Never mistreat a bear cub

We left Toyko by bullet train the next day. The itinerary promised a whisky distillery in the city of Sendai. Sadly, it was out of order, so we had dressing up in Matsushima instead. Everyone was shown upstairs in a small shop to where there was a rack of kimonos. The rather dingy, faded gowns held no interest to me at all. I have done dressing up before but mostly in the evening as part of a party. It takes several stiff drinks to even consider dressing up. I slipped out of the shop and tried to find something to photograph while the others reverted to their childhood. Outside, I discovered about a quarter of our group who were similarly unimpressed. Princess likes to dress up and unlike me, she looks good in a kimono. When everyone came out, we walked round the corner to small, wooden temple and attempted to take photographs. It was not the easiest because the area around the temple was especially small and full of people with selfie sticks.

The plan was to walk around a large temple, the Zuiganji Temple in the kimonos. However, nobody was that keen. So, after a quick disrobement, we wandered off looking like ordinary tourists. This is one of Japan’s most important Zen temples. Around the entrance are rock caves once used for meditation. The temple had a dry garden that was thought provoking. I still cannot quite make up my mind as to whether I like this sort of garden. In a comparable way to bonsai, I find it sort of interesting but it also appears to be massively time consuming for extraordinarily little return. Looking at the results of someone else’s hard work is ok.

Having skipped off another pointless lunch we joined the others at the quayside for a boat trip. Matsushima Bay has been celebrated for hundreds of years as one of Japan’s three most scenic views. The other two are: Miyajima (where we saw the big red gate) and Amanohashidate (which we did not see). Matsushima Bay is dotted by over 200 small islands covered by pine trees. A small fleet of boats operate the bay viewing trip. To my surprise, we had a boat to ourselves and, being a reasonable size, it was not too crowded. I could sit out on the back deck with my camera and enjoy the tour. The sky was clear and the late afternoon sun was just starting to turn the world golden.

There were very few birds which I found a bit of a disappointment. Maybe they had all been eaten. I got to wondering why Japanese eat so much meat and fish.

Religion in Japan is a syncretic blend of Shinto and Buddhism. Millions of people practice elements of both concurrently without seeing them as exclusive. Rather than focusing on strict dogmas or single-faith labels, Japanese spiritual life emphasizes community rites, seasonal festivals, and respect for nature. Shinto is Japan’s indigenous, action-centred belief system focuses on kami—divine spirits or powers that inhabit natural elements like mountains, rivers, trees, and ancestral forces. Shinto lacks a single founder or strict scripture; instead, it embraces on ritual purity, shrines marked by red torii gates and seasonal festivals. Buddhism is a spiritual tradition and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha who lived in ancient India. Buddhism focuses on personal spiritual development, ethical living and seeing reality clearly. In Japan there is a “Live as Shinto, Die as Buddhist” dynamic. Many Japanese people turn to Shinto rituals for births, marriages, and community celebrations, while utilizing Buddhist temples and rites for death and ancestral remembrance.

Shintoism is not strictly vegetarian, though its core spiritual concepts, particularly purity and a deep reverence for nature, have historically shaped how people in Japan view food and meat consumption. Shinto views contact with death, blood, and the slaughter of animals as sources of kegare (Pollution/Defilement). Because of this, people traditionally practiced temporary abstinence from meat during ritually significant periods or before visiting shrines for purification.

Buddhism has a much clearer view. The Five Precepts (for lay followers) of Buddha are:

• Refrain from taking life: Do not kill or harm any living being, including animals.
• Refrain from taking what is not given: Do not steal or take property that does not belong to you.
• Refrain from sexual misconduct: Avoid harmful, unfaithful, or abusive sexual behaviour.
• Refrain from wrong speech: Do not lie, gossip, use harsh language, or sow division.
• Refrain from intoxicants: Avoid alcohol and mind-altering drugs that cloud awareness and mindfulness.

However you look at this, it is hard to avoid an ingrained background message about not eating animals. And it turns out that historically, the Japanese used to eat almost no meat. In the 16^th century Christian missionaries began arriving and brought their carnivorous habits with them. Following the 1868 Meiji Restoration, meat-eating rapidly became accepted in society. The government announced the lifting the ban on eating meat in 1872. This was inspired by a desire to increase meat consumption to boost military power. They wanted bigger, stronger soldiers. Meat-eating was considered a symbol of bunmei-kaika (civilization and enlightenment) and Westernization.

The big change came at the end of WW2. So much changed in Japan after the two atomic bombs were dropped that it is hard to summarise. Attitudes shifted dramatically from militarist nationalism and imperial devotion to pacifism, democratic participation, and economic rebuilding. The national mindset moved away from aggressive expansionism and the cult of bushido (the warrior code) toward a deeply ingrained public anti-war stance. The emperor (Hirohito) was transformed from a living god who commanded absolute sacrifice into a constitutional figurehead. The people adapted to a parliamentary democracy, freedom of speech, and expanded rights for women, including suffrage. The national drive and discipline were channelled into economic recovery. Creating the “Japanese economic miracle” and building a global reputation in manufacturing, technology and pop culture. There was an enormous shift towards the west. Attitudes toward the United States evolved from wartime enmity into a close political and security alliance. This came with a rapid adoption of Western culture, music, and consumer goods. Meat consumption increased more than seven-fold after WW2. An analysis of the 2019 Japan National Health and Nutrition Survey showed that red meat was in excess of the upper limit of the planetary health diet (PHD). The highest excess was in respondents in their 40s and declined with increasing age.

We were up early again the next day for the train ride to Hakodate. This took about four hours. I thought the scenery was more interesting.  More hills and forests. Heading north took us further into autumn and this was reflected in the deeper colouration of the leaves. Following a familiar pattern, the first thing we did after arriving in Hakodate was to go up a tower. At only just over 100m this was a rather underwhelming construction. There was a pleasant view over a star shaped park. By counting parked coaches, I could estimate how many tourists were up the tower. No coffee up this tower but Diane did have an ice cream when we got back down.

That was it for the day. There was going to be a ride in a cable car. Unfortunately, the ropeway was not running. Instead, the group went to a restaurant on top of a hill. The sky was overcast, the views would be minimal and there was always the problem of finding something to eat. We chose the safer option of an Indian restaurant near the hotel.

The next day turned out to be fairly minimal as well. Several hours on a coach brought us to the Upopoy National Ainu Museum. The Ainu people are an indigenous ethnic group native to northern Japan as well as parts of southeastern Russia. Nothing had been explained to us so we had very little idea what we were looking at here. It was a large complex, several acres, containing buildings and display areas. There were some huts built in a traditional fashion. Also, a central museum with a really boring collection of old tools and clothing. Inside one of the huts were some bear skins. We met a woman there who explained that Aniu would raid a local bear cave and steal one of the young cubs. They would then bring it up in their village for a few years as if it were a child. Then they would eat it to bring luck and prosperity to the village. Shortly after hearing this rather disturbing tradition, we were trying to find something to eat at the restaurant in the centre of the complex. I noticed that the menu included deer meat and bear meat. We gave this a miss and Diane settled for an ice cream instead.