Priest delivery, Japan’s newest technology innovation
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.
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“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.
-New York Times
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