Japan’s Newest Technology Innovation: Priest Delivery through Amazon
SAKAI, Japan — The stubble-haired Buddhist priest lit incense at a
small, cupboardlike altar just as members of his order have done for centuries.
As the priest chanted sutras, Yutaka Kai closed his eyes and prayed for his
wife, who died last year of complications from a knee replacement.
Mr. Kai, 68, set aside his
family’s devout Buddhism when he left his rural hometown decades ago to work in
a tire factory. That meant Mr. Kai did not have a local temple to turn to for
the first anniversary of his wife’s death, a milestone for Japanese Buddhists.
Cue the internet. In modern
Japan, a Buddhist priest can now be found just a few mouse clicks away, on Amazon.com.
“It’s affordable, and the price
is clear,” said Mr. Kai’s eldest son, Shuichi, 40. “You don’t have to worry
about how much you’re supposed to give.”
The priest at Mrs. Kai’s memorial, Junku Soko, is part of a
controversial business that is disrupting traditional funeral arrangements in
Japan. In a country where regulations and powerful interests have stymied much
of the so-called gig economy — Uber, for instance, is barely a blip here — a
network of freelancing priests is making gains in the unlikely sphere of
religion.
Their
venture is viewed by some as unseemly, and it has drawn condemnation from
Buddhist leaders. An umbrella group representing Japan’s many Buddhist sects
complained publicly after Amazon began offering
obosan-bin — priest delivery — on its Japanese site last year, in
partnership with a local start-up.
But the priests and their backers say they
are addressing real needs. They assert that obosan-bin is helping to preserve
Buddhist traditions by making them accessible to the millions of people in
Japan who have become estranged from the religion.
“Temples will sell you 10 yen candles for 100
yen,” said Mr. Soko, 39. “They’re protecting their own interests.”
Such arguments will be familiar to anyone who has watched
e-commerce companies upend other parts of the economy, from book publishing to
airlines, taxis and hotels.
In Japan, even in areas far less
sensitive than religion, newcomers often receive a chilly reception, and start-ups
are rarer than in other rich countries. Among the explanations are a scarcity
of venture capital, the political clout wielded by established businesses and a
culture that values stability over the creative destruction that drives growth
in countries like the United States.
Yet religion may prove to be an
exception. It is so opaque — and so removed from the day-to-day lives of many
modern Japanese — that a little technological disruption may prove welcome.
The stakes are material as well
as spiritual. As with religious institutions in many other countries, temples
in Japan receive generous tax breaks.
“If it becomes a fee for services
instead of a donation, and the government says, ‘O.K., we’re going to tax you
like a regular business,’ how are we supposed to object?” said Hanyu Kakubo, a
priest at the Japan
Buddhist Federation, which opposes obosan-bin.
As with
adherents of many religions, Buddhists typically give donations to priests for
their services. Proponents of obosan-bin argue that conventional temples
already operate like businesses — ones that put customers at a disadvantage
though murky pricing. The amount is left up to the donor, a custom that leads
many to overpay, Mr. Soko said.
“They don’t want to make things
clear,” he said.
Much of the reaction in Japan to
obosan-bin has been positive, for equally familiar reasons: It offers
convenience and low, predictable prices.
“There has been fierce criticism
from the Buddhist world, but these days many people are abandoning religious
funerals altogether,” said Noriyuki Ueda, an anthropologist who studies
Buddhism at Tokyo Institute of Technology. “At least people using obosan-bin
think having a priest is necessary.”
Source | http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/business/international/amazon-japan-delivers-priest.html?_r=0
Regards
Pralhad Jadhav
Senior Manager @ Library
Khaitan & Co
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