Persecution Invisible In Japan: Volunteer Harassment

Hi! It's Shellil Linn.　(_ _).｡o○

The olympic volunteer in Rio Olympic games had risen as a volunteer harassment trouble.
Most of the olympic volunteers in Rio were unpaid, unable to get some food and drink for eight to ten hours a day without taking a rest.

In Rio, the basic problem laid on the political and economical confusion. But, the situation is very different in Japan.

It is very common in Japan that the bureaucratic officials concern any religious authority, NPO, NGO and other voluntary groups as "convenient free-workers to use".

Bureaucrats and politicians settle NPO, NGO or other government-supported authority to make up "one more parachute employer" after their retirement. Those parachuted NPO and NGO usually do no useful work, but get prior support from the official budget.

So, "real volunteers" in Japan always need to concern two theme. One is "how & where to receive the enough support or donation to manage the volunteer group?". The other is "how to take the proper distance not to be enslaved by the local and central government official?".

Kyoto Catholic Church on about 19890

Christians and churches need to keep our mind on one more matter. We Christians, Catholics in Japan always need to keep on "if voluntary work according to Christianity is misunderstood, enslaved and used as the fraud to disturb the Christian mission; to let all the people in the world know the love of God.

Catholic churches, monasteries and convent has been keeping some kind of qualification on the social voluntary work in Japan.

First, churches, monasteries and convent stand for Christians welfare and those who have been abandoned by Japanese society such as a single mother girl who refused to have an abortion which is concerned preferable in this society.

Second, all the personal or group volunteers set an aim and purposes on the voluntary work clearly in the group, and do the limited works in voluntary spirit according to the Christianity.

Political gains were prior to the religious goodness since end of seventeenth century in Japan, when Ieyasu Tokugawa Shogunate preferred to sacrifice the Catholic villagers along with survivor samurai of Toyotomi's Eastern forces.

Chasing Christianity as the common enemy of all the Nipponism religion was the most convenient way to settle the sustainable central government for Ieyasu Tokugawa.

The cause of persecution was a faked reasoning to reject the slave trade to European countries at that time also.

Ieyasu Tokugawa lost his long-term inherited land of Suruga(present Shizuoka area), and gain the present Tokyo area where was shoal, empty lot with few fishermen and farmers living. Hence Ieyasu was planning to build a big cosmopolitan city, he asked refugees from all over the Japan include the war refugees from Korean Peninsula.

To gather so many male labours, his grandson had built a big amusement prostitute city called "Yoshiwara".  At that time, so many orphans &  widows could find job in Yoshiwara, and some even had found a new partner to marry.

But, Ieyasu needed to hide his purpose until he finally make up the Shogunate dynasty include refusing the export of slaves to overseas.

At the end of Edo period, all these political situation were forgotten, but the persecution toward all kind of religious authorities which argue on the freedom of religious faith to save "goodness" in us.

So many sect or temples of Buddhism were also faced and ruined by the persecution during Edo period.

And Meiji government wanted to make up partly Christianized Shintoism, for the nationalists misunderstood the Christian church as the religious authority with hierarchy, which is under governmental control.

So, whatsoever the Christians do voluntary, is concerned as the social utility value, only. No bureaucrats would appreciate and encourage the Christian mission no matter how much we contribute to the Japanese social welfare.

It is so called as "volunteer harassment" in Japan.

The volunteer harassment problems is very common in Japan. Once Mission of Charity convent of brothers had left Japan, because the civic center asked them not to do Mass and Liturgy of Hours in the convent if they want to live with homeless men in the same household.  According to the civic office, the Mission of Charity is against the constitution article 20th, which guarantee all the human being in Japan not to forced any religious worships.

It is just a sophistry, hence no one who are regular workers in a hospital or nursery home cannot refuse the Shintoism ritual the hospital do to purify the dead spirits who died in a hospital or nursery home!

The volunteer harassment happens for pet sitters, animal rights activists also. Those who are too eager to accept both bureaucratic requests, and human or animal right order, many commit suicide due to overwork and stress.

Hope we will find some way to talk over the volunteer harassment problem with Japanese bureaucrats, but, they won't listen to the voices they wouldn't accept anyway.

Pease pray for us.

Persecution Invisible In Japan: Guilty To Being Incorporative and Against Implicit Order

Hi! It's Shellil Linn. ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

Some of my FB friends were already called to the police station just "to taste sticks" and threatened. So, the Abe and Nippon Kaigi dictatorship is going on as in else where in the world, like Myanma, Nepal, Egypt and North Korea and so on.

