Nov. 11 Talk : Matthew Smith "Unitarians Outside of North America"

Matthew Smith "Unitarians Outside of North America"

Time: 3:00-5:00 (with dinner afterwards if you care to stay)

Usual Place: International House of Japan 国際文化会館

Near Roppongi and Azabu-Juban stations. Parking available.

See their website for directions.

Our new member Matthew Smith will give a talk  "Unitarians Outside of North America."

Matt (with his wife Susan) have been active for many years not only in Unitarian churches in the United States but with several overseas and expat fellowships during his assignments abroad.  He has been a religious educator and teen leader, as well as as a small group facilitator. Matt led the executive committee of the large UU expat Congregation of Paris. He will share some of his personal and family experiences.   And he will include some of the lessons he has learned about how to nourish and perhaps grow our UFT. Groups like ours he says have unique challenges around theological identity, lay ministry and how to build a connected community.

Join us for the talk and under Matt's leadership to sing "Spirit of Life" and to explore some widely practiced Unitarian rituals of autumn--the season of giving and thanksgiving-- and together to  share briefly our  joys and concerns.

Your moderator,

Peggy Kanada

October 14 CHANGE to Norway Talk/Chuck Olson

Last minute change of the speaker:

"Finding an unknown home - Norway”.

Dear friends and members of UFT,

Despite efforts, Tet Gallardo, our planned young Unitarian minister guest (from Manilla) was unable to obtain a visa for Japan.

☆☆Meanwhile our member Chuck Olson has graciously stepped in and will give his talk with slides about his recent trip to NORWAY.

More than just a travel log we expect he will share some of his insights about modern Norwegian society as well as what it means to go "home" to the land of your ancestors.

Please join us.

Sunday October 14 (3:00 to 5:00)

Usual venue: International House of Japan (国際文化会館).

See their website for map. Near Roppongi and Azabu Juban stations.

☆Our speaker will stay for dinner afterwards.

Peggy Kanada,
moderator

Oct 14 Meeting and Sept. 9 review of Kate W. Nakai speech on the 1932 Sophia U vs Yasukuni Shrine Incident

Dear friends and members of the Fellowship,

Our next meeting on October 14th we have invited the Rev. Tet Gallardo from the Unitarian church in Manila.
The exact title of her talk will come a bit later.

On Sept 9 we had a very scholarly paper read by Kate W Nakai (professor emerita of Jochi/Sophia University).
By giving us a detailed and reasoned account of the 1932 incident as well as the earlier background from the Meiji period we learned much about religion and the state in Japan.
There was never in the 1932 confrontation of the small Catholic men's college (Sophia/Jochi) and nearby Yasukuni shrine (flush from ceremonies memorializing the dead in the preceding years' Sino-Japanese war) any discussion of anti war or anti-imperialist ideas/beliefs or even actual theological debate.
In broad strokes to summarize, the Catholic church bent to accommodate the Japanese state in joint declarations that visits especially by school groups to "show reverence at shrines including Yasukuni" was a civil and educational act of patriotism NOT a RELIGIOUS activity. Such sampai visits would not impinge on Catholic values or beliefs. Before this catholics had been prohibited to take part in any shrine/temple events or household ancestor worship.
Jochi Uniiversity in order to attract students to survive financially (only 10% of its student body were catholics at the time) needed (like every school wanting to be accredited) the Military presence of a training officer (equivalent of the American ROTC program). In the incident of 1932 he had been removed after the college protested about his taking a student group to Yasukuni..After the Catholic change he was reinstated a year later ensuring the college could continue..
The accommodating idea/language of "civil not religious" (encouraged it appears by the shrewd Apostolic Delegate (1934-48) to Japan, Paolo Marella, without pre-approval from his superiors in Rome) actually was pushed through on the government side mainly by competing bureaucrats especially in the Ministry of Education who did not want to lose power to the Military or Home Ministry.
Tied up in all of this were issues of state control over shrines under competing government ministries including the Education Ministry which had come to consider them "civil" entities. Under 1900 regulations and certainly by the 1930's, shrines were considered by the bureaucracy to be local community and educational organizations for patriotism and social cohesion not "religion")..

At first in the Meiji period, shrines were favored over Buddhist institutions which in the 1870's were seen by most in government as corrupt and impeding the growth of a modern nation state. As Buddhist institutions re-grouped and western missionaries came to Japan the government sought not only to regulate them but also to re-control shrines (prohibiting them for example from holding funerals).But from 1900 (eventually taken completely into the Ministry of Education hands) there was a Bureau of Shrines and a Bureau of Religions.
From early Meiji , Article 28 of the Meiji Constitution had, by the way, while ensuring "freedom of religious belief" excluded shrine worship from "religion" and included it under "duties as citizens".
Discussion veered off on the intertwined nature of shinto and buddhist beliefs and institutions (where every temple has had a corresponding shrine(s) and honjisuijaku meant every kami had a form as a Buddhist god and vice versa).
Most shrine complexes since the 1870's have lost their Buddhist temples-- Yasukuni and Meiji shrines never had a visible buddhist affiliation to begin with. Most Buddhist temples/institutions still encompass shinto shrines and gods within their precincts or at least next door.

What is civil? what is religious? are still part of debates about Yasukuni.
Nakai noted that "State shinto" as a term/concept only developed post WWII and is seen by many scholars as being implemented from the 1930's.
In the prewar years (as appreciated by more scholars today) many in the shinto world had actually resisted being considered "nonreligious".
Yasukuni, Meiji and Ise Great Shrines (jingu) however, in part because of their civil, or "nation-building" roles, as well as wealth, continue outside of the Shrine Association that supervises and supports all other shinto establishments today.

