The March 2nd issue of Jinja Shinpō included an article about Mimusubi. Admittedly, it was by me.
The article was an explicit response to an article published in December, by a priest from Aichi Prefecture. That article was officially about how omamori are, and should be, treated in Reiwa, the current Japanese era. However, the main message was that jinja should avoid supplying omamori to foreigners, because they will just resell them online, treat them badly, and throw them away. He also mentioned that he felt fed up at seeing so many foreigners in Kyoto, and that he was glad that he didn’t have foreigners visiting his jinja.
It is unlikely that I will end up working with him and his jinja, but stranger things have happened.
Anyway, there is a legitimate core concern in his article. Omamori are not souvenirs, and jinja are not simply tourist attractions. It is important that everyone, Japanese or not, treat them appropriately and with respect. As you might guess, I disagree with his general ideas about how to address this problem, and I wanted to say so.
In the article, I started out by saying that I agreed with the fundamental concern in the original article, but that I thought the question that arose was how best to respond to the problem. I rehearsed a standard Shinto establishment line about jinja — they are not private religious institutions, whether for individuals or particular groups, but rather open and public facilities. Since, as I pointed out, there are now a lot of foreign-born people living in Japan, as well as the many, many tourists, this means that the issue facing jinja is how best to get foreign-born people to understand how to act at jinja.
This is not, I said, easy, because most of them know nothing. Multiple approaches, by Jinja Honchō, individual jinja, and individuals, will be necessary. I then talked quite a bit about what I do on Mimusubi, which anyone reading this blog knows — or can find out very quickly.
It took numerous attempts to draft this article, because I did not want to be too confrontational. The idea is to get undecided priests who read the article to think that excluding foreigners is the wrong way to solve the problem, and to provide moral support for priests who already want to include foreigners but might have been put off a bit by the first article. That is why I relied on commonplaces within the Shinto establishment to argue that foreigners should be welcomed at jinja.
I was going to write about what I have done, and am doing, with Jinja Honchō, but because I am writing in a personal capacity, I came to think that it was better to write about what I do in a personal capacity. Obviously, I mentioned some of the things I have done with Jinja Honchō, but I kept the focus off them.
The article had three purposes. The first was to make it the case that an article suggesting that foreigners were the problem did not appear in Jinja Shinpō without any opposition. The second was to make the case that welcoming foreigners was the natural thing for Jinja Shinto to do. And, finally, I wanted to give some concrete examples of things that can be done to address the problems — because there are real problems. They just aren’t about foreigners per se.
I have no idea what impact it will have. I know some priests, at least, read the articles I write, because they have told me. Jinja Honchō were happy for me to submit the article, and Jinja Shinpō were happy to publish it, which augurs well. We shall see.
Thank you so much for your hard work! I’m thankful you’re able to be another voice in the conversation, and hopefully have many understand it’s a matter of education.
A lot of people get introduced to Jinja as just tourist attractions and don’t understand that they’re really meant to be treated like other holy places around the world, and the Juyohin are not products or souvenirs; I hope that with more education, things can be bridged between tourists and Jinja. Thank you so much for helping to educate ♂️
Thank you! I will continue working on it.
I read the article you wrote in the March 2 issue of Jinja Shinpō, and I was glad to see it also shared on your blog. Thank you very much for writing and publishing this thoughtful piece, David. I appreciate the careful and balanced way you addressed the issue, acknowledging the concern while also asking how we might respond to it in a constructive way.
As a shrine priest, I sometimes feel that the reality on the ground is a little more nuanced than the simple idea that “foreigners are the problem.” My shrine is not located in a major tourist area, so the foreign visitors who come are usually people who are already interested in Shinto, who have lived in Japan for some time, or who come through connections such as university programs. In my experience, they are generally very respectful.
One thing I often notice is that visitors from monotheistic cultures tend to assume that faith means loyalty or correctness. They often ask what the “correct” way to pray is, or what the meaning is behind the number of bows or claps. In many cases, this comes from a sincere desire not to be disrespectful.
I also notice that when foreign visitors receive omamori, their reasons are often very similar to those of Japanese visitors—for example, a success charm for a younger brother preparing for exams, or a health charm for a grandmother. Even when they take one home as a gift, it is usually for a specific person rather than simply as a souvenir.
For that reason, I also feel that helping people understand shrines and their etiquette may be more fruitful than framing the issue primarily in terms of exclusion. Your emphasis on explanation and engagement feels very important.
Thank you again for contributing this perspective to the discussion.
I serve at a small shrine in Osaka and often meet foreign visitors through my work and through university programs, so this topic is something I think about quite often.
Thank you for your kind words and thoughtful response.
I am glad to hear that your experience has been broadly positive, and that you share my feeling that an emphasis on helping people to understand is the best way forward. If you have any concrete ideas for something at your jinja and would like support from Jinja Honchō, please do contact us. Such assistance is an official project of the International Section. (Although you do not need the English-language support that we generally offer, we might still be able to help.)
Pingback: Why I Do This – Mimusubi
Pingback: Foreigners Again – Mimusubi