Won't Miss #438 - "power spots"

I'm all for New Age spirituality. In fact, I'm really pretty good with any spiritual belief system folks want to embrace. The thing I'm not such a fan of (besides pushing your faith onto others) is blatant expansion of a belief system in order to make a quick buck. That would include things like velvet Jesus paintings and the virgin Mary nightlights as well as power spots. The notion of power spots is relatively new, but it's a craze that has exploded in Japan in the 21st century. Japan seems to have more power spots than it has people to visit them and time and again students would tell me they'd visit a place, hold a wedding there, or housebreak their dog at some particular place because it was a "power spot". The basic notion is that you can go to these places to collect energy (perhaps mystical, perhaps otherwise) and that being in such areas is better in some fashion, but it really does seem that this is about tourism and people swallowing the idea that a particular area has some special draw.

Japanese people can't see, smell, hear, taste, or feel the power in a power spot, but that doesn't stop them from going to them and advocating that I visit them as well and I won't miss that.

Will Miss #429 - Kamakura

I've got a beautiful, desktop-wallpaper-quality picture of the big Buddha statue in Kamakura, but so does everyone else out there. Therefore, I am giving you this cheesy souvenir shop item instead. 

Kamakura is the home of the "daibutsu" or "great Buddha" statue. While it isn't the biggest one in Japan, it is one of the most appealing. It's serene countenance is one reason. Another is that it's almost certainly the only Buddha statue in Japan that you can go inside of. It also has quite the colorful history of surviving natural disasters. Kamakura is also a good place to go because of the beachfront and the plethora of food shops that sell traditional snacks and sweets. Fresh and hand-made goodies can be had en route and not too far from the Buddha area as well several other tourist attractions. There is a satisfying mixture of the old and the new in the area which is easily accessible and tourist-friendly without being a tourist trap.

Kamakura isn't far from Tokyo and is like a taste of old Japan a stone's throw away and I will miss having easy access to it.

Will Miss #419 - 108 bell chimes

At or around midnight on New Year's Eve, temples in Japan ring a bell 108 times to rid themselves of their desires and "sins" from the previous year. It's symbolizes a sort of spiritual cleansing so people go into the next year purged of negativity. I think most Japanese people don't know what it means and few think deeply about the meaning. As a custom and a mindset, I like the idea that you leave behind your negative thoughts and feelings and can start with a clean slate the next year. Even if many Japanese folks aren't deeply internationalizing this feeling as they hear the bell ring, I do. The atmosphere that is created by the slow ringing of the bell so many times adds to the sense of ceremony and special nature of the holiday.

I will miss hearing the bells ring 108 times on New Years Eve for what it represents as well as how it brings a sense of peace and good ambience.

Will Miss #411 - anthropomorphizing dolls

A doll thrown into the pile of items to be burned at a shrine during New Year's holidays. 

When we're children, we often anthropomorphize our dolls and toys. The entire concept of Toy Story is based on the idea that we all once felt our toys were real and capable of feeling. That being said, as a culture, and particularly as adults, we don't view dolls as anything other than memories of bygone days and items to eventually be disposed of in the most convenient manner possible. In Japan, the sense that there is real life in dolls goes beyond that. There is a superstition that a spirit resides inside of them and there are shrines devoted to disposing of various types of dolls properly.

As someone who (as a child) used to feel guilty about not loving some of my dolls as often as others, I find myself empathizing with this thinking and find the way in which dolls are dealt with as an indication of how we all share common feelings about the smallest things across cultures. I will miss seeing the dolls in the trash piles at shrines and what it means.

Will Miss #377 - the 7 lucky gods

The old gods of Greece are often portrayed as competing with one another and fighting amongst themselves. Cultures with multiple gods rarely show them playing nice together, but Japan's 7 lucky gods are often shown as one big happy family. They're on a boat taking a little cruise together or hanging out looking like they're all smiles. Their images often adorn products or are placed in front of various establishments. The 7 lucky gods are also a part of various pilgrimages in Japan. At multiple locations, you can travel from shrine to shrine and collect figures of all of the gods, or you can simply get stamps on a paper showing that you've completed the circuit. It's a fun way to explore areas of Japan that you might not otherwise decide to visit, and maybe the spirits residing in the various shrines will bring you good fortune. ;-)

I'll miss seeing the 7 lucky gods happy faces and taking the pilgrimages. 

Will Miss #333 - funky good luck charms

There are a lot of shrines in Japan. In fact, it is downright shocking how many there are for a country in which people state they are absolutely not religious. At many shrines, various good luck charms are on offer. The charms are good for a year and various types are supposed to bring you particular types of good fortune - driving, health, studies, etc. Though I am no fan of the fact that these things supposedly "run out of luck" after a year (which I view as blatant commercialism meant to get you to buy new charms every year), I am often amused by how absurd some of the charms look.

In an overtly spiritual setting, there's something delightfully crass about seeing things like "Hello Kitty" on their charms, and I'll miss that.

Will Miss #308 - omikuji

An omikuji with a small gold-colored trinket. You can see the box on the left has coin slots and a hole to reach in and take a fortune.

"Omikuji" are fortunes that can be purchased at Japanese shrines. Usually, they cost 100 yen and are little rolled-up bits of paper with messages on them. Sometimes, the fortunes include another trinket (and cost a little more). There are two aspects to this which I like. One is simply the randomness and surprise nature of the messages (though they do tend to fall into certain categories). The other is the fact that these are offered on the honor system. No one is watching to see if you pay for what you take, but I'm certain everyone pays anyway.

I'll miss omikuji, and their association with the superstitions, spiritual life, and honesty of the Japanese people.

Will Miss #302 - spiritual use of incense

Back home, incense was associated with people who smoked pot. Anyone who used incense was viewed with suspicion or mocked as some sort of bizarre New Age hippy type. In Japan, incense is used at shrines as part of spiritual practices. One of my students brought me back an incense burner and sticks as a gift from her travels to an Asian country. I think I wouldn't have been given such a gift back home because of the druggie overtones.

I like the smell of incense, and this favorable association with its use and I'll miss it.

Will Miss #136 - New Year's Ema

Several years ago, my husband and I started visiting the local shrine on the morning of New Year's day. There are always prayer boards or "ema" on sale so that people can write their wishes for the coming year and hang them in the appropriate places at the shrines. These wooden plaques show the animal for the current year according to the Chinese zodiac. You're supposed to write you wish and leave the board at the shrine, but my husband and I like to just keep one from each year as a memento of our visit and our time in Japan.

I'll miss adding a new ema to our collection each year.

Will Miss #71 - dressed up statues

When you first see a statue at a little shrine or temple dressed in modern clothes, it looks like someone has been playing a sacrilegious joke. The truth is that they are adorning the statue in red in accord with the meaning of the color in Shinto and Buddhist culture. In Japan, red is seen as driving off demons or disease. Red bibs, hats, etc. on statues of deities has spiritual significance, despite the fact that it looks rather whimsical and frivolous.

I'll miss seeing deities in bibs and caps.