A Life Incomplete

When I saw author Meg Hunter-Kilmer say on Facebook that she was publishing a new book, Who Is Jesus: Discovering Christ in the Gospels, I really wanted a copy but wasn't sure it would come out in Japan, where I live. So I reached out to her for a review copy in exchange for an honest review. She quickly responded and got me a copy. So, this is a review based on that free copy.

 I think I first found out about the author on Twitter. She has two theology degrees from Notre Dame. She now works there in the campus ministry after years of being on the road as a “Hobo for Christ.” She does have a passion for Scripture, having read the Bible multiple times — the first time, as she states in the introduction to this book, when she was 13. Her passion for Jesus and Scripture comes through in her podcasts and talks, which I often have the pleasure of listening to.

 On the other hand, as a more stereotypical cradle Catholic, I haven't read the entire Bible on my own. I have own Bibles in multiple languages, translations, and formats. Of course, I have Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year podcast on my devices.  I even have Hunter-Kilmer's previously published book, A Year in the Word Catholic Bible Journal. Yet there is still something intimidating about reading it in one go – even if that one go is over one year.

This book, at less than 100 pages, is much less intimidating. It is meant to be used as a textbook for a Bible study group, though it works just as well as a solo study/prayer guide.

I went through it once when I first got it and then again today. As both a Catholic and a teacher, I really like it. 

Organized as a 12-week course, readers follow the life of Jesus through the Gospels, starting with the Annunciation and going through to Christ’s resurrection. Each week has three Scripture readings on the week's topic related to the life of Jesus, followed by a few short notes on the readings and some questions to help readers/participants think more deeply about the readings. Each section ends with a “praying with the word” section to help one further reflect on the reading. Her voice and passion that are so pronounced in her talks come through clearly in the notes and questions in these sections.

 I am also really impressed, as a lifelong teacher of English as a foreign language, with how the book is structured. First, in the introduction, Hunter-Kilmer sets out her expectations, which are that the reader should be ready to go at their own pace, to not feel intimidated, that God's word and love are for everyone and that no matter where you are or who you are you will find something new in it. She follows through on this thinking by how she has structured the discussion sections. She always starts out with the same question, asking readers/participants about how the reading affects them in a way that will eventually prime participants into thinking about Scripture more deeply while they are reading. The subsequent questions are obviously deeply informed by her own deep reading of Scripture and prayer. Each section ends with a space to help the reader/participant move into deeper thinking and prayer on what was discussed by writing down something concrete that moved them during their reading.

 My mom taught CCD at our local church, and although I became a teacher, I never really thought I would — or could — teach or lead any discussions related to the Church. I am a cradle Catholic and my journey isn’t really an intellectual one, but one made up of faith and experiences. I am not always open in sharing what I am thinking about that journey, as well. Yet, going through this book, I not only felt this was something I could use, but something I would like to use, something that got me thinking about how I could use it in a discussion group.

 In the end, after asking for a review copy thinking it wouldn't be available in Japan, it is actually available here on both Amazon Japan and Rakuten/Kobo. So maybe I will be able to use it someday. Highly recommended.

Obihiro has a few strikes against it for me. First, there are no Tora-san filming locations in the area. Second, it is difficult to get to by a local train. Third, it is difficult to get around without a car.

Even with all of that, I had visited it once before to watch the Banei horse races, where giant horses slowly pull a sled and a jockey down a straight. I found a hotel just down the street from the track and for three days all I did was watch the races. I spent a day watching the races again. They seemed a bit more popular than when I last visted. However, I was able to see a bit more of the city this time and liked what I saw.

Even before going to the races on my first full day, I went to the Tokachi Farmers Market, which is held in the center of Midorigaoka Park. There I met people selling books, wine, coffee, houses, postcards, and candles, along with vegetables, food, and drinks. I ended up buying some potatoes and pumpkin along with some baked goods from the bakery I had learned about the farmer's market and ate them for lunch on the long bench at the park.

The next day was Sunday, so I went to Mass at the local catholic church. I ended up being in the same pew with the only other visitor at the church that day — the priest had us introduce ourselves to everyone after mass. Everyone was friendly at the post mass coffee and snacks. I was especially impressed by the stained glass behind the altar, which was of the Tokachi Plain. I later learned they were fairly new. I was a bit moved to see how this small church and community expressed their love of God and of where they lived through this form of art and expression.

