Kozou-kun

On an evening stroll through downtown Niigata I meet be-hatted こぞうくん. Let us consider the inscription on his plaque: "Place your palms together: Thank Buddha for family, friends, all life." In this season of giving, Christians would do well to open their minds to such sentiments. (Particularly American Christians, ever bent on denying succor to the the weak, meek, marginalized, unfortunate; let's include girls and women, non-whites; then we have despoiling the natural world; as an American raised in the Presbyterian church before it ceded moral authority to zealots, I am qualified to criticize American Christian hypocrisy.) Why is the religion so very pathological? Well, the bible tells us of an angry, vengeful jealous, narcissistic deity. Even if you are a New Testament Christian, you have much to answer for: let's start with that chap Paul (would he had not traveled to Damascus- he is the origin of much Christian mischief). There are many good Christians, of course, but the religion has been the source and justification for untold mischief, stupidity, and cruelty for millenia. .

Visit a shrine or temple, pray for wealth, health, love, academic success... Buddhism and Shinto are perfectly organic, serviceable, edifying... why some Japanese opt for Christianity is baffling to me.

Niigata, 1859

In 1858, the Edo shogunate named Niigata one of 5 treaty ports open to international trade, ending more than 200 years of isolation. Ganzuiji a temple near the port, hosted discussions between local authorities and foreign emissaries who visited the following year, 1859. https://note.com/brian_southwick/n/ne5c716f2b50a#:~:text=%E6%97%A5%2017%3A10-,Niigata,-was%20named%20one

Nostalgic Niigata: 龍照寺

Ryusho Temple is mentioned in an illustrated book by Miyoshi Teikichi about growing up in downtown Niigata City in the Taisho Era (1912-1925). 砂丘物語、or "The Story of a Dune", a reference to the area's proximity to the sea and extensive coastal dunes, contains charming vignettes of daily life in that bygone era.

The linked video shows modern-day Ryusho Temple.