Nippon

You could say Japan is important to me.

I have spent only about 12% of my life there to date, but I don't doubt that percentage will rise in the future. I'm married to a Japanese. I read, speak, occasionally write, sometimes think, and once-in-a-while even dream in their language. I love the country - from densely-packed and sweltering summer Tokyo, to the autumnal colours around Kyoto temples and shrines in the breeze, from cherry blossoms on the Izu coast to the ultramarine bays of Okinawa.

And I've always got on well with the people, too. I like the Japanese character - basically gentle, reserved and curious. I prefer to bow when I meet someone than to shake their hand. I like the sense of team spirit, the loyalty and the fierce national pride. In Japan, things work, and if they don't, someone comes to fix them for you the same day. And apologises for causing you trouble!

But I'm not an idealist about Japan. The work ethic is quite ridiculous. Family life is generally poorly-supported. Most people have little time or inclination to think out of the box. There is an almost oppressive spirit of conformity. Many of these things apply also to the Church.

Development has been economically successful but environmentally ugly (at best) or crippling (at worst). The attitude towards outsiders like me can be very exclusivist, and most people have no moral issue with saying what they don't actually think, or doing what they don't actually believe in. For me, getting proficient linguistically was an enormous struggle, but the gap between proficiency and real, sensitive communication remains a gaping chasm sometimes.

Every day I pine for Japan. And I pray for her. I long to return. And I long to be a part of her again.