David writes: 

'For Japanese people the way that things are done is all important. In fact, it’s so ingrained in the culture that many aspects of Japanese culture are called “the way of…”. For example, Japanese calligraphy is Shodo - “the way of writing”, flower arranging is kado - “the way flowers” and Judo can be translated as “the gentle way”. But there is one Way that influences Japan above all others, Shinto – “the way of the gods”. If you go to Japan you’ll see in every town and city, and even dotted around the countryside large red gates. These are torii and they all have the same shape, two vertical pillars and two horizonal beams at the top painted red, and a thin roof, usually black, on top. Some torii are small, some are large, they can stand on their own, or with others that create a kind of tunnel. But they all have the same function, they are the entrance to a Shinto shrine. For Japanese it’s more than that, they represent the divide between the unclean world and the clean, between the mundane world and holy. For many Japanese this is the entrance to what their lives are built on. But here’s the strange thing, most Japanese would tell you that they aren’t religious. And in day-to-day life you would be hard pressed to see anything overtly religious in the average Japanese person’s life. But it’s there, under your feet. The way of the gods has become the cultural bedrock of Japanese society. Japanese aren’t religious, but they’ll all go to a shrine on New Year’s Day. Japanese aren’t religious, but a company might have a meeting where the employees pray for financial success in the coming year. Japanese aren’t religious, but they’ll take part in a festival where an idol is paraded through their town. The Japanese aren’t religious, except for when they are being Japanese.'

David and his family are nurturing friendships in Japan and sharing the good news that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6 )