5.6 Conclusion: Marveling at the Dance of Ten Thousand Gods#

Looking back on this journey, we first visited Yamaguchi City. There, under the white tent of the St. Francis Xavier Memorial Church, we contemplated the arrival, suffering, and rebirth of the Christian faith in this land. Subsequently, we proceeded to the primary objective of this trip—Izumo Taisha in Shimane Prefecture. It is the root of Shintoism, the sanctuary where the Great Deity Okuninushi presides over “En” (destined connections).

If we extend the timeline further, recalling our visit to Koyasan (the Grand Head Temple of Shingon Buddhism) nearly twenty years ago, as well as our multiple trips to the ancient temples of the Shikoku “Henro” pilgrimage before the pandemic, we realize that these footsteps have unintentionally pieced together a complete spiritual map of Japan.

In this nation, Shinto reveres nature and all creation; Buddhism contemplates the impermanence of life and death; and Christianity preaches universal love and redemption. These three distinct belief systems, which might spark conflict in other civilizations, manage to achieve a wondrous “organic fusion” in modern Japan.

This fusion is embodied not only in Master Ryoji Baba’s reliquary—where a Western saint’s bone rests within Eastern lacquerware—but also in the daily life of Japanese society. Witnessing how this land embraces such broad-mindedness, allowing “ten thousand gods to dance together” and permitting different truths to coexist in harmony, one cannot help but feel a profound sense of admiration for this cultural inclusivity and resilience.