Nippon Kaigi ideal is the "non-constitutional nation" as in the middle age or earlier. Their people would never think about offending the Nippon Kaigi's implicit order, and never refuse to sacrifice each of oneself for meaningless order.

Once, I've found a word in my writing was corrected to "mis-spelling word", so I went to the teacher and asked her if she mis-corrected the spelling. She said "my correcting is right, because I'm your teacher".  And she corrected a correct word on the dictionary as "mis-spelled" again.

So, I bought her a dictionary which says her spelling was wrong, and mine was right. But, again, she corrected a word to the "mis-spelled".

What she would tried to say was "not to be offensive homeroom teacher's implicit order". But, since I have an aspergers' syndrome, I couldn't catch her suggestion "not to bother her with a little mistake".

So, I told my mother, and she finally admitted that she had made mistake in front of my mother. But, she had given a lower grade than anyone expected.

The other teacher in fourth grade claimed that I'm guilty being a Ijime abuse victim, because a victim has some kind of reason let an ordinary student become a perpetrator. According to her theory, if there's not a one who is incorporative enough to let any ordinary student make tempered, Ijime case won't happen.

So, she made me hold up a heavy wooden chair over 10 pounds high over my head for an hour during  a class study behind the classroom is going on. She claimed that only punishment for a Ijime victim to force a corporation was the severe physical punishment.  She once chased me out of classroom and hold two bucket filled with water to the brim, because she found that even during punishment, I haven't stopped to learn something even I couldn't take a note.

They both seemed as if they enjoying the punishment, like an abuser of domestic violence. They both maybe just tried to hide their inability.

But, those perpetrators and abusers wasn't punished as much as I was. Maybe there was some punishment, but, just to cover up everything, teachers became complicity to perpetrator and abuser kids.

It is very common things happens in Japanese society. And by punishing weak and minority who are receiving abuses, weak and minority become more and more isolated as abusers were evaluated as "corporative" to the implicit order which no one really cannot explain what it is except few "celebrity class people".

At the same time, I had been chased by a Sokagakkai girl, who never had listen a word of what I say, but to argue to conversion to Sokagakkai.

I still have some traumatic feeling to Japanese Buddhism especially, because of a series of Sokagakkai stoker girl's stubborned attitude. Even though I was in absolute isolation under the situational mutism symptom, dissociative identity disorders and other physical sickness, I've turn to be all alone instead of having any extra contact with others.

I'm not sure if an adult behind them planned something horrible on abusing me or not. I hope no one really planned to make a hell for so many people.

A chief of academic affairs one day told us "a good story".

He said ordinary people attempt struggles and problems if there's no aim to do "something".  And the aim should be best if that aim is really meaningless and worthless to do. If a leader try to do something worthy and meaningful, then people become  more independent, extravagant and seek something more worthy and meaningful. As people become more individual and incorporative, the society become more chaotic and uncontrolled.

And he started to talk about a good mayor who left a word "dig this place to find a treasure!" and died. Because people wanted to have treasure, they had dig a big big hole on the ground. People had been so fascinated for three years, and they finally find a treasure box. There was a piece of paper said "FILL THE HOLE AND DIG A NEW HOLE! YOU'LL NEVER BE BORED AND SELF-ESTEEMED! HA! HA! HA!".

By three years, people lost their purpose to find  something precious, and brainwashed aim "dig a hole and fill it again and again".

I still remember his face was really intoxicated as he is doing something really important.

I was so scared to the society I was. Human dignity, kindness or anything belongs to humanity was useless in the school I've been when I was in that public elementary school nearby.

The time was 1970-1976, when Japan seemed to be more democratic country.  Many people I turned to know after I've grown up don't believe the days I faced, but, I'm really not telling you a fantasy or day dream.

Pressure not to face the truth, and make fool of people is really tough. If I wasn't born as AS, I think I've already committed suicide long ago.

Things ordinary Japanese do on 15th August, the WWII Memorial day

Hi! It's Shellil Linn.♪( ´θ｀)ノ

Japanese news and media sources tells only which politicians have worshiped in Yasukuni Shrine, the Nationalism goddesses Shrine, which is also concerned as a goddesses of successful delivery for a pregnant  women.

But, the majority of Japanese people have not interested in Yasukuni Shrine, or WWII Memorial day except few.

There was a women Hiroko, who once was my colleague in a small trading company. Her father lost his right knee & foot during WWII in China, and Hiroko's father and herself were faithful followers of Yasukuni Shrine, hence they receive newsletters and donation transfer slip several times a year.

