Crossing Denominational Lines

I visited the city of Hirosaki with my hosts, John and Laurie and their daughter, Mary yesterday. It is a much larger city than Ajigasawa.

We visited three different churches, Roman Catholic, mainline Protestant and high Anglican. We had to remove our shoes in all three churches; only the Protestant church provided slippers, however.

Toilet Slippers

In many Japanese homes, you are expected to change into a special pair of slippers when going to the bathroom. You have to rember to take them off and put your ordinary slippers on when you come out (or you will end up feeling very silly!). The idea is to keep damp from the bathroom from spreading in the house (quite sensible).

My host family do not have toliet slippers, but the church building in which I am sleeping does.

Last week, I decided to buy some toliet slippers to take home with me. When I get home, I am going to put them in my bathroom and freak out my parents.

Amusing Story

Talking about removing shoes before going into church, John Eliott, my host told me an amusing story.

There was a guy who was part of a minor criminal gang in Japan. The boss of this gang needed a new pair of shoes and he ordered him to go and steal him some shoes.

The man decided that the easiest way to steal shoes would be to take them from the entrance of some sort of public building. He happened to pick a Christian church, but before he could steal a pair of shoes, a lady at the church welcomed him and beckoned him in. He could do little but go and attend the service. The man became a Christian as a result.

Wearing Slippers in Church is wonderful!

I atteneded my first Japanese church service yesterday. You have to remove your shoes before entering the church. There are slippers on a shelf, but I wore my own. It was really comfortable wearing slipers during the service. Though, I dressed as smartly as I would normally.

I think it is a really good idea. In my experinece, most churches in the UK have really dirty carpets or floors.

Tatami

In Japanese homes, most rooms have traditional style straw mat flooring, called tatami.

While wearing slippers is the norm in Japanese homes, they are never worn on the tatami. Slippers are for the hall and kitchen; socks or barefeet are for the tatami. I am impressed by the discipline with which the Japanese remove their slippers before stepping onto the tatami, even if only momentarily.