What's an Infiorata?

It's flower petal art, originating in Italy, and celebrated annually on Harumi island on Tokyo Bay.

This is just a few steps from our apartment building, and it is set up for about a week. Lights illuminate it at nighttime, and people from some distance come to see the artwork done by community groups.

There are probably twenty or so of these works of art arranged along the walkway on the north shore of our island.

The fact that groups work together in harmony to make the infiorata is a very Japanese cultural thing. Long ago, everyone in farming villages worked together to plant the rice and then to harvest it. Modern industrial urban life has diminished the sense of community that was once a strength in every Japanese neighbourhood.

Of course, people who come into contact with a group of believers can find a sense of community that is unique, in that it is based on mutual love, rather than some form of mutual obligation. It's been the love and the community that have drawn many to learn more about Christ.