I rented a bicycle in the afternoon and cycled out the 10 or so kilometers out to the Tokachi Hills garden and neighboring Tokaichi Carmelite convent. A few people had told me there was a small hill at the end but it was a bit more than that, so I had to walk up my bike the last kilometer or so. I spent much longer than I expected at the garden and much shorter at the convent but both were impressive and worth the trip.

It cost 1000 yen to get into the actual garden but it was well worth it — if I lived nearby 1200 for a yearly pass would be a bargan. I had a nice lunch and dessert overlooking the garden then spent some time walking from chair to chair admiring the garden and views upfront. I am sure I could have spent all day there but I ended up just staying a couple hours.

I spent a bit less time at the convent. I had decided to go just after coming while scrolling through google maps. Even the people at the church hadn't been there, though the nun I met said the priest at Obihiro comes out and says the daily 7am mass there. She was very friendly. I had to ring the doorbell to get it and she happily greeted me at the door. She showed me the chappel and we chatted a bit while she sold me some chocolate, bookmarks, and postcards. There isn't much to see — honestly I am glad I discovered Tokachi Hills was next to it as it would have been a long trip to just have visited the convent for 15 minutes — but I hope to get back to go the the morning mass there sometime.

I cycled back down the river back towards the center of town. Many placenames in Hokkaido are dervied from Ainu. Rivers in Japan usually have large signs displaying the river's name. In Hokkaido these signs include the name’s etymology. The river I cycled down, the Satsunai, comes from the Ainu word sat, meaning parched, and nay, meaning river, a name describing its sandy riverbed.

That being said, I still don't know too much about the history of the area. Some Japanese settlers came into the area. During my early morning walk on Saturday I came across a statute of the leader of the first Japaense settlers, Benzo Yoda, at a park across the street from Obihiro Shrine. He led that first group to Obihiro in the 1880s.

With that lack of knoweldge in mind, I wandered into the Obihiro library on Sunday evening after dropping off my bicycle. In the local history collections area on the second floor I came across a room dedicated to Fumiko Nakajo. She was a tanka poet who lived a full but turbulant life even as she died in her early 30s from cancer in 1954. On Monday morning I found a monument honoring one her most famous poems, about how she felt looking at the winter waves off of Otaru, on the grounds of Obihiro Shrine. I became intereted in tanka earlier this year while watching the weekly NHK show, so I was happy to once again discover something serendipitously at a library related to interests old and new.

I also picked up a birdwatching charm at the shrine on Monday morning. Someone at the farmers market told me about this one of a kind charm at the shrine so i wanted to get it. I don’t really do birdwatching but I do take walks in parks, gardens, and elsewhere and listen to birds without any idea of what I am listening to. Maybe carrying around such a charm will motivate me to learn something.

After visiting the shrine I had a few more hours. I had rented a bike again for Monday morning so I cycled out to the Slow Living shop in Obihiro. On my many trips to Hokkaido I had seen and puchased magaine Slow Living but skimming through and issue at the tourist center I saw their shop was in Obihiro. It is quite small, located on a large boulevard, but the same one that the shrine is on. So a 20 minute cycle ride and I was there. I browsed a bit and purchased some Hokkaido made tenugui for me and my wife and some other locally made coffee and instant soup curry packets, as well. I spent longer than I though, but, like the farmers market, I liked looking through handmade, locally made goods and crafts.

I did want to try some of the local speciality, pork rice bowl, but the lines were too long everywhere. I was able to, however, have another local speciality — Indian curry. Indian is a local Japanese curry chain. I had seen the shop the first time I came but because I spent all my time at the track and the races ended at after the shops closed, I didn't get a chance. This time I had it twice. The first time I had it with the basic roux and the second time with the shop speciality “Indian” roux — the main difference being the indian roux includes tokachi beef, I believe.

I did end up having a pork rice bowl. I bought one at Lawson and quickly ate it before getting back to the station. I also bought a pork rice onigiri at the station, which I ate on the train as I left Obihiro on the way to the ferry terminal in Tomakomai.

I had to work near Shinjuku this past week and while there I discovered the local Seven Lucky Gods Pilgrimage. There are many sets of temples and shrines dedicated to these gods all over Japan. I enjoy the fact that you can find them both at Shinto Shrines and Buddhist Temples and that the gods themselves come from all over Asia as well from different faith traditions. The Kamimizo route, where I live in Sagamihara, is just statues placed on the streets by a local community retail organization, not necessarily connected to any shrine or temple at all.

