Prompt 12

Japanese aesthetics are inseparable from religious views because of the way they view nature. Their art shows the love of nature and in religion with the respect of nature. The art of Japanese aesthetics is seen in not only their gardens but in their heikus, ikebana, tea and calligraphy. While we were at the Buddhist Temple and the Shinto Temple, I noticed that the structures were not put together with nails or glue. They are molded together by the cut of the wood as if they were meant to be together. The respect paid to the wood by the craftsmen is seen as a sign of reverence not only to the gifts of nature but settled there in the heart of nature. The rock garden was kept clean and unobstructed by anything. The things I saw at these religious places had many sites to support the fact that Japanese aesthetics and religion are inseparable. In Christianity, people view their ancestors as gone and in Heaven, unable to take care of them. In Shinto, the Japanese believe that their ancestors can help them at anytime. In American religions and day to day life, ancestors are not given a special place unless it means going to place flowers on a marker. Japanese persons keep things in their homes to remind them of their ancestors even going so far as to set a plate of food for them at the dinner table and leave a chair open for them.