One thing I have always wondered about when foreigner people come to Japan for like a vacation or something of the like and go to visit temples and shrine is why do so many of them want to go to visit a place when they can not really understand what the meaning of it is. I mean they can go and look at the temples and shrine in an artistic sense and appreciate what beauty it holds but for the average traveler they can not really understand what the temple/shire is suppose to mean. For example, in the above picture when foreigners come they would probably be able to make an artistic comment about it, but for the average foreigner just traveling for fun, they will most likely not have a good understanding of Japanese Religion. And if they do not understand what is happening what kind of image are they taking back to their own countries? And how much of that image is skewed by what they can not understand?
1 comment:
You ask some interesting questions. But if a person already knows everything about a particular place, why bother to visit at all? Those who want more information after visiting a new place will continue to study or research. Those that don't will probably add to the stereotypes of Japan. But even those who do the latter shouldN7t be criticized for seeing something new/different/unknown. It's still more than many people from a particular country which will remain anonymous do... And actually, I wold say most Japanese people themselves don't really understand what they are seeing when they visit temples and shrines.
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