September 9 meeting Kate Wildman Nakai, on 1932 confrontation of Church and Shrine, Oct 14 Unitarians in the Philippines

Dear friends and members of the Unitarian Fellowship,

   I trust your summer was good despite the terrible heat and humidity for most of the time here in Tokyo.

Personally I am looking forward to having a lot more energy in a cooler September.

Please bring a friend or encourage an acquaintance to come this Fall. 

Date: Sunday September 9

International House of Japan

(see their website for bilingual directions/ free parking available/near Roppongi or Azabu Juban stations)

3:00 to 5:00   

(Please join some of us if you can  for a light dinner in the International House cafe to continue the discussion afterwards)

Our speaker will be Kate Wildman Nakai, professor emerita long at Jochi/Sophia University, and  specializing in Japanese intellectual history especially of the Edo and  modern periods.  

She will focus on the big confrontation in 1932 between the government and Sophia University over the Church's prohibition of Catholics participating in shinto events especially at Yasukuni (Yasukuni sanpai). Her topic grows  out of her research on different stages  in the interaction of Catholic institutions (often  in background and agenda unlike that of  Protestant missionaries with Anglophone "progressive" ideas) and the Japanese state and society  after the  mid 19th century Meiji restoration.  The evolving catholic response to shinto provides a different perspective on the nature of "State Shinto" which is usually examined  thru government policy and promulgation imposed from above rather than its reception and people's response.

Yasukuni shrine is as ever in the news, recently about politicians non-attendance at ceremonies and the Heisei Emperor's  comments marking  the August end of  WWII. Yasukuni  should prove  stimulating  for discussion. 

How have people in the recent past aligned their religious and ethical beliefs to the legal and group demands of their community? Where do each of us stand on important  issues today?

Please join us  and spread the word to others who might be interested.

Peggy Kanada, moderator

PS 

As our October 14 UFT speaker we have invited the Rev. Tet Gallardo, from the only Unitarian church in the capital Manila of the Philippines.  Your moderator met this  young and energetic  woman at the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists conference in Kathmandu in February.

In a conservative (even repressive) society what happens to Unitarian progressive ideas?  How do Unitarian values offer something to people  when the religious environment was traditionally Catholic but is  increasingly fundamentalist evangelical  -- especially values about human dignity and rights  for all, including women and those of different sexual orientations?

Summary of May and June meetings

Your moderator has been remiss in not giving fuller summaries of some of the very interesting talks we have had recently at regular meetings.

In May we had Jane Best who is director of Refugees International Japan. Founded in 1995 by expats RIJ surprisingly is not part of a large network but works alone, although the founder on returning to the states has set up a RI lobbying NPO in Washington DC to promote awareness of refugee issues.

   

 Jane has been involved with  RIJ since 2002 and became the director (a tiny  office) a few years ago. She  has been a long term resident of Japan going way back to friendship (through the restaurant she owned for years) with our Fellowship's founder, Ken Woodroofe.

Jane gave a brief overview of the horrendous refugee problems we face today noting that over 80% of refugees (let alone IDP's) are in developing NOT richer nations.

 She pointed out that one of the best solutions to many problems (from adequate food and housing to preventing despair)  is to let  refugees work in their new communities. Mostly this does not happen.

 RIJ recently has focused on 5 main projects (three along the Thai/Burma border) which she discussed and showed slides about. RIJ's programs are small but have made tremendous differences in peoples lives. Well managed,  truly most of the donated funds to RIJ (according to the figures she showed) are going to the people in need (not administration). All are different but all are fulfilling requests by the people involved-- not ideas imposed from above.

 RIJ is in need of donations and introductions to possible corporate sponsors.

 Our June speaker was Vivek Pinto, whose correct title is research fellow at the Institute of Asian Cultures, International Christian University. He has spoken to the fellowship several times in recent years. This  includes in  January 2017, on the interesting British educator and student of Indian religion, William Winstanley Pearson, who in the early years of the 20th c became Tagore's secretary and translator.

June's talk focused on the influence of Thoreau on the early thinking of Gandhi.

May 13 Doreen Goodbye and Jane Best of Refugees International Japan

Dear friends and members of the fellowship,

Please join us for our regular monthly meeting.

3:00-5:00
International House of Japan (国際文化会館)
See their website.
Between Azabu-Juban and Roppongi stations on Torii zaka.

In our opening program we will have time to share memories of Doreen Simmons who recently passed away.

And we welcome Jane Best, director of Refugees International Japan. She will talk about not only the refugee crisis worldwide, but what positive (however small) steps RIJ is making and what we can do.
Moreover we expect her to to share some insights into how Japanese society (indeed America/Britain) may or may not be changing in commitments to people in need, and in the expectations of "not for profit" organizations and how they are run.

Your moderator

Sad news - Doreen Simmons

Dear friends and members of the fellowship,

   It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of Doreen Simmons on April 23.  

She had become  our  oldest friend of the fellowship and attended meetings often in the last few years  after spending the morning at St Albans.

She spoke to our fellowship four or five times over the years and especially the last time she officially  spoke  she shared some of her memories of our fellowship's early days.  Her erudition and wit (ands sometimes acerbic comments) often added immeasurably to our discussions.

A memorial service will be held for her at St. Albans church (next to Tokyo tower at Kamiyacho station) at 1:30 on Saturday April 28.

All are welcome.

We will hold a brief memorial in remembrance  for her at our May 13 Unitarian fellowship monthly meeting 3:00 to 5:00 at International House.

Peggy Kanada, moderator

Doreen showing us her Order of the Rising Sun at our January 14, 2018 meeting