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"Catholic Shimizu Church" was completed in 1935. It has a wooden frame, exterior walls painted with mortar, and interior walls finished with plaster. It was a solid building, constructed with superior Japanese wooden construction techniques.
For 88 years, it was a sacred place of prayer for the faithful. It has celebrated the beginnings of many people. It has also been a place of refuge for many afflicted and suffering people.
During the war(World War II), when the city of Shimizu was burned in an air raid, it was opened as a shelter and first aid station for citizens, saving many people.
This church building was a witness of "unspeakable" history. This church has witnessed many "joys" and "sorrows" and is a special place.
It was apparently eight years ago that Catholic Yokohama Diocese, who has jurisdiction over this church, announced a policy to demolish this church building and rebuild a new one. The reason was apparently that the church was "decrepit" and "in danger of collapsing in a disaster," but for the members of this church, it was a one-sided notice.
The congregation's opinion was divided into two: "preserve and use" and "rebuild," but after a vote, the majority opinion was to "preserve and use. The believers asked an architect to inspect the church building. As a result, they reported that the church could be used for a long time if repairs were made, and that there was little possibility of it collapsing due to a disaster.
The believers hoped that Catholic Yokohama Diocese would allow the church building to continue to exist. The governor of Shizuoka Prefecture and the mayor of Shizuoka City, where this church building is located, also wished to preserve the church building. Many citizens agreed. However, the Catholic Yokohama Diocese did not listen to these voices. And the demolition of this church building will begin in early December of this year.
The church members and citizen volunteers are search for relocate the church building to another location and preserve it. The building materials of the church building to be demolished will be preserved and await reconstruction. However, the funds to do so are insufficient. So the future of whether this plan will succeed or not is uncertain.
I, who took the photographs of this church and wrote this text in this section, am not a Christian. I had just recently learned of the fate of this church building. However,I often saw this church. It is a shame that yet another of the familiar scenery will be lost. And I also understand that the demolition of this church building was the result of an irrational decision made by some people. That is too sad. One feels a strong question as to why the high-ranking clergy did not listen to the "voices of the weak".
In this way, a church building is about to be lost. A treasure of the city is about to be lost. It happened because of human incomprehension.
This kind of thing could surely happen in any town.
It want you to remember that.
Home Page in Japanese language (A citizens' group whose goal is to relocate and preserve this church building) ”The Association for Making the Most of church building of Shimizu Catholic Church” https://www.cath-shimizu.com/
The eight islands of Japan sprang into existence through Divine Intervention.The first two gods who came into existence were Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto, the Exalted Male and Exalted Female. It was their job to make the land for people to live on.They went to the bridge between heaven and earth and, using a jewel-encrusted halberd, Izanagi and Izanami churned up the sea into a frothy foam. As salty drips of water fell from the tip of the halberd the first island was formed. Its name was Onogoro.So far, so good. But when Izanagi and Izanami first met on their island, Izanami spoke to Isanagi without being spoken to first. Since she was the female, and this was improper, their first union created badly-formed offspring who were sent off into the sea in boats.The next time they met, Izanagi was sure to speak first, ensuring the proper rules were followed, and this time they produced eight children, which became the islands of Japan.I'm sure you did not fail to miss the significance of this myth for the establishment of Japanese formal society.At present, Japan is the financial capital of Asia. It has the second largest economy in the world and the largest metropolitan area (Tokyo.)Technically there are three thousand islands making up the Japanese archipelago. Izanagi and Izanami must have been busy little devils with their jewelled halberd...Japan's culture is highly technical and organized. Everything sparkles and swooshes on silent, miniaturized mechanisms.They're a world leader in robotics, and the Japanese have the longest life-expectancy on earth.Text by Steve Smith.
