The Japanese sample many faiths, but few believe fervently in any
Bundled in colorful silks, the newborn Keiko Shirato was taken by her parents to a neighborhood Shinto shrine, where a white-gowned priest pronounced blessings for a long and healthy life. On three childhood birthdays she also visited Shinto shrines, clapping her hands and clanging bells to awaken the gods so she could pray to them. In 1980 Keiko used Buddhist omens to select a propitious wedding day. But she exchanged Christian vows with her fiancé in a small chapel at one of Tokyo's elegant hotels. Keiko, now 26 and a mother,...
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