One positive thing about this pandemic is that I've had lots of time to read which often gets placed on the backburner. A book I almost didn't purchase for my Kindle because of the price has proven itself well worth the $9.99 I reluctantly spent on it. Silence and Beauty: Hidden Faith Born of Suffering by Makoto Fujimura is a response to the book Silence by Shusaku Endo, a novel based on the true story of two Jesuit Priests who journey to Japan during the height of Christian persecution. The description on amazon reads: "In This World of Pain and Suffering, God Often Seems Silent. But Light is yet Present in Darkness, and Silence Speaks with Hidden Beauty and Truth." This description sums up very well the message of this book. Makoto Fujimura, an artist himself, highlights several of these evidences of silence speaking through hidden beauty and truth in Japan today; imprints left on a culture long ago after the brutal removal of Christians from the country. One of these examples that really caught my interest was tea ceremonies. There's nothing more comforting to me than a cup of Japanese green tea in a traditional Japanese tea cup. Not to say that I don't enjoy a cup of American tea in a favorite mug but Japanese tea and American tea are not interchangeable. Japanese tea is an art, it's a staple of Japanese society and an important cultural element. People dedicate their lives to the art of making and serving tea. This is why I was amazed to read of the Christian influence on this iconic beverage in a country that is less than 1% Christian. Sen Rikyu (1522-1591) who shaped the tea ceremony into the art form that it is today, may have been heavily influenced by biblical values. His wife was one of the first converts to Christianity in Kyoto. Sen Rikyu had not claimed that we are aware of, to be a Christian but it is evident in his work that there was very much an overlap in his thinking. Rikyu is well known for creating nijiri-guchi, which was a small square entry port that required anyone who entered to remove their sword and bow to enter the room. Rikyu transformed the tea ceremony from an extravagant banquet to a simple, meditative event of peace, beauty and humility. In the film "God's Fingerprints in Japan," Dr. Leroy Seat, chancellor of Seinan Gakuin University explains "every person in the tearoom is equal and there is no distinction. The tearoom is the only place in Japanese society where there is no rank. All guests are honored and humbly served equally. The tea master cleanses and prepares a place for his guests and then serves them in great humility" Generations later, a direct descendent of Sen Rikyu, Dr. Sen who serves as the 15th grand tea master said "we have to teach others a servant's heart and that is the teaching of Jesus isn't it?" Though not a believer himself, Dr. Sen's wife is a Christian and he attended a Christian university. Dr. Sen shared with the research team for the film "God's Fingerprints in Japan" that Francis Xavier encouraged believers to learn Sado (Japanese tea ceremony) for the purpose of evangelism which is why so many of Sen Rikyu's followers were believers. One of Sen Rikyu's followers was Christian Martyr Ukon Takayama who was canonized by the Roman church. The atmosphere Rikyu created along with the process of serving the tea has many parallells to the celebration of Mass. The movements are so similar in fact, Christians would celebrate Mass in a tea room because anyone who saw inside through the rice paper walls wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Also interesting is that the stone lanterns, very characteristic of Japanese tea rooms have Christian roots. Makoto Fujimura explains "lanterns came to symbolize, like the Underground Railroad quilts of African American slaves, a secret way to communicate Christian presence. Oribe, another major disciple of Rikyu, created a stone lantern particular to Christians with a unique cross at its base, this tradition continued throughout the persecution years as the Christian community became increasingly hidden." These stone lanterns are all over Japan and I often assumed that they had some kind of Shinto meaning but yet again God is subtly making his presence known, interwoven in the tapestry of Japanese culture. Acts 17:26-27 says, "From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." There are so many elements of Japanese culture that may seem as obstacles that keep the Japanese from knowing Jesus but perhaps these things could be bridges, making Jesus closer than he appears.
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