To try to imagine the meaning of “thou shalt have no other gods before me” sometimes seems a bit of a stretch in the United States. To apply this commandment to every day life, one must figuratively extend the word ‘gods’ to include the Internet, chocolate, and football on Sundays – or, in my case, an orderly house.
However, here in Japan, out of tradition, or even out of sincere belief, people are celebrating the gods this week. When we came home from our trip to Misawa, our neighbors had left for us mochi cakes, oranges and a kadomatsu, an arrangement of evergreen tree sprigs and bamboo on our doorstep. These decorations are to be displayed in the entrance way, as part of New Years celebrations, to ward away malevolent spirits.
At the beginning of the year, people visit temples and shrines – this is called hatsumÅde, or the first shrine visit of the year.
While we have a diverse culture in the United States, most Americans have never seen the worship of false gods to this extent. Back home, “religion” isn’t a topic that most people discuss – of fear that they may believe something different than someone else, and they may offend them. However, Buddhism is so blatant here, there is no helping being confronted with it at every turn.
We are not displaying our kadomatsu :) We did give our neighbors a gift as well – a Christian calendar with passages from the Psalms in Japanese calligraphy over beautiful watercolor paintings for each month, along with a half-dozen gingerbread men!