After I came to Japan, very year I would work at a shrine. Although it’s not a long-term job, it is one of happiest times of the year for me. This time, a school mate introduced me to a famous shrine in Tokyo.
I don’t want to make the name of that shrine clear for several serious reasons. It’s not a normal shrine but is strongly related to politics. By working there, I have practically betrayed my country. One the other hand, it seems that the most conservative part of Japan has accepted my existence.
Until actually working there, I was really nervous. I worried that if people realize I am Chinese they will scold me. At first, people didn’t seem to realize what I was. One of my colleagues asked. “Your Japanese accent is different, where are you from? West Japan?” to which I replied, “Really?” and skipped that topic.
After some time passed, I noticed that people actually knew I was Chinese. There were talking about me when I was not there. However, they treated me kindly as they always have done. Thus, I didn’t hide anymore. I even chatted with a colleague about China on my last day.
I was always trying to hid the truth that I am or was Chinese. If people asked me things about China I would feel angry. For this reason, many Japanese people feel it’s difficult to talk to me since one’s hometown is common topic when chatting. Now I realized that maybe I shouldn’t avoid that topic. People naturally want to know more about others.
Besides Shinto being my religion, working at shrine makes me feel like a part of Japanese society. When I served Japanese people, they showed true respect to me. A Shinto priestess told me that people come to shrines with a pure heart which is unusual in modern society.
A part time job at a shrine is not the end of my involvement with religion, I’ll take the Shinto priest course starting this year at Kokugakuin University in my free time. Even though I am not originally Japanese, I want to become a Shinto priest someday.