The Religiosity of Japanese Engineering Student Case Study at Toyohashi University of Technology

This article is intended to inform a real description related to the religious expression and activity of engineering student in Japan. Information is collected by direct interaction with the students, and also by visiting religious sites around the campus. Visit to the student apartments is also carried out to obtain information regarding religious activity that is held in daily life. It is found from the observation that religious activities such as reading a holy book and praying is not carried out anymore. Praying is done three times a year, namely at Bon ceremony, which is ceremony to respect the return ancestor to the earth from heaven, at Higan ceremony that is ceremony to respect the ancestor, and also new year praying. It is found surprisingly, something unique related to the religion that is many students have and bring amulet (o-mamori) that is obtained from the Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple. It is also popular to take a written oracle that tells the fortune in the Buddhist Temple or Shinto Shrine. This written oracle in Japan is called with o-mikuji. The belief that is not related to the religion but still popular is to respect the mountain. Mountain climbing is a religious activity that often held by the engineering student


Introduction
This article is intended to introduce the religiosity of Japanese student that study in the department of engineering. The observation takes a place at Toyohashi University of Technology in Toyohashi City, Aichi, Nagoya, Japan.
Toyohashi University of Technology is located in Toyohashi, the second largest city in Aichi prefecture, situated halfway between Tokyo and Osaka, two of Japan's metropolises. Toyohashi is unique in its embodiment of Japans' old and new aspect. Traditionally, the city is famous for its year-round agriculture due to its warm climate. The rustic, pastoral landscape are accentuated by the ever whelming Pacific coast and Mikawa bay from the south to west, and by deep mountain range of Okumikawa from north to east. Toyohashi's magnificent environment is also one of the newly-developing industrial center of Japan. Not only leading Japanese companies such as Toyota, but also Germany including Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, and Bayer has factories in the Toyohashi area. Toyohashi strives for ecological harmonization, and mutual development of Japan's traditions and industrial developments. As the center of the local intellectual environment, Toyohashi University of Technology play an important role in this regard.
Toyohashi University of Technology was founded in 1976, nearly 27 years ago by the Japanese Government as national university. The aims of Toyohashi University of technology are to conduct research on advanced technologies and to educate students in such technologies with an emphasis on graduate student.
The special advantage of studying at Toyohashi university of Technology is that an opportunity to gain practical experience in industry as an intern. This takes a place during the course of undergraduate studies. Toyohashi University of Technology have around 2100 student including undergraduate, master and doctoral course student, 250 teaching and research faculty member, and 150 administrative personnel.
The Toyohashi University of Technology having 9 departments that all are engineering department. These departments include the Department of Mechanical, Production system, Electrical and Electronic, Information and Computer Science, Material Science, Architecture and Civil, Knowledge-based Information, Ecological, and Humanities and Management Science.
It is hoping that after reading this article the understanding of religiosity of Japanese student that study at the engineering department could be well understood, since in the future these Japanese students will work at Japanese company around the world including Indonesia. The understanding from Indonesia side should also be improved so that harmony cooperation could be realized.
The Japanese constitution guarantees religion freedom, and this guarantee is strictly maintained. Therefore, there is no state religion, and no connection between national and religious function. Religious instruction is forbidden at public schools. The principal religions in Japan are Shinto, Buddhism and Christianity (Ogawa, 2002;Reischaver, 1984;and Itasaka, 1996). Statistic shows that few Japanese are deeply devoted to a specific religion and that in fact, many profess to have no interest in religion at all (Itasaka, 1996).
Japanese not only free to believe what they wish, but also they may freely propagate that view, attempting to convince others of its correctness. Article 20 of postwar Japanese constitution guarantee freedom of religion, and article 89, forbidding the use of public money for religious purpose, strengthens that provision (Kasahara, 2001).

Religiosity of Japanese engineering student
Visit to the temple, shrine, or church Around the Toyohashi University of technology where these observations take place, available 1 Church, 2 Buddhist Temples, and 4 Shinto Shrine. For 1 year observation along 2005, that is found only 2 Japanese student from this University that routinely involved at church activity, and there is no even 1 Japanese student that come to the shrine and Buddhist temple near the university.
Beside there is no even 1 student from Toyohashi University of Technology that visit the Shinto shrine near the University, also 1 from that 4 shrine are in bad

Reading a Holy Book
There are activities of reading holy book (Bible) in the university, but the participant is not a Japanese student. Majority of the participants are foreign student. That is found about 2 participants who is Japanese student in the Bible study group in the university along the years 2005. There is no one student that having a holy book related to Buddhist and Shinto.

Praying
In the university there is no praying activity, since also there is no holy place. Japanese student never found praying in the university. Japanese student as also Japanese in general are mostly praying 3 time a year. The praying are held at Bon festival (13-16 th August), Higan (during the spring), and New Year praying (1 st January).

