Kawaguchi Asama Shrine
Japanese people have a curious relationship with religion.
First of all, many Japanese people will say that they are not religious. However, they see the practice of organised religion as part of their cultural traditions.
At the same time they will often have an ancestor shrine in their home – a Buddhist altar (butsudan) or in Shinto-style households, a mitamaya (or tamaya). Both are used for venerating deceased relatives.
Not surprisingly, the Japanese typically have a birth ceremony. It is known as Miyamairi, a traditional Shinto rite where a newborn is taken to a local shrine for the first time. The purpose is to express gratitude for the birth, introduce the baby to the local kami (deities), and pray for the child’s health and happiness.
Most curiously, many Japanese people get married in Christian churches, though very few are Christian. It has become a popular style of wedding ceremony, with many held in dedicated “wedding churches,” which are often secular venues and are sometimes led by non-clergy officiants who look like priests but are not affiliated with any religion.
And then Buddhist temples are central to funeral services, with most Japanese funerals following Buddhist rites that typically include a wake, a Buddhist priest leading chants, and the cremation of the deceased.
But what I find most wonderful is that Japanese shrines and temples are very often beautifully set in nature. This takes you to the animist soul of Shintoism, which sees the animate and inanimate natural worlds as being inhabited by spirits.
One such shrine is the Kawaguchi Asama Shrine, set in a beautiful forest, with its breathtaking views of Mount Fuji. For many, the main attraction of the shrine is its small but picturesque torii (shrine gate), known as the tenku no torii (gate in the sky) — see photo.
When it comes to worshiping Mount Fuji, there are three practices: yohai (worship from a distance), shugen (training), and tohai (worship through climbing). Kawaguchi Asama Shrine prides itself on being the only shrine where you can do all three. In 2013, the shrine was designated as part of the Mount Fuji UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Like everywhere, superstition is very much part of Japanese life. So, as well as worshiping Mount Fuji and appeasing its once fiery wrath, many people visit the shrine for matchmaking, safe births, good luck and protection against natural disasters.