Charms 1 June 1981

Trevor Leggett was head of the Japanese Department of the BBC.

This is one of his broadcasts to Japan

ZUBARI for 1 June, 1981

Charms

Hello listeners – here I am back in Britain, after listening to the BBC Japanese Service for five weeks in Japan – and sending back reports to London.  I am still suffering a little from the so-called ‘jet lag’; there are eight hours difference between Tokyo Time and London Time – so I wake up in the middle of the night in London feeling that I want the breakfast and lunch which I have been eating in Japan during the night in Britain.  Still, this is getting less.

I visit Japan each year, and when I come back here, the people often ask me, “What changes have you noticed over the past ten or fifteen years?”. I generally reply, “Apart from the new buildings, one of the main changes is that the air is getting clearer and cleaner. Fifteen years ago, one could not only smell the air in Tokyo, one could even taste it. But now it is much cleaner, though not yet as clean as the London air. The other big change over the years is that Japanese people in the cities are, in general, smartly and attractively dressed.” Perhaps an Englishman notices this more – one or two Americans and European people to whom I have mentioned it had not noticed it particularly.  When I spoke of it they said, “Oh …. yes.  Yes, I suppose so.  Yes…” and they absently-mindedly looked at the nearest Japanese passing, and then said, “Yes, you are certainly right.”

On May 5, the Asahi published the report of an enquiry into the ‘Religious Consciousness of the Japanese’.  The results of two questions were apparently a great surprise to the newspaper: “Kagaku ga shinpo shite mo, shinpiteki na mono no setsumei ga tsuku to wa omowanai” –  this was the opinion of 70% of the people, and among the young people in their 20’s the proportion was over 80%.  It was also remarked that it was city people in the professions who were most sceptical about the power of science to explain everything.  It was similar with the belief in immortality –  survival after death.

Well, over 50% of people carry some sort of Mamori.  I was asked about Britain, and I could say that it is the same here. Books about reincarnation and survival after death are best-sellers, and the great majority of car drivers have some sort of ‘charm’, often a medallion of St. Christopher, the patron saint of travellers. Most of the popular papers have astrological columns and many people glance at them.  If you ask whether people really believe, they tend first to say, ‘Oh no, of course not’, but if you press the point, they often admit, ‘Well, there may be something in it.”

I remember reading about the great physicist Niels Bohr, Nobel Prize winner, who was visited by another scientist. The latter noticed above the door of Bohr’s home a horse-shoe. This is a very ancient symbolic lucky charm. It is nailed above the door, with the points of the horse-shoe always upwards (otherwise the luck might spill out of it).

The visitor asked Bohr, “Surely a scientist like you cannot believe in a lucky charm like that – it’s just superstition.  I suppose one of your children put it up?”

“No,” said Bohr.  “I put it up myself.  I always have a horseshoe over the front door.”

“But a scientist cannot believe that a horseshoe can bring good luck.  You don’t believe it, do you?”

“No, I don’t’, replied Bohr.  “But the horseshoe might bring me good luck even if I don’t believe in it!”

I think this is the general attitude of English people who have a St. Christopher medallion in the car. They are not sure whether or not it brings any protection against accidents, but after all, it might – and anyway, what harm can it do?

I have not got any British lucky charms myself, but I do have some Japanese ones which were given to me.  I sometimes wonder whether they will work abroad. Perhaps not. On the other hand, as there are very few Mamori in this part of the world, there will not be much work for it to do, so perhaps those of us who do have one will get very special attention.  Japanese people ought to put up horse-shoes!

Well, till next time.

© Trevor Leggett