Gospel at the Feliz
The Japanese have a unique and fascinating culture that goes back almost 2000 years. But what is equally as fascinating is the way the Japanese process foreign trends and cultures. Yesterday was a good example.
Since 2004, Chuck & Jan Burwell (our teammates here in Ube) have participated in a gospel musical group that meets here in Ube. The interesting part is the connection the members of the group have to gospel music. All of the people in the group are Japanese. Most are not Christians and a few speak English, but none fluently. They discovered gospel mostly through recordings and videos on the internet and were attracted to the upbeat tempo and all-around energy in the performance. The group is part of a network in the region run by a Japanese woman. They meet every week for practice and perform at various events in the area. Other than the fact that their pronunciation of English songs (around 75% of their repertoire) can sometimes be hard to understand, they are really pretty good. The catch is that, unlike the spontaneous outpouring that gospel music usually is, their performance is largely scripted. They have rehearsed when and how to sway back and forth and do various motions; when to give little God shout-outs and do the occasional rap; and many of the details of the solos that might otherwise be free-form. They watch videos of performances and try to copy as best as they can to the original.
You can see as the choir performs two songs, first in Japanese and then in English.
This particular performance had an interesting second dimension as well. It was held at “Kaze no Mieru Oka – Feliz” which roughly translates “Feliz (the Spanish word for happy): the Hill Where You Can See the Breeze” It is a Spanish-themed wedding spot complete with restaurant and wedding chapel that looks like it was pulled out of the Catalonian hillside. It has a faux alter, stained glass windows, and Latin inscriptions painted on the walls. For a while now, it has been trendy in Japan to have a Christian (i.e. “Western Style”) wedding. Because of the obvious absence of churches, businesses catering to wedding parties complete with elaborate churches have sprung up all over Japan.
The Japanese have two dueling attitudes. On the one hand, they are a very tight cultural group. They have great reverence for their own culture, which they see as unique in the world. But they also have a great openness to foreign cultures and readily adopt elements of them. They generally seem to enjoy traveling overseas and trying foreign foods. The Japanese language uses many words borrowed directly from other languages. It was interesting to learn the words for hair clipper (barikan from French) and sleeping bag (shurafu from German).
Pray for the members of the gospel choir. Over the last few years, they have been exposed to the message of the gospel many times. As Chuck & Jan return to America, one of their greatest burdens is to see many of these people, who have become some of their closest friends, become true followers of Christ. The Burwells’ departure has given them the opportunity to have some good conversations. Pray that as they depart, what the Burwells’ have shared with the choir members will ring in their ears.