I am an American who lived in Japan for six years. When I left, I was an atheist. When I came back, I was a Catholic. This blog is my attempt to make sense of how a country of Buddhists turned me into a Christian, as well as to explore some unexpected connections between Japan and the Catholic Church.
Japan and the Church 
I read your post and actually I was shocked! I could not believe that the writer’s voice was like my own! I mean I am surely less skilled but the perspective is very near.
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Do you write about this topic at all? I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.
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I have written out my journey to Christ in a manuscript (hopefully someday book) titled The Six-Foot Bonsai. In a nutshell I had a near death experience as a child– a disfiguring accident which led me to become easily hooked on the ritualistic processes of daily Japanese life when I first visited the country in 1980 at 16. From there I married a man from Sado at 18. I left him very abruptly in 1994; but I did not leave the culture. In fact I binged on it. I finally gave up Japan in 2001 and really stopped thinking through my Japanese mind. Things were better. But then a horrible secret was revealed . . fallout from my affliction. That was 2006. I tried to repair everything on my own but the guilt (shame for Japanese) nearly did me in. In 2010 I found Christ. Most of the posts and pages of my blog The Six-Foot Bonsai explain bits of this story (some posts are just my philosophies).
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Wow, it sounds like you’ve had quite the journey! Congratulations on coming home. 🙂 Forgive my technical ineptitude, but I’m unable to see anything on your blog–could you post a link?
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https://thesixfootbonsai.com Oh I see! I was wondering why you did not visit and understand my situation. You can also just google “The Six Foot Bonsai” and my blog will appear. I think your site is lovely but the setting might be making it difficult for folks to find you and you to find them. I noticed something is off about searching for you.
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Thank you so much! I’m very interested in reading your story. Although my relationship with Japan is not as deep as yours, I feel like we have something in common.
Gosh I wonder what the problem is with my settings . . .
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