A Japanese View on Happiness: Diverse Beliefs Welcomed
- Guest Writer
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
The Japanese perspective on happiness, blending religion, life, death, and symbolic items, may seem complex to outsiders. However, Italian author and Japan specialist Carmen Rucci describes it as lighthearted, joyful, simple, restorative, and inclusive of diverse beliefs. This is Carmen's story.
Breathing in the scents of my green tea, which carry a hint of Tokyo, I try to concentrate on the work in front of me: writing some words for an old friend, Femke, and former colleague at the London Voice Newspaper. She asked me to share insights with her readers about the pursuit of happiness among Oriental people, and Japanese people in particular.
Images of Tokyo flood my mind, as I sit and watch a stunning sunrise in the distance, colouring a hill illuminated by the lights of a small village near my hometown in Italy.
I must confess: I have a deep and intense love for the Japanese people, embracing all their fascinating and challenging contradictions, which means that anything I write will inevitably be biased. So, from this moment on, it will be: Japan, through Carmen's eyes.
The Story of My Time in Japan
Having previously lived in Japan, although only briefly (truthfully, even twenty years would not have felt sufficient to me), among these remarkable people who captivated me even before my arrival, I had the opportunity to gain a deeper insight into all the reasons I admire their way of thinking, living, and being. There are countless practical examples, and I will now try to share some with you...
Let me begin with the Japanese people, their notion of happiness, the Shinto belief system, and the various religions, beliefs, credences, and demons that are all cheerfully dotted throughout the Japanese otherworldly universe.
Why Shinto?
Religions can be viewed as tools that humans use to make sense of the mysteries of life, death, and everything in between. They serve as methods and weapons for combatting fear in the pursuit of happiness. This is also true for Shinto.
During one of my most recent trips to Japan, the family who had graciously provided me with a beautiful apartment for a three-month stay in the heart of one of Tokyo's most exclusive districts, took me to visit the Nikko temple complex. Within, you'll find the Toshogu shrine or temple.
In the 'land of the Rising Sun,' there are numerous temples, but this one is far from ordinary. It is specifically dedicated to the memory of Ieyasu Tokugawa, one of the three founders of the nation. What astonishes many Westerners even more is its seamless integration of Shintoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, more so than in other Japanese locations. Furthermore, the structure radiates with vibrant hues of red, gold, and turquoise.
The Toshugu shrine is more popular with Japanese visitors than with foreign tourists. Even the tour guides, who are generally more attracted to the prevalent Zen purism, describe its colours as excessive. To be honest, I initially felt the same way.
However, the scenery I witnessed was astounding, I thought to myself while I was wandering around, all the while taking in the surrounding views of those colourful wooden houses, in themselves a UNESCO heritage.
A Shinto Amusement Park
But, let me try to paint you a picture. A stable for sacred horses; the famous three wise monkeys; vivdly coloured feathers; and various animals intricately carved in wood. Rites for people to observe; statues to touch; offerings and greetings for the deities within the temples; bows, handclaps, bells to ring, coins to toss ... all in pursuit of good health, fortune, and happiness.
In the West, attending church is often a serious and solemn occasion. But when Japanese individuals visit a temple, they are usually joyful and in good spirits. Thus, each devout person around me would happily be on their tour, calmly standing in line or amidst a crowd, waiting to photograph relics or national treasures, or to purchase colourful amulets shaped like a tea bag.
We would all listen to the dragon's roar, created by a shaved monk striking two pieces of wood together with purpose, standing in the centre of the sacred building, surrounded by the awe of every onlooker.
How can I put into words this quest for happiness? Picture a circus, or even better, a Shinto amusement park! It's a vibrant blend of colours, sounds, contradictions and emotions. Similar to the offerings made by passers-by to the statues of Bodhisattva Jizo, the Saint who joyfully guides the souls of children who departed this world too soon; too soon to gather enough good deeds for reincarnation.
How much tenderness even in explaining the pain.
"How can I put into words this quest for happiness? Picture a circus, or even better, a Shinto amusement park!"
Colours, flags and monkeys; Carmen during her latest visit to Japan, including the Toshugu shrine...
Religious Beliefs... but then Powerfully Soothing
"Superstition!" my deep-seated religious beliefs cried out internally. The word escaped my lips with assurance, revealing itself to the soul of my host and guide, Kunio. We watched his wife Yoshie and daughter Asuka joyfully circling a pot-bellied, moss-covered statue, touching the parts of its body, like an arm or a leg, that they hoped would heal similar areas on themselves. All this unfolded beside the small, smiling stone deity amid the red autumn trees.
"No, Carmen, it's not superstition. This too is faith," my host remarked. As he elaborated that the Japanese perspective on faith was all about being carefree, it felt incredibly joyful to me, so straightforward, yet just as powerfully soothing and healing for the soul. So I thought to myself: we Italians, or more generally, Christians, or even monotheists, and our unsettlng, prejudiced sense of superiority!
"The Japanese perspective on faith was all about being carefree, it felt incredibly joyful to me, so straightforward, yet just as powerfully soothing and healing for the soul."
The Japanese Soul
The Japanese soul, instead, is so vast that it can serenely welcome all the main religions and philosophies. And why not.
There is a Japanese proverb that goes a bit like this: "The Japanese are born Shinto, marry as Christians, and die as Buddhists." Shinto, as a belief system, is associated with births and the celebration of life's growth, not only for humans but for all living beings and every aspect of nature, including even a rice stem.
The Christian wedding, featuring its essential fluffy white dress for any self-respecting princess, and the Buddhist diligence that calmly explaines the mystery of death while comforting hearts, are all embraced by the Japanese religious ways of being. Confucianism and Zen too are so deeply and intricately woven into Japanese culture that their presence becomes noticeable only upon closer scrutiny.
The mystery of our existence is so incomprehensibly vast and so frighteningly profound that no single religion, despite its best intentions, can fully encompass it. This leads me to ponder, especially after my visits to this extraordinary country, why we shouldn't embrace the insightful Japanese perspective in our quest for happiness.
"The mystery of our existence is so vast and so profound that no single religion, can fully encompass it. So why not embrace the insightful Japanese perspective in our quest for happiness."
About Carmen
Carmen Rucci is an Italian writer, lawyer and television critic for Japan's public media organisation NHK World-Japan. Carmen's annual expo 'Japan Unveiled' takes place every April at Expo Levante, in Bari, Italy: An exhibition 'dedicated to the discovery of the Land of the Rising Sun.' She is also the author of the novel 'Tutto in un Anno', also translated into English called 'All in one year' and of various theatre plays performed in Bari.
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