Religion

I trust that 2010 will bring all that you hope for, and happen even a bit more.

Happy New Year!

Despite Japan’s previous Prime Minister, Taro Aso, being a Catholic, the general consensus seems to be that Christians only make up around 1 percent of the population — a lowly figure that, over the Christmas period at least, a few of the few try to boost by the careful placement of some placards.

But that said, prompting people to reflect upon or even repent their apparent wrongdoings in Shinjuku, where carnal sins and consumerism could almost be classed as compulsory, would be no mean feat indeed.

A miracle even.

On one of Japan’s thankfully not too uncommon national holidays, going to a temple and quietly praying for happiness and good health is always an option, although if it’s attempted at one of Tokyo’s more popular places of worship, merriment at least may well come from simply being a member of the melee.

The far more famous Kamakura Daibutsu (big Buddha) may well have more history, character and aesthetic merit, but when it comes to sheer and surely insurmountable size, the Ushiku Daibutsu in Ibaraki Prefecture is patently unparalleled.

As, not only is it big.

It’s absolutely bloody enormous.

An almost unbelievable 120 metres including its base big in fact.

A behemoth that was built during the heady days of the bubble, meaning its like will probably never be seen again — or at least not in the near future. Which, in many ways is a pity, as the way it towers over nearby fields,

farms,

and little old ladies who once worked in those fields and farms,

is utterly fascinating.

(As an added bonus of sorts, here are a couple of pictures of the colossus while under construction. This one showing the the structure’s gradual completion, and my personal favourite, an almost Dali-esque piecing together of its head.)