Hiroko visits Yasukuni Shrine once or twice when she visits Tokyo by her father's sake.  She's busy on 15th August, hence she need to prepare and plan a visit to her husband's tomb for "Obon(Lantern Memorial Feast)". She said, "I've never visited Yasukuni Shrine on 15th August. My family ancestor is prior to me as a housewife, than a Shrine visit. I'm not a politician."

Some who are originated in local homeland, but work&live in a big cities, such as Tokyo, Osaka or Yokohama go back to their parents' homeland only while their parents alive. Many of them visit tombs at their homeland, and their children enjoys seaside, riverside, or mountains,

People originated in local homeland, but lost their direct contact with relatives concern they became "homeland less"  until the generation who had born and grown in a city raise their cosmopolitan consciousness.

Those who are already cosmopolitans enjoy overseas' trip, sports, hobby or just take easy rest at home in steaming sweaty hot summer. Young Otaku are quite busy visiting COMIKE(Comic Market) or other Otaku spots.

In my city, the civic centre announced to pray for the memorial of WWII victims this year on 12 o'clock in the evening, but no car, bicycles and people stand still and close their eyes, as if they hadn't heard anything.

Many Japanese have some feeling on the biggest world war we've experience in our history, but not in a way our government, LDP, Nippon Kaigi or mass media would intend to aware of.

I still remember two old handicapped men in a nursery home once I'd worked for. One was a low level secret police in Amami-Oshima Island, undergone with the Catholic persecution on 1930th. Another one was once placed to a KAMIKAZE suicide bomb mission on 16th August, 1945.

A pro secret policemen became troublesome patient as his violence toward nursers and nurses became horrible. And KAMIKAZE survivor often fought by words and fists over their wheelchair position. They seemed that both had pain in them, as pro-offender, and a victim of poverty, brutal abuse, and their brain-washed self during their military or police services.

They both were thrown away when the WWII was over like a trash, restarted their life again in a city far away from their home.

A pro secret policemen was too embarrassed to keep living in his home island, for he once had taken a side of the nationalism oppression. He'd thrown away his home, and try to be a cosmopolitan near Tokyo.

KAMIKAZE survivor's homeland was Hiroshima, the first nuclear bomb was dropped. So, he had to move to somewhere else to hide his family history in Hiroshima. He had married to his wife before he join the military, and his wife gave a birth to a daughter right after the WWII. He was afraid if his daughter have some obstacle and discrimination for nuclear bomb survivor in Hiroshima when a baby  become certain age to marry a man.

Those who had lived WWII had their life history to hide in their reason to survive the difficult decades after 15th August, 1945, the majority of nation had become some kind of complicity to the nationalists' theory in very ambiguous way.

But now, except some politicians, sect Shintoists, fantastic followers and the Yasukuni Shrine itself, ordinary Japanese are apathy to Yasukuni Shrine belief.

And this apathetic mentality for Yasukuni Shrine have become a match pump for Yasukuni Shrine to decline deeply to the Nippon Kaigi nationalist group.

Yasukuni Shrine's maintenance fees and costs have been paid by families, friends, supporters and relatives of "war goddesses(Gunshin)" of Yasukuni Shrine.

Those who died on the military or other duty acknowledged as obedient to the government order, were granted as war goddess of Yasukuni Shrine  after their death in duty  until 1945 like a decoration in other countries.

After WWII, Yasukuni Shrine lost its right to grant some spirit a war goddess. On 1970th,  seven WWII A-class war criminal was granted as Yasukuni Shrine war goddesses.  And the emperor Hirohito had stopped to visit and worship Yasukuni Shrine anymore, for he cannot worship or praise those who are truly responsible and guilty for WWII.

So, as the time goes by, the WWII survivors and their families get old, and die. And there will be less to send Yasukuni newsletters and donation slip, and less revenue Yasukuni Shrine receive.

Someday not too far from now, Yasukuni Shrine will have no one to ask for donation. So, some priests in Yasukuni Shrine imagine if Japan can start or join a war, and if they regain the right to grant a new war goddesses join to those old goddesses, their will be new addresses they can ask for the donation!

Karematsu-Shrine in Nagasaki, the Catholic Shrine built during Edo period

Until about 17th century, many goddess were born in legend, dreams and faith, praised and believed by people, and ruined its faith as the situation and people changes. But, as a polytheism country, there hadn't been a system of "solid goddess"system or any theoretical foundation undergo.  Many legends made up new goddess, and some old goddesses had disappeared as the time goes by.

