Unusual Christian Places: Shingo, Japan

Shingo, Japan is a small village of 3000 people which claims that Jesus did not die during His crucifixion because the man who was crucified was actually Jesus’ younger brother. The Shingo legend says that Jesus settled in the village and went by the name Daitenku Taro. He became a rice farmer, married one of the local women, and had three daughters. The legend has him dying in Shingo at the age of 106.

Though many locals claim to be descendants of Jesus through his daughters, all but one (in 2013) are Buddhist or are followers of Shintoism.

Kagawa Toyohiko to Hirohito, Emperor of Japan, 1946

"Whosoever will be great among you ... shall be the servant of all.  A ruler's sovereignty, Your Majesty, is in the hearts of the people.  Only by service to others can a man, or a nation, be godlike." Kagawa Toyohiko to Hirohito, Emperor of Japan, 1946, in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

Today, 29 April, is the birthday of Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989).  In Shinto, the official state religion of Japan, Emperor Hirohito was regarded to be a deity, a lineal descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu omikami.

The Tragedy in Japan

The recent earthquake (9.0 on the Richter scale) and subsequent tsunami in Japan combined to create a horrible tragedy for that nation.  The possible meltdown of four nuclear reactors in Fukushima adds even more concern.  The current probable death total is upwards of 30,000.  We should all be praying for these people during their ordeal.

Several people I know have expressed surprise, or even shock, at a statistic which came out during discussions about the tragedy after the current emperor, Akihiko, offered Shinto prayers for his countrymen.  The majority of the people of Japan no longer follow the Shinto religion; in fact, seventy percent are believed to follow no religion at all.   Only two percent of Japanese identify themselves as Christian.

Christian orthodoxy believes that there is salvation only in Christ.  Of the probable thirty thousand dead, twenty-one thousand (70%) had no religious beliefs at all.  Two percent, six hundred people, were Christian.