The Bon Festival
The Bon festival is related to Buddhist tradition, which one a year the soul of the people's ancestor make their way back home for short visit. The spirits are welcomed with special fires and spirit altar (Japan Travel . At this time (around 13 th -16 th of August), the university almost empty because all students return to their home town. In Japan at this time many companies close down at this time of the year, giving employees the change to return and relax in their hometown.
The student then return to their hometown, and around 13 th August morning they are preparing the shooryoodana (small spirit altar). On the night of the 13 th , small welcoming fires are lit in front of homes, so that the spirits will not lose their way (mukaebi). Often hemps with the outside covering stripped of burned. Around this holiday, a very big wood drum (yagura) is beat passing the road around the village/town together with bon dance that the participant are the member of the village. On the last day of bon, send-off fires (okuribi) are lit in the same places were welcoming fires burned a few days before (mukaebi). Also lanterns and food offered to the soul are taken to river or the sea, to float off and disappear.

The Higan
Higan is 7 days Buddhist ceremony to honor the dead, during spring. Higan literally refer to the world of eternal stability awaiting us on the other bank of the river dividing living from the dead (Japan Travel . At the beginning of the Higan festival, the household Buddhist altar is cleaned and graced with flower. Food, such as rice cake covered with sweet bean paste (o-hagi), and things the departed like (sake or fruit) is placed at the altar also. Tombs are visited during this time too.
The tombstone is ritually cleansed by pouring a little water over it. Flowers are placed at the base, and incense is burned. Most Japanese have a family tomb behin their own temple, where for generation the families and memorial service have been held. The grave is link with one's distant past, and so has much significance in the Japanese psyche.

The New Years
At the New Year, the Japanese student also leaving the campus to go back to their hometown to do the hatsumoode. It is customary to pray for health, wealth and happiness during the coming year (Japan Travel . The crush starts on New Year's Eve with famous shrine and temples packed solid. Many homes hang shime nawa (New Year decoration) outside the home at the entrance or gate to ward of evil.
There are a pairs of rice cakes (kagami-mochi), the smaller one placed on top of the larger, decorating a place of honour such as the household altar. Kodomatsu (made of 3 bamboos stalks and pine boughs, bound together with straw) are placed outside entrance, one each side. The Toshigami (God who brings good harvests and greater profit), dwells inside.
People are ringing of the temple bell (joya-nokane) one hundred and eight times at the temples all over the country at midnight on new years (Figure 4). Besides, people who visiting shrine at New Year to pray for happiness bought Hamaya, an arrow with power of exorcising evil spirits ( Figure 5).

The amulet
The amulet is popular also among the Japanese engineering student. The amulet in Japan is called omamori, made from a piece of paper or wood with incantation is wrapped in a small cloth (Japan Travel . The amulets are obtained at the shrine or the Buddhist temple. The o-mamori is just a small bag without anything inside. Out side part is decorated with kanji character with have a meaning related with the wish of some one (Figure 6 and 7). The most popular omamori are the o-mamori for success in study ( Figure  6), and o-mamori for get married (Figure 7).
Attention should put here since the Japanese believe to amulet is not regard to the supernatural power of the amulet. The Japanese amulet is a kind of target of achievement that one wants to reach.

Written oracle
Most of the student also the Japanese peoples during New Year praying also involve with the activity to take a written oracle that tell the fortune. This written oracle in Japan is called with o-mikuji as depicted in Figure 8.
After take the o-mikuchi and read it, in relation to avoid the bad thing come out or in hoping the good things part to realize, the Japanese then put the o-mikuji at the branch of the tree near the shrine or temple as depicted in Figure 9.

Jizoo
When we make a travel, or just walk around with the Japanese, and if we find a statue like Figure 11, The Japanese will pray in front of this statute. We can see the statue like this at the side of the road at all over Japan. The name of this statue is Jizoo, a very familiar object of folk belief in Japan and is made from sculpted stone. Peoples believe Jizoo relieves peoples from suffering and distress, Japan Travel .

Japanese superstition
If we ask the Japanese student about the Japanese superstition, even they are not believed anymore, but they still can remember some topic about superstition. Examples of the superstition are mentioned below. Things that bring luck: -Having a dream of Mount Fuji, a falcon, or and eggplant -A spring of tea plant standing vertical in one's teacup. This event is described by the phrase 'chabashira ga tatsu' -A crane Things that bring bad luck: -A thong of a geta (wooden clog) that is break -Cutting a nails in the night -A crow The number four is unlucky since its pronunciation 'shi' mean death. There for there is no hospital rooms in Japan with room number 4. The northeast is considered unlucky, since it is the direction by which demons enter and leave, which have special name kimon (devil gate). Also thought that is unlucky to sleep with the head towards the north (kitamakura) since this is how dead bodies are laid out.
En (karma), many Japanese, even not religious, often refer to 'en'. En is karma, destiny, and the idea that certain things happen because they are bound to. This concept comes from Buddhist, and is used to explain good luck.

The devotion
In the university, the students are educated to pay their devotion to their senior, and the next to their teacher or professor. After they are finish study the devotion that should be pay to the company where they are belongs. We cannot find a devotion to the God in the University.
Japanese employees are expected to devote their lives to their companies, to the extent that one could say they have, for all intents and purpose, "caught" religion (Japan Travel .

Conclusion
The religiosity of Japanese engineering student for the case at Toyohashi University of Technology can be conclude as follow: The religious activity such visiting the holy place, reading the holy book, daily praying are not found practiced in recent day. The main praying activities are found at Bon Festival, Higan Festival, and New Year celebration. Having an amulet (o-mamori) and taking a written oracle (o-mikuji) are still popular.
Mountain still has a mystic sense, and finally the devotion is much directed to the company where they are working on.