At the end of Edo era, some scholars begun to theorize the Shintoism as a philosophy to make a common basis to form a counter power to Tokugawa Shogunate. Those samurai had deeply concerned on sophisticating Shintoism like a Buddhism interruption, but wasn't deeply concerned about practical faith and belief in people.

Samurai like Shoin Yoshida thought that if sophisticated samurai shows their ideology of modern Shintoism, ordinary people will set up their rituals, lyrics and stories as samurai's will.

At the end of Edo period, samurai had already lost their respect in their caste priority. Anyone could buy a clan or class by money. But samurai wasn't really aware if they're on the way to ruin or slowly rising of the people.

Truly said, samurai could make people suffered, but not changed.

The solid ranking system for all kinds of goddesses as we see now had begun only 150 years ago when Meiji government settled, limited, and became only authority to grant a spirit as official goddess in Shrine Shintoism and nationalistic Shintoism.

After WWII,  we lost the authority to grant a spirit, a fairy or a dead men goddess or not. And the absence of the authority accelerated the delay the recovery of self-esteem in Japan. Without anyone to trust on, how you can build up your self-esteem in peace and love without having any model to observe and keep in touch?

In the other word, the active polytheism in Japan was already over 150 years ago, for the polytheism live in local legend started by peopled , accepted and believed by local followers and their belief forms some kind of ritual or festival in the way people really want to do so.

As in any religion in the world, religious belief is based on internal freedom as to worship in public. No one never want any governmental control on seeking "why I live? why I die?".

Now, it is almost impossible to make ordinary Japanese aware their apathy to any kind of belief or faith.

The long term absence on active religious life have already become a blank hall in each  spirit in Japanese. Most Japanese might see only desperate, discrimination, emasculation, and lethargy in their internal spiritual hall. And so many people try to fill the hall with games, films, and just being "not noiseless" to avoid to face our historical facts.

The end of World War II was the beginning of endless absence of spiritual authority once Meiji government tried to brainwash with sticks and carrots.

In 21st century, we now started to walk a bit, stand by each one of our feet, and walk with it. It is probably way too far for the conservatives, but go forward to our tomorrow is the only way we have.

Curse godess(Goryo) belief and the Nationalistic Yasukuni godesses

Hi! It's Shellil Linn.(^_^;)

Hence political situation has been becoming  so critical day by day in Japan, many of you might be interested in the basic religious concepts which has been underneath the traditional Japanese culture related with the Neo Nazi nationalist such as the new defense minister Tomoko Inada in Abe cabinet.

I often find a slanders for Catholic and handicapped so often on the twitter line & TV comments.
It seems as if the negative campaign for minorities and week ones is the only faith? those nationalists show.

So, I 'd like to introduce the brief history of Curse Spiritual belief(Goryo) which is the practical origin of the Nationalistic Yasukuni goddesses faith.

Goryo faith is still present in the traditional Shrine Shintoism, and the nationalists' curse' practice is something totally different from traditional Goryo faith. The difference was originated from the diplomatic isolation in our history, especially during Edo period.

Since 5th century, there were primitive belief for spirits who had died in misery and sorrow looser by  tragedic political disputes.

For example, prince Sawara of 8th century is the one of the most powerful curse goddess in Japan. Since his mother was a lower class born, young prince had sent to Zen priesthood, and so called " the Prince Zen monk(Shino-Zenji)".
Todaiji, one of the most powerful temple in Nara at that time had strongly supported and trusted the prince Sawara, he seems to be a monk gathered the respect from both monks and the people.

Since his father, the emperor Koin hadn't have a boy without the prince Sawara,  the empeor called out the prince from the temple, and canonized as his successor prince. But, prince Sawara was named as a suspect of murdering the most influential man, Tanetsugu Fujiwara, prince Sawara and the highest monk of Todaiji had died as traitors.

Prince Sawara is famous on his last words;"if the emperorship become a dominant of the political authority, I will curse the imperial house to abolish the emperorship itself".

Right after prince Sawara's death, misfortune had happened  in nobles and emperor houses over and over as well as natural disasters. People had believed that all the misfortune was the result of prince Sawara's curse, and try to pacify miserable prince's spirit by "Goryo-eh( a form of rituals to pacify the strong curse spirits) over and over.

But, the Goryo-eh rituals seemed not effective, later emperor crowned the dead prince Sawara as "Emperor Sudo(means "way of curses")" and buried him in imperial tomb.

Strong curse after one's death is the one standard regulation to grant or crown a spirit as a goddess.

There had been spiritual hierarchy on Shinto goddesses. Their has been spiritual ranking system for Shinto goddesses by each  class origin, house ranking, their life, personal excellence and each reason to grant the goddesshood.