Goshuin, stamps noting that one has visited a shrine or temple in Japan, are quite common and well known, and you can get those on this pilgrimage noting you have visited all seven temples. But what I wanted was the set of figurines. They each cost only 100 yen more than a stamp and yet you can display them and see them all the time, unlike a goshuin book which one might flip through once every few years, if that. The Kamimizo retail association also hands out figurines but they hold their walks only once every season and I have only managed to collect three so far. So being able to have a whole set after just one walk appealed to me, as well.

The route I took starts in the ritzy neighborhood of Kagurazaka, heads west down a few large thoroughfares to the edges of Kabukicho and Shinjuku san-chome, ending up at a favorite coffee shop. There I had some coffee and toast while organizing my complete set of seven lucky gods.

For all the talk of overtourism in Japan, and Tokyo in particular, once I turned left to leave Kagurazaka I didn’t run into that many people, tourist or not, especially considering that I was in Shinjuku. I did pass by a Burmese coffee shop, a Japanese sweets shop, a Mingei folk art retailer, a large shopping complex, and a batting center. It also ends by the beautiful, though usually much more crowded with locals and tourists than this walk, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.

First stop, a temple: Zenkoku-ji

Bishamonten, a Hindu god of warriors and treasure

Second stop, a temple, Kyōō-ji.

Daikokuten, a god of wealth, perhaps better known as the Hindu God Shiva as well as the Shinto God Ōkuninushi.

Third Stop, a temple, Eifukuji

Fukurokuju, a Taoist sage of wealth and longevity

Fourth Stop: a temple, Hozenji

Jurōjin, a Taoist god of longevity

Fifth stop, a shrine, Nishi-Mukiten Shrine

Benzaiten, a Hindu goddess of speech, arts, and learning

Sixth stop, a shrine, Inari Kio.

Ebisu, a Shinto god of fishermen and luck.

Seventh and final stop, a temple, Taiso-ji.

Hoteison, a Zen monk from China representing contentment.

Finally, a coffee shop, Edinburgh

The completed set

The names of the temples and shrines are written on the back of each figurine.

I rushed a bit and so was able to complete the entire route in a little over two hours. I also wasn’t sure if the temples and shrines would close at 4 pm or 5 pm. I ended up reaching the final temple about 4:30 pm and it was still open. I did read afterwards that they all supposedly close at 5pm. I plan to do it again in the future, taking the whole day to more slowly take in all the different neighborhoods and shops I passed by on this first walk.

Unlike the day before, I woke up to clear blue skies. Disgruntled at being discouraged to rent an electric car, I decided I didn’t like vehicles to begin with and I should walk the whole day. It was Good Friday, after all. That ended soon after setting off. I passed by a bus stop which noted the next bus would be coming in a few minutes. Looking up at the slope I was walking up, I decided buses weren’t so bad after all. The bus, with me as its sole passenger went up and down the hills of Shinkamigoto until I was able to see my first church of the day, Aosagaura.  My entire trip to the Goto Islands could realistically be traced to when I initially saw this church in a Tora-san movie almost 10 years ago.  I spent over an hour there, following Bishop Barron’s Stations of the Cross (which I luckily finished right before someone came in to do some vacuuming), discovering where the film was shot inside and outside the church, thinking about how the light refracted through the stained glass, reflecting on how I ended up here on Good Friday in 2024.  Perhaps purposely I watched a bus going on to my next destination pass by on the road below. But eventually I had to leave.  I walked to my next destination, Maruo Catholic Church. My first stop was the old Maruo Catholic Church, where another scene was shot of the same Tora-san film.  The former church ended up having been turned into an ossuary, so after taking a few photos outside where the film – it was a burial scene – was shot, I walked down the hill a bit to the current Maruo Church. It is a contemporary, active church.  On the whiteboard it said the Good Friday Stations of the Cross would be held at 3pm.  That was the same time as Aokata Church near my hotel. I thought about trying to get back to “my church” in time but instead enjoyed the view of Mary overlooking the sea. I walked a bit to reach a temple with a gate designed by the architect Yosuke Tetsukawa, a Buddhist who designed many of the famous churches in the Goto Islands and elsewhere in the early 20th century.  Looking at the bus schedule, I realized I could make one more church and still make it to Good Friday services.  I arrived at Oso Catholic Church right at 3pm and found the Church full with parishioners for the Good Friday Stations of the Cross.  I left my Japanese booklet in my room but I followed along as best I could. I chatted a bit with one of the parishioners afterwards, who welcomed me by saying that I had made it just in time. I caught a view of Japan’s floating petroleum reserve while walking back to the hotel. I went to the Good Friday service at Aokata. Chatting with a parishioners after the service, I discovered the easy to understand priest of the church was just dispatched there by the diocese — the church itself did not have a dedicated pastor. I went back to the hotel to get ready for my Easter Vigil trip  back to the mainland, where I would meet my wife and we would head by one of those dreaded rental cars – my wife not sharing my dislike of vehicles, to another island, Hirado.  

