I was in Nara last year. As I was exploring the vicinity for anything unusual, I stumbled upon this shrine:
I entered and I was rather puzzled when I saw this:
It appears to be a Roman Catholic "Sacred Heart" cross on this wooden pillar. So, I asked myself and began to wonder whether Catholic missionaries were here. But, this is a Shinto shrine built during the Edo period of Japan. The name of this Shrine is the Himuro Shrine in Nara. Knowing the culture of the Japanese people, I don't think they would allow mixture of anything "foreign" in their sacred places, what more during ancient times.
This heightened my curiosity and began exploring even more. I stumbled yet another mystery when I saw this statue of their goddess Kannon, the goddess of mercy and compassion.
I took a close up picture of what appears to be a cross again. I was like, "what the hell" moment. I seriously thought I was in a parallel universe.
Is this the Shinto version of Mother Mary? This is really odd and strange to say the least. The goddess Kannon had existed before the advent of Christ. So, the cross should not even exist.
What I found out that there's really a Christian history during the Edo period of Japan. I believe the Japanese converts or "Kirishitan" incorporated Roman Catholic icons on the goddess Kannon since Mother Mary bare the same resemblance as their goddess Kannon.
However, Christianity was suppressed during those times and as many as 3000 Japanese Kirishitan were moved to Manila in Spanish Philippines.
Some background history:
"The Shimabara Rebellion, led by a young Christian man named Amakusa Shirō Tokisada, took place against the shogunate in 1637. The rebellion broke out over economic desperation and government oppression but later assumed a religious tone. About 27,000 people joined the uprising, but it was crushed by the shogunate after a sustained campaign. The reigning shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, who had issued the Sakoku Edict, restricting trade and effectively isolating Japan, two years earlier, came down hard on the Christians. Many Japanese were deported to Macau or to the Spanish Philippines. Many Macanese and Japanese Mestizos are the mixed-race descendants of the deported Japanese Catholics. 400 were officially deported by the government to Macau and Manila, but thousands of Japanese were pressured into moving voluntarily. About 10,000 Macanese and 3,000 Japanese were moved to Manila.
The Catholic remnant in Japan were driven underground, and its members became known as the "Hidden Christians". Some priests remained in Japan illegally, including 18 Jesuits, seven Franciscans, seven Dominicans, one Augustinian, five seculars and an unknown number of Jesuit irmao and dojuku. Since this time corresponds to the Thirty Years' War between Catholics and Protestants in Germany, it is possible that the checking of Catholic power in Europe reduced the flow of funds to the Catholic missions in Japan, which could be why they failed at this time and not before. During the Edo period, the Kakure Kirishitan kept their faith. Biblical phrases or prayers were transferred orally from parent to child, and secret posts (mizukata) were assigned in their underground community to baptize their children, all while regional governments continuously operated fumi-e to expose Christians."
Kirishitan - Wikipedia
Interesting!