I think she atheist...

first of all, if her religion was known, she'd lose and maybe gain some fans, and it can open the door to many.......... discussions........ that might not turn out pretty. religion is a VERY touchy subject. but i think, if she does have any religion at all, it'd be known... but i think she's an open-minded free thinking person too...

but thanks for the article that i did not understand. but yeah, no offense to Buddhists or Taoists, but would skip that worshipping thing too.

I think she's the same religion as majority of Japanese...

And I don't get the worshipping thing either :/ Did they want her to come out to the fans and pray with them?... I think she does a 'prayer' every time before every concert, but just with her staff, at the backstage...

XD Well I know the Part of Me PV doesn't directly say anything about reincarnation, but the lyrics of the song specifically talk about a past life etc.

And just imo, if she used the M PV with Christian themes and Part of Me PV with Buddhist themes, then that just tells me that she's an open minded free thinking person and not just restricting herself to one specific set of religious beliefs..

the worshipping ritual is more of a hong kong cultural thing, it has to be done before everything to make sure it goes well. since ayu is having a concert in hk, they expected her to take part in it. but she did not take part in it.

thanks for the article!

"Most Japanese people do not believe in any one particular religion; instead they incorporate the features of many religions in their daily lives in a process known as syncretism. Many people, especially those in younger generations, claim to feel that the religions in Japan are part of the traditional culture. Shinto and Buddhist teachings are deeply entangled in Japanese everyday life, though the Japanese people themselves may not be aware of it. Generally speaking, it can be difficult for westerners to disentangle "real" Japanese religion from everyday superstition and rituals; most Japanese people do not often give the distinction much thought.

One of the main characteristics of Japanese religion is its tendency towards syncretism. The same person may have a wedding at a Christian church and have a funeral at a Buddhist temple. Japanese streets are decorated on Tanabata, Obon, Halloween and Christmas."

From the wiki.

:( How lucky are some people. But oh well, my day will come. :)

A lot of people wear crosses even when they are not Christians, they see crosses as just accessories.

There is no proof that she is a christian. And the woman who told everyone to sing Poker Face said it in Canto...Anyway this aint the first time people have things to complain about artistes, not just Ayu alone (regarding the worshipping thing), its not a big deal really. We dunno why she didnt come out, it may really be that she didnt give a damn, or it may be other reasons, perhaps simply that she didnt think her presense was to be expected, or maybe even the management didnt think she absolutely HAS to be there for courtesy sake, maybe they did ask her, maybe they didnt...but even if they did it may just be out of courtesy. Anyway, think of it this way...how many times in out lives have we disappointed others, and how many of those times do we actually think that the fault lies with us? I dun really think its a big deal, fans expected to see her there, she didnt expect her absense to mean anything, difference in mentality, it may be as simple as that. Or she may really be cocky enough to not give a damn, well we'll nvr know

The religion is confusing...

It's amazing that so many famous HK singers listen to Ayu.

Well if she did go out for that "ritual" thing, she may have gotten mobbed or something. At the airport there may have been like 1000 people but at her concert there were around 10 000... They'd need extra security to keep all those people contained..

Maybe too Ayu didn't want to be "revealed" until the official opening of the concert.. Maybe she didn't wanna spoil the mood ;P She also could have been busy getting her hair+makeup ready

Arigatou for the article and the translation ^^

When i read that i thoguht you said "I think shes an athlete"

I was like O_O

The worshipping thing is not related to religion per se, it is more of a supersition, or something you do like "cross your fingers when you're about the hear the results (of tests, sex of baby [lol], etc)". The religion in Hong Kong has some parallels to Japanese spirituality. They don't usually swear allegiance to any one religion but practice many in their daily lives and in holidays (Chinese new year, July 14, etc). They also hang good luck charms in the car on the rear view mirror.

i think the proof that she is a christian is when she use a t-shirt that has a word "Jesus died for you" written on it..you can see it at backstage video of AT 2002...i think its really show that she is a christian..but i don't know for sure

I wear "Jesus Loves You" but I am not a christian. I also have a Black and White tee with a very cool etching of St Mary & Jesus. Again, we may never know Ayu's religion, but Christianity (and other western things) is mostly just fashion for the Japanese. There are cross earrings, bumper stickers with messages of Jesus, etc everywhere.

Well i'm glad that the stars enjoyed her performance except for Eason, who has fell ASLEEP during her performance and said ayu has LIP-SYNC. He is so RUDE. He could have given me his vip seat and go home and sleep instead...

completely agreed. then he tries to save himself by saying that he didn't sleep for 2 nights, which is why he snoozed on and off during the concert.
argh, a wasted seat for fans who actually could've been there and NOT fall asleep.

Where did you read that?
I want to get more info
(I want to kill that guy)