Miyuki Ito, 38, and her five-year-old daughter, Kotone, are scheduled to be baptized as Catholics at the April 3 Easter Vigil at the Yonezawa Church in Yamagata Prefecture, 290 kilometers north of Tokyo.
What makes them unusual? “My home is a Shinto shrine. My current job is as a miko,” or female shrine attendant, she explains. Her husband is a Shinto priest.
Full article here
Catholic in Japan 
“At first, she had considered ending her service at the shrine, but the pastor and lay members of the church said that was not necessary.”
So, the pastor who will baptize her has no problem with her continuing active participation in pagan worship?
It makes me wonder if the parish is really Catholic!
Hello, again, after a long absense due partially to Lenten abstinence-from-unnecessary-Internet.
I puzzled over this story a lot (I was actually the translator for it). I thought it was an amazing story, but the attitude of… well, basically everyone in the story except perhaps the mother and her daughter was troubling to me.
The husband’s dilemma is something I found I could sympathize with, after some thought. There’s a certain poignancy to it– the human connection to tradition and culture and society that goes along with the practice (independent of the thelogy and beliefs) of religion is deeply human and understandable. That said, it sounds like he feels Christianity is indeed true, and in that sense he could benefit from some thought about what his responsibility is in bearing witness to that truth.
On the other hand, it’s actually harder for me to identify with the Japanese Catholics in this story, but it doesn’t surprise me. The Catholic Church in Japan is anything but proactively evangelical. The Church there seems far more concerned with the social mission of Christianity than the more fundamental objectives of proclamation of the gospel and striving to win converts. I can understand trying to be respectful and considerate and the idea of preaching with actions rather than words, but sometimes the easiest way to get people to understand what you want to say is to actually tell them. People are out there looking for truth and salvation! Why are so few there working to help them find it?
Off-topic comment – I do apologise for the digression but I could use a bit of help finding a church to attend. I might be in Japan for a couple of weeks this November and would be very grateful for the advice.
Since it’s unlikely that I’ll find a Traditional Latin Mass (or even a Latin Novus Ordo) anywhere in Japan within the foreseeable future, can you point me to any churches in Tokyo that offer the Novus Ordo (in English or any other language) with particular attention to solemnity and reverence? Communion kneeling and on the tongue would be a good starting point.
Of course, if the Traditional Latin Mass (or at least a Latin Novus Ordo) is available anywhere then I’d be happy to be pointed in that direction.
Even churches outside the city are fine; I will travel several hours if need be in order to get as close to Tradition as I can manage.
Cheers.
Merry Christmass from Italy.
Marco