The weather looked bad when I woke up, and it only got worse throughout the day.  Announcements over the local loudspeakers reiterated that all the ferries in and out were cancelled. I even heard that the ferry I had taken the previous day had broken down. I don’t plan on leaving here till Saturday, but I didn’t have a choice, in any case, to leave today. I took the bus from Aoka to the Arikawa Ferry Terminal and then another bus, all by myself, through the mountains and across a bridge to Kashiragashima Island and the World Heritage Church there.  I had made a reservation the previous day to visit.  I could only stay inside the church for 30 minutes. There were three hours between buses. I had to find things to do for another 2 and a half hours. The only shop in the area was closed. Even the vending machine was closed.

 I spent the time before my appointment watching the sea and the rain and the wind, looking at the church and the cemetery, while contemplating those parishioners who had built this church, who lived and died there without the convenience of a bridge or daily ferries that only sometimes broke down or were incapacitated due to weather.  I was most impressed when I spent the first 30 minutes at the beach, watching the wind blow waves across the water. I imagined people there 100 years ago, with only the church, or before that, just their community, to help sustain them on this isolated island they had chosen to live to keep their faith.   As my time approached, I made my way to the church – as there was no guidance for those hardy souls who took the bus, I ended up asking the only person not working for the World Hertiage Site for help.  I spent my 30 minutes doing the Way of the Cross and thinking some more.  The weather was even worse afterwards so I spent the time in the official visitors center watching every video I could and also reading a whole photo book cover to cover on the Christian related world heritage sites in Kyushu. When I finally felt I needed to move on I shifted to the nearby Furiai Center, an old house that was now managed by the city. I chatted a bit with the staff member who had initially guided me to the information center. I took a picture of the home altar and went through the books Finding the hymnal from John Paul II Nagasaki mass I once again thought about the parishioners here. I still have memories of seeing John Paul II’s mass at Candlestick Park as a child. and I came out to Nagasaki to see Pope Francis mass, as well. What were they thinking and feeling in 1981 as they took a ferry to Nagasaki to see the Pope that had come to see them?

As the weather worsened, I took one more walk down towards the sea. I came back and waited for the bus driver to come back so I could get out of the rain and onto the bus, just to discover right as the bus was to leave that the bus driver was onboard the whole time with doors closed! I came back to Arikawa. I chatted a bit with the person in the pilgrimage center at the ferry terminal, took a few photos of the hotel that had closed down where the crew of the Tora-san movie that was filmed here stayed, chatted with an unenthusiastic staff member about whether or not renting a small electric car was feasible for my plans, had some local udon at the same tourist complex, and finally went to a local coffee shop that was also closing down for good in a few days. Even as the rain fell and I had abandoned my umbrella the rain that the wind had snapped into two I tried to find the street where Tora had been those many years ago but all the shops around him in the film were gone, so it was difficult to determine exactly where he had been, in the end.  I arrived at my bus stop a bit before it arrived and discovered that the bakery I had planned on visiting since I saw it on my morning bus closed an hour before.

Getting back to Aoka, I bought a bento from a local shop rather than go back to the restaurant I had been to the previous day, got lunch for Friday at the supermarket, and went back to my hotel to freshen up for Maudy Thursday mass at Aoka Church. The church wasn’t full, but it was noticeable that the men mostly sat on the left while woman mostly wearing chapel veils on the right.  The priest’s homily for Maundy Thursday, about the last supper being the first mass and the reason for going to mass every week was God’s love for us, was fairly easy understandable for me, which is always a plus when I go to a Japanese language mass.  I had dinner back at the hotel, hoping the weather would be a bit nicer on Good Friday.  

