Quotes on Religion from Japan
Shichihei Yamamoto argues that Japan has shown greater tolerance towards irreligion, saying, “Japan had nothing like the trial of Galileo or the ‘monkey trial’ about evolution. No Japanese Giordano Bruno was ever burned at the stake for atheism”.
Comments against religion by notable figures
Shin’ichi Hisamatsu, philosopher and scholar who rejected theism, claimed that God or Buddha, as objective beings, are mere illusions.
Prince Ito Hirobumi, four-time Prime Minister of Japan, who reportedly said: “I regard religion itself as quite unnecessary for a nation’s life; science is far above superstition, and what is religion — Buddhism or Christianity — but superstition, and therefore a possible source of weakness to a nation? I do not regret the tendency to free thought and atheism, which is almost universal in Japan because I do not regard it as a source of danger to the community”.
Hiroyuki Kato, who headed the Imperial Academy from 1905 — 1909 and said: “Religion depends on fear”.
Haruki Murakami, a Japanese novelist who wrote: “God only exists in people’s minds. Especially in Japan, God’s always has been a kind of flexible concept. Look at what happened to the war. Douglas MacArthur ordered the divine emperor to quit being a God, and he did, making a speech saying he was just an ordinary person”.
Ando Shoeki, who denounced Confucian scholars and Buddhist clergy as spiritual oppressors of his age, though he still venerated the gods of old Japan as a pantheist would, equating them with the nature.
Fukuzawa Yukichi, who was regarded as one of the founders of modern Japan and found it impossible to combine modern learning with belief in gods, openly declaring: “It goes without saying that the maintenance of peace and security in society requires a religion. For this purpose any religion will do. I lack a religious nature, and have never believed in any religion. I am thus open to the charge that I am advising others to be religious while I am not so. Yet my conscience does not permit me to clothe myself with religion when I have it not at heart…Of religions there are several kinds — Buddhism, Christianity, and what not. From my standpoint there is no more difference between those than between green tea and black…See that the stock is well selected and the prices cheap”.
Anti-religious organisations
The Japan Militant Atheists Alliance (Nihon Sentoteki Mushinronsha Domei, also known as Senmu) was founded in September 1931 by a group of antireligious people. The alliance opposed the idea of kokutai, the nation’s founding myth, the presence of religion in public education, and the practice of State Shinto. Their greatest opposition was towards the imperial system of Japan.
Two months later, in November 1931, socialist Toshihiko Sakai and Communist Takatsu Seido created the Japan Anti-religion Alliance (Nihon Hanshukyo Domei). They opposed “contributions to religious organizations, prayers for practical benefits (kito), preaching in factories, and the religious organizations of all stripes” and viewed religion as a tool used by the upper class to suppress laborers and farmers.
My Summary
The tea metaphor speaks to me as an avid tea drinker myself. Since green tea is associated with East Asia and black tea with the British Empire, we can see the quote uses them as metaphors for Buddhism and Christianity respectively. There is Christianity in East Asia and Buddhism in the former British Empire, but the metaphor is based on the religion that predominates in those areas.
Lots of links for info on tea since the metaphor may have gotten my readers thirsty for actual tea.
More articles for either coffee or team depending on your taste and thirst.
Random fact
Two dollar bills are real currency despite how rare they are. Paying in them can be a hassle by having to tell people that don’t know that they are real money. Plus, cash registers don’t have a slot for them. I’m not sure if they can put them in some slot with another denomination.
Buy $20, $50, $100, or $200 worth of $2 bills, or buy multiple bundles of them. Give them as a gift to someone or use them to buycott places to show support of the Second Amendment like some buycott people do at Starbucks due to its gun policy.
