comes from Nepal,lndia
The Christmas Story, the way it's usually told -- God, born a man in a manger, and all of that -- escapes some moderns; mostly, I think, because they seek complex answers to their questions, and this one is so utterly simple. So, for the cynics and the skeptics and the unconvinced, I'd like to submit this modern parable.
The man I'm talking about was not a scrooge,1 now. He was a kind, a decent, a mostly good man; generous to his family and upright in his dealings with other men. But he just did not believe in all of that Incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas time. It just did not make sense, and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He could not swallow the Jesus story about God coming to Earth as a man.
He told his wife, "I’m truly sorry to distress you, but I’m just not going with you to church this Christmas Eve." He said he’d feel like a hypocrite, that he’d much rather just stay home, but that he would wait up for them. So he stayed, and they went to the midnight service.
Now, shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier. Then he went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper.
Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound; and then another; then, yet another. At first he thought somebody must be throwing snowballs against the living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled out there, miserably, in the snow. They had been caught in the storm. In a desperate search for shelter, they had tried to fly through his large landscape window. That was what had been making the sound.
Well, he couldn’t let those poor creatures just lie there and freeze. So, he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter. All he would have to do is direct the birds into that shelter. Quickly, he put on a coat and galoshes, and he tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. And he opened the doors wide. And inside the barn, he turned on a light so the birds would know the way in.
But the birds did not come in.
So, he figured that food would entice them. He went back into the house and fetched bread crumbs and sprinkled those on the snow, making a trail of bread crumbs to the yellow-lighted, wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs. The birds just continued to flop around helplessly in the snow.
He tried catching them -- he could not. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms, but instead they scattered in every direction -- every direction except into the warm, lighted barn. And that's when he realized that they were afraid of him.
They were afraid of him.
To [them], he reasoned, I'm a strange, terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me, that I'm not trying to hurt them but to help them. But how? Any move he made tended to frighten them and confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him.
And he thought to himself,
"If only I could be a bird now," -- "I could be a bird and mingle with them and speak their language and tell them not to be afraid, then I could show them the way to the safe, warm barn. But I would have to be one of them, wouldn't I? So they could see, and hear, and understand."
At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells, Adeste Fidelis, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas.
And he sank to his knees in the snow.
Paul Harvey -- I hope for you and those you love, this will be a wonderfully Merry Christmas.
I'm glad to hear you are interested in religion, especially Christianity. If I ever visit Japan, I want to go to Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Tokyo, an Orthodox Christian Church founded by St Nicholas of Japan. Have you ever considered visiting Holy Resurrection Cathedral? You might find Orthodox Christianity very interesting.
never even heard of ohAGI
It seems a lot like Dia de muertos
Those interested in Christianity say that the life of Jesus Christ is what is most attractive to them. However, there are many who call themselves Christians, but do not follow the example displayed through the life of Jesus Christ.
I want to sleep forever.
me too
jworg
Isaiah 45:5
I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me;...
She's married.
Nope
おはぎ一口でかw
She's like AskJapan, but a female...
is this why you dance in the streets ?
I guess what you're mentioning is "Yosakoi" dance?
Can you reply to my comment? I offered support but you ignored me always
@youtuber-cc8sx im listening to other people days, life and problems. But for what. Nowadays Everybody wants to speak out but not listen to others. Everybody is a superstar. Quite self-centered everything. And when you sincerely offer support, no feedback even. I feel no connection. Id better watch smth that would bring me at least smth informative. Maybe some other topic chanels. In our time of information overload we need to choose carefully 😳
I'm so sorry for not replying you.
I'm trying to reply all comments but it's a little difficult sometimes.
Everyone's comments make me feel happy!
I pray that you find your way in Christ❤
Im offerin u a religion dat warenty u a places dat decent and always happy and u wil never ever die that is heaven and we meet our creator seein his faces as gift dat we never ever have it before if u accepting islam u will obtaining dat and ill make sure to know dat u are know this massage and all people who read this and i hope u are hear me..
Miss Shika, you should learn about Islam ☪️ there are many similarities in Islam and traditional Japanese culture 😊
Thank you for sharing your beliefs and interests! I think religion is very important, regardless of our personal beliefs, because many of our traditions come from religion, and many of our values are rooted in religious beliefs. Even though in modern times there's an effort to separate values and traditions from religion, I believe it's important to respect and understand religions, as this helps us learn more about ourselves. There are many teachings in religion that remain relevant today. It's fascinating to see how different religions have similarities and teachings that seem universal, but it's also great to appreciate the differences!
It’s great to see young people interested in these topics because most are caught up in the distractions of modern life
Interesting information about this national holiday. Do you also have Instagram or TikTok?
www.youtube.com/@TokyoCamiiTV/videos
Very interesting ! "it s not the place where we are living in..." => "it is not the place we are experiencing...", "keep watching upon us", "say thank you to our ancestors" => "to thank them". "with a grain of salt", very nice : ) When you say automnal, try to void the "mu", instead of autoMUnal, try autonal. Neither do i believe much in what is commonly called "religion", maybe there is such a ting like god, maybe not. Maybe time exists, maybe not ; )
If I were to describe what i believe in, in those religious words, i d say we are energy ray, god would be something called Evolution.
Something i do not understand about shintoism, does every cell have a god too ? Therefor, the hand cream has a god, made of of the many gods of each cells, made of each god of each atoms, made of each god for each protons and nucleus ? like a russian puppet. And then, does it mean there is a bigger god that is made of all those smaller gods, like a god for a nation, a god for a planet, a god for a star, a god for a system solar, a god of the universe ? :-/