I ran out of my hotel at five till six to get to the six am morning mass at Fukue Church. After checking out I went down to the station and rented a bicycle and preceded to see three more churches. One fairly new, one very small, and one very old. On my way I passed by an old gravesite of hidden Christians dating back to the second half of the 18th century. As I followed the signs to the site I ran into the owner of the land and he showed me around, excited that someone from California who spoke Japanese was interested in this site. The last church is located in a small valley right on the coast. I slowly rode up hill before a steep, downhill decent brought me to the church. The ride uphill wasn’t the most enjoyable but I was rewarded with a beautiful, quiet hour at this seaside church and beach. I made it back to the port, dropped off my bike, took a ferry to a small port that Tora-san used in a film and made my way by bus to my next hotel in Shinkamigoto.

I got on the bus thinking it was going one way but it ended up going in an entirely different direction. My day was ruined for about 30 minutes, but the kindness of the bus driver and the person in charge of the Dozaki Church museum made things better. I headed back to the center of town with a rosary, some postcards, and the memory of a beautiful brick church on the coast – the same coast where storms came through that would cause enough damage that it could not be registered as a World Heritage site. Which makes it easier to visit, in the end. After having lunch at a restaurant Tora-san ate lunch, I made my way to Tamanoura, where Tora-san also I went. Getting off at a church with the oldest Lourdes grotto in Japan, I walked the few kilometers down the coast to Tamanoura Church, where Tora-san once passed by. Everything else in the town that Tora-san visited had changed. The church was still the same, though. As I was taking photos someone came by to lock it up – so I had made it just in time! I wandered down to the red lighthouse where Tora-san had also been. No one was around, just me and the waves crashing into the sea. I had now been to Abashiri where Tora spent time thinking while looking at the Hat Rock and the Goto Islands where Tora looked out into the sea next to the red lighthouse.

I woke up before dawn to go to Mass at Nakamachi Church. I left early enough to first go to Nishizaka Hill, where the Twenty-Six Martyrs of Japan were executed in 1597. I checked out, went to the local department store, Hamaya, to get my shirt with its newly sewed buttons, some food for lunch, and chatting with someone while standing outside of Pompadour (yes, there is a Pompadour bakery in Nagasaki!), I headed down to the ferry terminal. (Though I first tried to buy some local pudding for my wife just to discover the shop was temporarily closed today.) Sailing during a rainstorm made for some beautiful views but I decided to stay inside and read and scroll after slipping on the deck. I bought a one day bus ticket for tomorrow, walked down to the surprisingly large Fukue Church, where I got my first official pilgrimage stamp. I was happy to find out they have daily mass at 8am but sad to see it was canceled tomorrow, and only tomorrow. When I got back to the hotel I found out the owner's aunt was in the scene in Tora-san 35 that was filmed at Aosagaura Catholic Church.

I started the day by going to Palm Sunday Mass at Urakami Cathedral. I first came here eight years ago to attend Easter Vigil Mass. The original cathedral was the largest in Asia. It was destroyed after the US dropped an atomic bomb on it — the cathedral was only 500 meters from the hypocenter. I lingered a bit after Mass and chatted with some parishioners before turning around and seeing a large number of tourists gathered in the back of the church behind a rope. I walked down to the Dr. Takashi Nagai Memorial Hall. It is small but it made clear and concrete the affects of war, especially atomic weapons. I bought a bilingual copy of Nagai's most famous work, The Bells of Nagasaki. I walked through the Peace Park to Nagasaki's Atomic Bomb Museum. It was my first time there although this is my third time to Nagasaki city.

In the afternoon I went to Oura Cathedral and the new museum built in the old seminary on the grounds. I didn't have much time but that ended up not being a problem, in the end. A free pork bun sample led me to having a full sized pork bun before having dinner at the new development near Dejima. I tried to go to a jazz kissa that I read about in Monocle Magazine but found it closed so I found an old coffee shop with a cat and spent some time there. I took a photo of Megane (Spectacles) Bridge before heading off to my hotel for bed.

I left Hiroshima before dawn so I could stop off at Yamaguchi. The clerk at the church bookstore asked if I was there because of the New York Times. I had to be honest and said no, as I was there to visit her church. the Yamaguchi Xavier Memorial Church. I had just enough time to visit the church and walk through the Xaiver museum.

I enjoyed rereading Joerg Rieger's Faith on the Road in the afternoon.

As I got close to Nagasaki that evening the rain became heavier but luckily the train didn't stop. I did take taxi to the hotel, where I arrived just in time to see Tora-san meet Sachiko Kobayashi in the mountains above Shimabara as Tora-san 47 ended on it's weekly TV showing.