Belief for curses had been so strong until about 11th century. But, Shinto shrines'  power seems to decline from 11-15th century for local legal power, trial place and legal cases notes had been became custody of Buddhist temples. Ordinary people's mind had shifted from the supernatural solution to more realistic solution.

So, the reasons and causes granted a goddess have forgotten, but the respect for their high ranks and the image of strength have remained in people's mind.

In 1603, Tokugawa tyranny has begun, and Ieyasu Tokugawa deserved to become the most strong and respectful goddess at the time. Ieyasu, the first Shogun had done all the lobby works to let the emperor grant him the great goddess(Dai-gongen), and his enemy be lower goddess than him.

Ieyasu thought that becoming a strongest goddess is the only way to dominate Japan peacefully by clearly political reasons. And banned the Christian mission just to spread the obscurantism to make  up the image of "the looser's goddess" as the emotional frustration vent.

During Edo period, there are only several ways to burst up the frustration for ordinary people; study, marshal art practices for steadies, and love affair, sex, abuse and suicide were the other way out of the frustration.

But as the urban poverty had risen as the social issue, the love affair & master image ghosts and monsters replaced the realistic human relationship. During Edo period, Catholic priests were slandered as a supernatural magicians which no one can ever imagine what it is!

This delusional fantasy was justified as "social truth" at the end of Edo period in the blindly closed nation.

Nationalistic imperialists had reviewed the ancient myth story book "Kojiki" is the truth of truth than the historical myth book called "Nihon-shoki".  National Imperialists thought that their fantastic interpretation study can restore the ancient religion without people's faith and belief.

Those samurai thought that ordinary people are as a lamp of cray which they can make all people's mind as they order by easy carrot and stick policy. And they were seriously scared by spiritual curse without thinking about the reason behind their emotion.

That's why the nationalistic imperialists  were so cautious for all kind of curse goddesses and possible curse spirits.

They thought that to the settlement of Meiji government, they had to performed "Goryo-eh" to pacify the emperor Sudo. They also granted Nobunaga Oda, the former enemy of Tokugawa Tycoonship as the goddess to avoid the possible misfortune caused by supernatural reasons.

Meiji bureaucrats were so careful for those who died in grudge and misfortune during the civil war between the imperial forces and the Tokugawa samurai.

So, to pacify those spirits died in the civil war, Meiji government had established "Chukonsha(Shrines of nationalists' goddesses) to avoid the curses from the huge numbers of dead samurai.

Until Sino-Japan War on 1894-5, only heroes and samurais or above were granted as goddesses as well as nationalists' martyrs. About the Sino-Japan War period, some fallen were granted as goddesses in Chukonsha and Yasukuni Shrine as the warrior hero.

It means the norms of granting goddess status became more precisely political and less religious in fact.

After the World War I, Japanese government have lower the norms of granting goddesses to all the fallen widened to all soldiers. All who died as a soldier granted to be a goddess of Yasukuni Shrine regardless of one's personal faith and belief.

It was so sad and ridiculous when one's dead soldiers' mementos had come home. The famous TV announcer, Monta Mino claimed that he can never forget the sorrow he felt on his father' call up. When his relative's mementos came home, all his neighbors  had started to shouted "Banzai(Cheers!)" with joy  as his father called up to join the military during funeral. In front of  Mino, he saw his mother is crying who was seven months pregnant with several boys include the child Monta Mino himself.

But, all these reality is not  the theme to the followers of Nippon Kaigi. After WWII, except few firemen and police men, Yasukuni Shrine had lost their right to grant any officials grant a goddesshood, because the granting goddess hood itself became anti-constitutional and against the natural human right.

Nippon Kaigi's theoretical founder, Masaharu Taniguchi argue that the constitutional definition for the human right itself is against nationalistic imperialism. Since founder Taniguchi was true reactionist, he thought it is necessary to expel the present constitution to purify his nation.

Ethnocenterists of 1960th to 1980th were influenced on Nippon Kaigi's right wing nationalistic  "mood" or "air(Kooki)" until 2012.

Since then, the ethoncenterists had begun split to the fundamentalistic supporter of the pacifist emperor Akihito, and the fantastic supporter of Taniguchi's theory in "Seimei-no-Jisso(The reality of the life)".

It is the very brief theoretical background of Nippon Kaigi and the national fundamentalists according to the materials and study I've done.

As it always has been, the theoretical background in fantastic belief is always walk along with the industrial vest right, under-the-table money and some political tendency.

We see no way to solve the double-twisted nation under the "divide, sectionalize and dictate" politics in Japan.