Week 3: Rituals, Religion: Omiai, Soshiki, Kisetsu, Itoko Dori, Otogibanashi, Japanese Funerals April 18-24
Reading:
- Ch. 20, Pg 163-170 “Arranged Marriage in Japan,” Omiai お見合い
- Ch. 25, Pg 201-216 “Japanese Funerals,” Soshiki 葬式
- Watch this short, summary video on Japanese funerals Funerals #2: “Traditions of Japanese funerals” in a flash – JapaNEWS #93 – YouTube
- Ch. 15, Pg 127-134 “Adopting Elements of Foreign Culture,” Iitoko-Dori いいとこ取り
- Ch. 21, Pg 171-179 “Folktales of Japan,” Otogibanashi おとぎ話
- Anne’s Blog post title: 桜の力or The Power of the Cherry Blossom
Interviewing:
- Interview a Japanese person and ask them about one or two of the topics that we’ve covered so far in the book. Ask their perspective on the topics.
- Discuss if their viewpoint/experiences align with what we’ve read in the book.
Writing: Weekly Paper: “Impressions and Points from Your Reading”
- Japanese Funerals:
- What do you think that our Christian perspective should be of Japanese Buddhist Funerals?
- What position do believers and churches currently hold in Japanese funerals?
- What do you think that our position/role should be or could be? How could that be achieved?
- Itoko-Dori
- How does Itoko-Dori potentially impact people’s acceptance and expression of Christianity? How does Syncretism relate to Itoko-Dori?
- How do we approach/teach Japanese believers on Itoko-Dori and syncretism?
- How do we disciple people to fall in love with the person of Jesus Christ and the father’s heart and priorities and not just teach a religion of allowable and disallowable actions?
Optional:
- Read the discussion questions at the end of the chapter. Are there any that you think highlight a key point that merits further discussion by the class, specifically as it relates to how we think about and approach ministry to the Japanese?
- Read as many of the other students’ writings and comment on at least two of them.
Pray:
- Pray daily for Japan and Japanese, using Operation Japan.
- Topic related to this week’s learning:
- Family Ministries – Prayer for Family Ministries (May 3-5)
Extra Suggestions:
- Read daily a Japanese newspaper Japan Times and ,Japan Today
- Watch this short video documenting a traditional Japanese wedding Our Japanese Wedding Ceremony | 私たちの神前結婚式 – YouTube
- Watch this video of a Buddhist Japanese Funeral Ceremony Japanese Buddhists Funeral 2010.07.24 Shizuoka Japan Culture Tradition Religion Monks Buddhist Peace – YouTube
- Ch. 11, Pg 153-159 “The Japanese Sense of the Seasons,” Kisetsu 季節