Q026:
What does "Paraiso" mean?
A026:
"Paraiso" means the same as "paradise" in English. I think the word is probably Dutch or Spanish. In the middle ages many Dutch and Spanish missionaries came to Japan. After that Christianity was banned, but the religion still survived as a hidden belief system that blended and mutated with Japanese folk religion. Paraiso is a word that I found in these "hidden Christian" texts. We prefer it to the word paradise, since that suggests an Eden where everything is officially approved. Paraiso carries hints of a paradise in the midst of oppression - which we think is more suitable for us.