Boundless Love and Compassion - Jesus, Emperor and Empress of Japan, and Lepers

What is common between Jesus and the imperial couple (Emperor and Empress) of Japan?  What is common in the spirit behind the Kingdom of God and the spirit behind the Japanese concept of "Hakkoichiu"(八紘一宇)?  

You may find answers in this article.

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Jesus has been known for his divine power to cure lepers, as described in the following segments in the synoptic Gospels:  Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45, and Luke 5:12-16, as well as in Luke 17:11-19. Of course, this healing power is a divine power of mercy. It is a grace of God that reaches out to those in need through Jesus. Perhaps, it is what Pope Francis calls “medicine of grace” that heals us. 

At the time of Jesus and for many years before and after that time, leprosy had been like a synonym to being condemned.  This infectious disease was incurable then and contagious, leading to death through disfigurement of the skin.  Contracting leprosy was regarded as if being cursed by demonic spirit. No wonder lepers were shunned and abandoned to die in solitude. 

At least ever since Moses received the law on the Mt. Sinai during Exodus, lepers were “required” to be humiliated before being kicked out of the society for the sake of “public health” and “purity”, given the description of Leviticus 13. This was certainly the norm during the time of Jesus in Judea. 

Similar to the Jewish tradition of the Old Testament, purity has been a very important concept in Shinto, the Japanese indigenous religion.  Purification rituals very important to both Judaism and Shinto.  There are many cleansing acts both in Jewish rituals and Shinto rituals. 

Unfortunately, the emphasis on purity both in Judaism of the time of Jesus and in Shinto for a long time, set a social norm to exclude people who are deemed as “unclean”, out of the society, with religious justifications. 

But, as the aforementioned Gospel narratives describe, Jesus broke the taboo in the Mosaic Law in Leviticus 13 and not only embraced a leper but also “cleansed” him.  

Biblically, this symbolizes that the love and compassion of God, as demonstrated by Jesus, can break social taboos, for it is boundless and not subject to any restrictions.  It also tells that love and mercy of God brings isolated people, such as condemned lepers, back to society, as Jesus, the Good Shepherd, would go find a lost sheep and bring it back to the herd (Matthew 18:12-14, Luke 15:3-7), symbolizing the redemptive and salvific nature of God’s love and compassion. 

In Japan, lepers have been isolated in specialized treatment facilities. Behind the justification for public health, perhaps, there is a religious influence of Shinto’s purity tradition, to keep leprosy patients away for many years, even after the disease became known as treatable and may not require such an isolation treatment.  Even though we know that we do not have to be so afraid of persons with leprosy in treatment and those who recovered from it, we still find it difficult to come in close proximity with them,  as there is a gap between what we know in our head and what we feel in our heart. 

Jesus is not walking around isolated places in Japan, seeking secluded lepers. But, there is a couple tirelessly reaching out to them – leprosy patients in their isolated treatment facilities and those who still face discrimination because of their past leprosy. And, it is the Emperor and Empress of Japan.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko do not miraculously cure leprosy as Jesus did. However, their gentle hands, touching people with leprosy, bring healing. 

A leprosy patient, who was touched by Emperor Akihito, said that he was “saved” by the Emperor.  

To who are still living in isolated leprosy treatment facilities in Japan, a visit by the Emperor and Empress sure refreshes their spirit, keeping it strong to draw meaning even though their lives are still isolated and seem invisible to the mainstream society of Japan. 

As a Catholic and Japanese national, I am so grateful to have such Emperor and Empress as a symbol of Japan and the representative monarch of the Japanese people, embodying the loving and compassionate spirit that Jesus also demonstrated about 2,000 years ago. 

Leprosy patients, whom Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan reach out are not just Japanese nationals but also leprosy patients with any nationalities. 

As Jesus broke the reach of God’s saving love and compassion beyond the Jewish-Gentile boundaries,  the Emperor and Empress of Japan have brought their healing hands beyond the boundaries between the Japanese and the non-Japanese.  To me, this is a true spirit of ”Hakkoichiu”(八紘一宇), which literally means “eight crown cords under one roof” .

As the Japanese spirit of “Hakkoichiu” , through the reaching-out of the healing hands of the Japanese Emperor and Empress,  the sphere of God’s saving spirit, through the hands of Jesus and his followers, including Pope Francis, has been spreading across the world to bring the Kingdom of God on earth, as it is in heaven.