Shinto weddings look good but most Japanese choose a fake Christian-style wedding instead.

An article in the Japan Times highlights the nature of Endo Shusaku’s ‘swamp’ in which a foreign religion like Christianity is unable to take root but will simply rot and perish. It’s something I had to think about in my book on Hidden Christians. Why is Japan so resistant to Christianity, yet at the same time so eager to embrace Westernisation?

My conclusion was perhaps similar to Endo, although he never specifically mentions Shinto as a root cause. But it seems to me the polytheistic base of Japanese thinking, coupled with its syncretic nature, creates an environment in which form triumphs over substance. Paying respects at a Shinto shrine is correct form, though the substance of what is being worshipped in the shrine remains vague, unknown and largely irrelevant.

But if you follow Shinto and respect its kami, why on earth would you choose a Christian-style wedding? Particularly if you know it’s a fake priest, anyway. It’s something that the article in question considers, so please see this link here. It’s titled:

Christian-style weddings remain popular in Japan, but allure is more about optics than religion

Even a Buddhist wife wants a white Christian style dress

Quote: Christians make up about only 1 percent of Japan’s population of 127 million, according to data released by the Cultural Affairs Agency in 2015.

But a 2011 survey by research company Bridal Souken found that in the first several years of the new millennium, Christian-style weddings accounted for about two-thirds of Japanese unions, and currently a majority still prefer this type of ceremony over Shinto or secular ones.

Foreign celebrants, who in Altar’s experience are invariably Caucasian, are mostly hired by companies subcontracted by kekkonshikijo (exclusive wedding chapels).

“The chapels have nothing to do with congregations or worshippers. The Western ceremony is a chance to wear the nice dress and be like Cinderella or Snow White. Probably the men too, they want a bright ceremony to invite their friends to,” he said.

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For more about Christians and the Shinto connection, see the three-part feature on Hidden Christians here.

Modern pose, traditional clothing