Key City Sakado 坂戸市

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Do you ever get confused by Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism? You aren’t alone! It just so happens that today’s Key City: Sakado gives us a great excuse to deal with some of these confusing terms.

Sakado City is home to the largest Taoist temple in all of Japan. It’s really huge, it’s incredibly detailed, and it’s beautiful. The temple’s yellow tiled roof is unique to religious sites, so it stands out and nobody has any doubt about what it means. Inside the building are several stone columns almost 20 feet tall. Each is carved from a single block, and the craftmanship doesn’t end there. The main hall, a cavernous room, has a ceiling made of hand-broken glass, over one thousand pieces in all. The structure of the hall itself is built to interlock without the use of any type of nails or screws.

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It’s a very cool building, but what’s interesting about it to me is that Taoism isn’t a Japanese religion. It’s Chinese. Confucianism? Also Chinese. Buddhism? That’s Indian!

Japan does have it’s own religion, Shinto, but most people follow it in name only. They pay respect to it and occasionally pray, but few follow any of these religions very “religiously.” And who can blame them? None of these offer any real hope. None offer salvation or forgiveness.

In fact there is a famous Taoist saying, “The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.” It basically means, “I can’t explain Tao, and you can’t understand it.” There are over 100,000 people in Sakado with a beautiful temple and a religion with no answers. They have plenty of temples and plenty of religions.

What they need is Truth. Will you help me give them the truth of Jesus Christ?

Key City Isehara 伊勢原市

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I’ve got a confession to make: I love samurai! Those of you who know me won’t find that very surprising, and it just so happens that one of my favorite samurai was born in today’s Key City: Isehara.

Japan loves its festivals and celebrating its traditions, and each October this city is home to one of the most popular, Dokan Festival. Thousands gather from all over the country every weekend during the month to honor Ota Dokan.
Dokan was a famous samurai warrior and poet who became even better known for his military strategy, architecture and engineering. At just 25 years old, he had already built an honorable reputation and was tasked with building a castle for one of the most powerful rulers of that time. That castle would eventually become known as The Imperial Palace.
With all the success he experienced and the strict honor he lived by, it’s sad to know that he was betrayed by those he trusted most and had served for nearly his entire life. His lord, Uesugi Sadamasa, had him executed after falsely accusing him of disloyalty.

Dokan wrote these words just before his death:
Had I not known
that I was dead
already
I would have mourned
the loss of my life.

There are over 100,000 people living in Isehara City that don’t realize that they are dead already. I mourn the loss of these lives, but that’s not enough.
Will you help me take the Gospel to Isehara City?

Key City Satsumasendai 薩摩川内市

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It’s not often that my redneck side is jealous of the Japanese people, but that’s exactly the case after I heard about today’s Key City: Satsumasendai.

The Japanese people have a very well-earned reputation as a very quiet, reserved, even disciplined people. One of their famous sayings has to do with forcing yourself to fit in and not stand out. Perhaps it’s because of this restrictive lifestyle that when they decide to let loose and be crazy, they get redneck crazy. (I knew it wasn’t just southerners!)
On September 22nd of every year, 3000 Japanese men, old and young, rich and poor, descend on the center of the city. They split into even teams to reenact an ancient tradition passed down over the last 400 years… What ancient, stoic tradition, you wonder? Tug of war.

Seriously. The preparations begin as early as 5am, when the children of the city begin rolling the massive rope. It is over 1,000 feet long and weighs in at over 5 tons. By nightfall people from all over the country have arrived by rail to watch the spectacle. For hours, the competitors struggle back and forth, gaining and losing ground, until at last a victor is declared.
This sounds fairly silly, but it reminds me of the spiritual struggle that many of these people don’t even realize is taking place. And the prize is their souls. Satan’s team is full of powerful forces pulling them toward an eternity in hell, while on God’s side, the rope hangs free with no one to pull these 100,730 souls from everlasting torment. Will you join me? Take up this rope in prayer for Satsumasendai City.