Chiba Prefecture Japan Shinto Shrine
(40-25)
My wife holds a very special place in her heart for Japan. She spent almost a full continuous year in Japan teaching at a school for missionary's children, and she has been back for shorter trips (two months and three weeks respectively) to help with various different support projects for the long-term Mission to the World team in Chiba Prefecture. I accompanied her on a trip in 2001, when I captured this image. While I was there I was struck by a number of interesting dichotomies. Without moving, you could look in one direction and see a tranquil shrine that appeared remote and peaceful; then you could turn around and you would be standing next to a train station. I found one location where I could stand and all I could see was rice patties and farmland as far as the eye could see; except for the solitary apartment high-rise growing out of those rice patties. Another thing you can't possibly miss in Japan is how polite everyone is to each other. This too is dichotic, however, because it stems from a system of etiquette that, if ignored or deviated from, can bring great shame and condemnation on not just an individual, but also their entire family. I don't say this to be judgmental of Japanese Culture; in truth there are many days I get so fed up with the rudeness in America that I wish we had a similar system. I guess what it really makes me grateful for is that contrary to popular belief, God does not work that way. Instead of ostracizing us because of our sins, He took on himself all the evil we created so that we could be reconciled to Him. Regardless of what culture you were raised in, that goes against everything that seems reasonable, and that is amazing.
