Misawa City Tour

On our second week in Japan we took a tour of Misawa City. Along the way we were given little tidbits about the best places to grocery shop, buy cars, etc. The first stop on our trip was to a Buddhist Temple. There are two major religions in Japan Shinto and Buddhism. Shinto was present in Japan first and Buddhism was imported from China and Korea. Most Japanese consider themselves Buddhist, Shintoist or both. Religion does not play a big role in the everyday life of most Japanese people today. They do not have a daily relationship with the gods they worship nor do they have any type of weekly congregational worship. The average person typically follows the religious rituals at ceremonies like birth, weddings and funerals. They may visit a shrine or temple on a holiday to honor their ancestors or the god of the holiday. Many festivals, most of which have a religious background, are held at the temples or shrines.

The building was very ornate and you had a sense that you were walking into history. We just don't have buildings that old in America. The inside of the temple was just a cold as it was outside and I remember thinking how fitting. I know that my God is always present but it just felt that he was very far away from me in that place. The first photo is an idol that people go to when they have a cold and want to be cured. Can you see the tissue stuck all over it? That gave me quite a chuckle. The second photo is of the alter. The third photo is a room full of separate compartments. Families buy a cube where they place a little table that has a tea set on it. They perform a tea ceremony on the anniversary of their relatives death with the tea set. The higher or lower your cube is on the wall the more the spot costs.

Our next stop was to a home of a samurai family, the Tonami clan. Powerful feudal lords had ravaged Japan in a series of civil wars lasting for roughly 100 years. The Samurai were like his private guards or army. Their identity was a highly guarded secret. This little house was very interesting. It was exactly what you think of when you imagine the cliche Japanese home. It had tatami mats on the floor, rice paper screens for walls and doors, and fire pits in the middle of the rooms for heat. We were shown the escape hatches hidden throughout the house for a quick get away. One of them was a through a trap door in the floor where the samurai would dive into the water well under the house and swim through underground pipes to the neighboring fields. It was all very covert.

The final stop was to the Misawa cultural center where we were briefed on cultural differences. Did you know Japanese ladies flush three times. Once before going, once during, and then again after. Don't you feel more cultured for now knowing that.