Dear People of the World (formerly Dear Americans)

The novel was written by Japan's most notable novelist in 20th century, Endo Shusaku.

Recently the news that Hollywood decided to make the story into film next year was reported. The setting of the story was early 17th century of Nagasaki, Japan when the government ruled ban on Chrisitianity and entry of foreigners except Chinese and Dutch. That policy was aimed to get rid of western influence on its society in order to avoid colonization. Dutch was neutral as for this matter. Dutch hated Catholic nations and advised Japanese government to stop trading with Catholic nations.

The story started with a news that one most prominent and highly respected missionary sent to Japan abandoned his faith after severe torturing by Japanese authority. That shocked two Portuguese Catholic priests. They decided to secretly enter into one secretly Christian village in order to locate the missionary and continue Chrisian preaching for the localies.

However, they were found and arrested by Nagasaki authority and then their followers were tortured to death. One of the two died. One surviving one prayed God for his tortured followers but no salvage was done. God kept silence.

Later he finally met the person he wanted to meet from the beginning. The missionary he once respected whom he tried to locate. He was advised by the missionary to abandon his faith just as he did. Then he followed his advise. What he did was stepping on plate of engraved Jesus Christ picture. That was most usual custom to check if a person is Christian or not in those days. If you could do that, that proved you were never Christian or you just abandone your faith by doing so. He stepped on it to save tortured followers. It was a deal with the authority.

Since that era, Japanese Christian teaching was totally abandoned until it was re-allowed in late 19th century.

Surprisingly the story is based on real characters and real events. In the book the authority says "Christianity can never place roots on Japanese land. It is never universal teaching." That sounds true.

In fact centuries after that era, even after freedom of faith was insured by the constitution, less than 1 % of the population are Christian today. More surprisingly in this season you can veiw many illumination and Christmas trees and find Christmas events in Tokyo. But very few of them are dedicated Christians. Japanese Christmas events are nothing but commercial purpose.

One remain of Christianity of that era may be tea ceremony. There is a legend that Japanese tea ceremony was modeled after Christian mass ceremony in that era. In fact founder of tea ceremony, Sen no Rikyu was a man of the era that Christianity was still allowed and his wife and daughter were Christian.

If that is true, Christianity was continued throughout banned era. The root was placed. Praise Jesus and Praise tea!

I watched documentary program on America's new movement in relation to 10th anniversary of 911 attack. In New York, there is a big controversy over opening of new Islamic Center located 2 blocks away from Ground Zero. People overlap image of Al Quaida with Islam.

Anti-Islam activist, Pamela Geller was interviewed by a Japanese journalist. She said "It is not a matter of freedom of faith, it is a matter of emotion. Why should we figure them out? It should be defeated."

Sounds scary! After I watched the program on TV, I accessed her blog and emailed her the below question.

"Your response and comments sound like what Nazi people said to Jews.

Aren’t you using the same propaganda as Nazis did? Aren’t you creating another holocaust like Israel is doing on Palestineans?"

Her response as follows,

"The Jews weren't blowing people up, slaughtering thousands in countries across the world, and killing their own if not devout enough.    

A woman named Hester lived in a small Puritan Village in 17th century had been accused of adultfully. She had to wear scarlet letter "A" all the time because of the sin she committed. She and her daughter, Pearl were always harrassed by the villagers.

Local villagers and its headman wanted to know who was the father of Pearl. At last the villagers found who he was and got shocked.

It seemed that the film revealed the true nature of America. The origin of America was Puritans. Puritans were exiles from England.

They lived under the faith of God because of fear they experienced in England. They created a very closed society with very strict rules. As a result they became hypocrits.

In last scene of the film, Hester and Pearl ran away from the land of hypocrisy, not freedom.

That represents feeling I have right now. I am losing interest in America and growing contempt for it.

American is not a dream country to me any more since 911, war in Iraq, deployment of USS George Washington in Yokosuka, and financial crisis.  

Good-bye, America! A country of Hypocrisy!

Now I wonder where I am heading. The film gave me a hint.

The film was produced by Germans. It was all German version although the story took place in America.

It is just like holocaust films in English version made by Hollywood.

I am now studying German and getting more interested in Germany than ever.

According to Germany's prominent magazine, Spiegel, there has been a controversy over Roman Catholic Pope Benedict, who is German recovered ties with English bishop, Richard Williamson who is holocaust denier. Mr. Willamson claims there was no gas chambers, and the number of holocaust victims is 300,000 far lower than 6 million, which most historians suggest.

Pope Benedict seems to like stirring relations with other religions, a few years ago, he made some statement that insults Islamic prophet, Muhanmad. Does he represent German's still Nazi ideology?

Interestingly enough, such historical argument has been going on in Japan in regard to relationship with its neighbor, China.

China claimed that Japanese imperial army mass-murdered 300,000 innocent people in Nanking, 1937.

But Japanese right-wingers claim it was only 40,000 or less. Some extremists claims no such mass-murder occurred.

Recently Air Force chief in Japan was dismissed by the government over his publicly released essay which claimed Japan's invasion of China was legal. But he's been well-received by the public since then.

Germany and Japan were the losers of the Second World War. It is natural that such pheomenons occur.

People in both countries feel they have been forced to have negative point of views on their histories by victors of the war.

The title of the novel would be "Bauhausler". Hope you enjoy it. I am reading Ian Kershaw's book on Nazism for the research.

I think history should be viewed objectively. That's the very way of learning history.

Soon, I will start a novel which a story takes place in 1930's Germany. Japanese woman who travelled to Berlin to study Bauhaus art met a Jewish teacher and a Nazi-officer and then she got involved with the both men.