Worship and Japan

　　"Bushido, the Soul of Japan," written by Inazo Nitobe is a great book and is always referred to when you mention the mentality or the morality of Japanese people. Do you know what stirred him to write this book? He was reportedly asked by his acquaintance how Japanese people learned morals when they didn't have any religion. Japanese people are often said to be irreligious in many ways, and some Japanese declare that they are non-believers, but is that true?

　　Most Japanese commoners say "Itadakimasu" just before starting to eat or drink something and say "Gochisousama" just after finishing it. These words represent deep thanks for their food and originate from the idea of Buddhism. Japanese people, in general, are widely regarded as people who obsessively love cleanliness. This national character can be derived from the traditional Shinto religion. Considering this way, Japanese people are never indifferent to religions such as Buddhism. The concept of religions varies between nations. If you want to discuss the religious devotion of Japanese people, you have to take into account the everyday life of Japanese people.

　　I watch not a few news items associated with religions almost everyday, and all of them are bad news. Why do even religious people have to kill others under the name of their God. I wonder how long religious wars have been repeated. Japanese vagueness about religions sometimes might be a good lesson.

(Vocabulary)
devotion [U] 信心, 帰依
religious devotion  厚い信仰心

(Vocabulary from comments)
atheist  無神論者
come into being/be brought into being  生じる, 成立する, 誕生する
The law first came into being in 1912. その法律は1912年に初めて成立した．
stymie (インフォーマル) …をじゃまする
dumbfound 〈人〉をあぜんとさせる
impression 《[U], a/the ~》誤った印象, 思い込み, 誤解
be under the impression (that)   (誤って) …と思い込んでいる, 勘違いしている
I was under the impression that you were the manager.  てっきりあなたが経営者だと思い込んでいました．
detriment  [U] 損害, 損傷, 損失
preach  [自] 説教する
preach to sb  ＜人＞に説教する
disciplined  訓練された, しつけのよい, 規律正しい

(Japanese Translation)
　新渡戸稲造が書いた武士道は日本人の精神性を語る上でかならず言及される素晴らしい書である。彼がこの本を書いた動機は、知人に日本人は宗教を持たない、どうやって道徳教育をするのかと問われ、日本には武士道があるのだと思い立ったことによる。

　日本人は外国人から宗教心が薄いといわれることがあり、自ら特定の宗教を持たないと言う日本人も多い。しかし、食事の前と後の「いただきます」や「ごちそうさま」は仏教由来の食べ物への感謝の気持ちを表す言葉であるし、清潔好きな国民性も神道の清めにルーツを求めることができる。その意味では、日本人は日々、仏教や神道を実践しているとも言える。宗教の概念は文化によって大きく異なり、日本人の信仰心を語る場合はその点を踏まえておく必要があるだろう。

　宗教により、よいことも起こるが、日常の報道では悪いニュースが目立つ。ユダヤ、キリスト、イスラム教の聖地が寄りによって一カ所にあるなんて、不幸なことだと思う。宗教による戦争がこれまで何度繰り返されてきたことか？宗教に対する考え方の緩さとでも言おうか、日本を見習うとよいのではないか？

（いつもは先に英文を書いてから和訳を考えている。そうすると、和訳は英語に引っ張られて変な日本語になってしまうが、今回は日本語を書いてから翻訳している。少しはまともな和訳になったか？目標としている「読んでもらえるのは２５０単語まで。なので２５０単語で全てを伝える。」は相変わらず難しい。）

 

Comments

[KUMO]

Appreciate your precious opinion. To tell the truth, I sometimes regard religions as NUISANCE, hearing the news of religious terror. So much blood has been shed in the name of religion since ancient times.

[Shiroi Tora]

I am Atheist ( "A" as in not - simply non theist). Morals were formalized, and taught, by the Philosophers... hundreds of years before any of the world's major religions even came into being (and were practiced long before...they are the guidelines for groups of people to be able to work together...without which progress would have degraded in to wars...or a society which would have stymied). It is religion which had incorporated the philosophers' morals. Many people mistakenly believe that unless you are religious, you are somehow amoral...and some even falsely presume you are immoral.

I have been asked many times in my life which religion I practiced. When I told them I was not religious...they had a dumbfounded look on their face. It was at this point that I realized that they were under the impression that only the religious had morals. That dumbfounded me. So many focus on the small meaningless details of their religion to the detriment of the overall message. The key being...the living of it...not the mere preaching of it.

This is not to say I am against TRUE religion (living it) or its practitioners...on the contrary...a truly religious person is seeking self mastery through a very disciplined life. They are internal warriors...and ones whom are to be respected for their sense of self denial and goodwill to all they meet. To constantly improve yourself and to help those around you, as well as benefiting society... is living a moral life. The reason then... does not matter. They are all paths to the top of the same mountain. Which particular path chosen is the freedom of choice that so many people wish for themselves...and yet...so frequently...wish to deny others.