Tag: religion | RocketNews24

religion

400-year-old Kyoto temple shows its 21st century attitude by going digital

Jun 1, 2013 by Casey Baseel
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Founded at the opening of the 17th century, Kyoto’s Nishi Honganji Temple is one of the city’s most prestigious Buddhist institutions. As you might expect, it has some decidedly old-school touches, such as the length of rope woven out of strands of hair donated by female believers which was used to haul building materials for the structure.

But Nishi Honganji is no historical relic. As one of the most important temples in the widely-practiced True Pure Land School sect of Buddhism, large numbers of faithful look to the temple for religious guidance. To meet their needs, the temple has come up with a modern idea that belies its 400 years of history.

May 3, 2013 by Casey Baseel
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Since 2007, Hikaru Nakamura’s Saint Young Men manga comic series has followed the daily lives of two young men who just happen to be the revered central figures of Christianity and Buddhism. The divine figures have reincarnated, not so save the souls of humanity, but to spend some time enjoying a low-key lifestyle while sharing an apartment in the comparatively sleepy town of Tachikawa in West Tokyo. The story follows their day-to-day lives, including Buddha’s fascination with the manga based on himself and Jesus’ long locks and wispy beard getting him mistaken for Johnny Depp by schoolgirls at a local convenience store.

To celebrate the upcoming theatrical animated adaptation of Saint Young Men, publisher Kodansha is allowing the free reproduction and use of a portion of the series.

Jan 21, 2013 by Master Blaster
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Saint Francis Xavier was a missionary during the 16th century who is credited for bringing Christianity to parts of Asia previously unaware of the religion. Even today several churches bearing his name or likeness can be found in Japan, China, Indonesia, India and more.

Although he was successful at establishing a foothold for later missionaries to operate in Japan, his task was not easy. The patience of this Saint was taken to the limit by potential followers complaining about gaps in logic with concepts such as hell and creation.

Dec 21, 2012 by Master Blaster
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The Pew Research Center in America recently released the results of a survey measuring the populations and distributions of the world’s major religions. Coming in at first and second place are Christianity and Islam, but making an impressive third place standing was “none.”

Of these people with no religious affiliation, the lion’s share live in the Asia Pacific Region of the world – 76.2% to be exact. In terms of sheer numbers, that’s roughly 858,580,000 people, one fifth of the total population in the region.

Nov 13, 2012 by Philip Kendall
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Tori no Ichi is an open-air market festival held in Japan on the day of the Rooster in November, as determined by the Chinese calendar. At the festivals, markets are set up in front of or near to Shinto shrines, and charms- most often decorated bamboo rakes called kumade- that are said to bring the owner good fortune in the coming year are sold to visitors.

Kumade literally means “bear hand”, since, when you think about them, rakes are shaped rather like a large hand with claws. Rakes were chosen generations ago as a sign of good luck since they can be used to draw things– in this case wealth and good fortune– towards us, and the practice of buying ornamental rakes has been common in Japan since the Edo period (1600-1867).

Wanting to check out the lively festival and ask for continued success for the website next year, our reporter Mr. Sato headed over to the famous Hanazono shrine in Shinjuku to purchase a kumade on behalf of RocketNews24.

However, having never purchased one of the charms before, he discovered that he had more than a couple of things to learn…

Sep 28, 2012 by Philip Kendall
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It was revealed yesterday that Saint Onīsan, quite possibly this writer’s favourite manga right now, is to become an animated feature film.

For the unfamiliar, Saint Onīsan (lit. Saint young man), is Hikaru Nakamura’s serial comic that tells the tale of Jesus and Buddha, who come down to Earth from heaven for a little rest and relaxation, setting up camp in a small apartment in Tachikawa, Tokyo.

Constantly on a budget but always keen to explore, Jesus and Buddha do their best to keep their true identities secret while experiencing as much everyday human life as possible. Doing everything from experiencing local festivals to shopping for a rice cooker, the pair often find themselves getting into genuinely hilarious mishaps. Read More

“Fresco Jesus Curry” is a Delicious Restoration of the Traditional Japanese Curry Recipe

Sep 3, 2012 by Steven
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By now you’ve surely heard of the elderly woman who botched the “restoation” of a century-old fresco of Jesus painted on the walls of a Roman Catholic church in Spain.

While the culprit, who is in her 80’s, insists she was only trying to fix the painting as parts of it had flaked off over the years, it’s difficult to describe the “restored” image as anything but vandalism.

Naturally, the internet found the story hillarious and soon “fresco restoration” parodies were showing up on Twitter and blogs worldwide.

Japanese blogger/curry enthusiast Takeda Take, whom you may remember from his adorable Shiba Inu Plump Booty Curry, decided to make his own fresco Jesus restoration using a canvas of—you guessed it—curry and rice.

Jul 25, 2012 by Steven
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Japanese people love rock-paper-scissors – or as it’s known in Japan, janken – and use it to settle all forms of disputes, such as deciding who gets the last slice of cake or what to name your baby.

Recently, a similar game called “Fist of the Gods” has been gaining traction in Japan.

Whereas janken came from China and is used to make impartial choices, “Fist of the Gods” is ritual said to have originated in ancient Greece as a way for two men to confirm their camaraderie.

Feb 27, 2012 by Steven
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The 2012 Tokyo Marathon, which took place last Sunday, February 26, saw a record total of 35,000 participants run the 42.195-kilometer course through city streets normally crowded with pedestrians and cars.

Jan 19, 2012 by Steven
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More and more victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake are reporting that they are suffering from visions of ghosts and other supernatural sensations.

The disaster brought many people face-to-face with death and many believe the apparitions may be a manifestation of their emotional wounds.

As Japan has no governmental office that deals with this kind of issue and many people feel uncomfortable consulting family members, leaders from several different religious organizations in Japan have come together to provide emotional and mental support for the victims.