Everyone living in Japan is bewildered by the unusual status of the clergy in this country, where Buddhist monks (there are also very few nuns) do not pay attention to the monastic precepts of their own tradition. A convergence of complex historical factors created this situation but the result is that supposedly ordained individuals are not held in high regard by the Japanese population, and that they are the object of ridicule in other Asian countries. Being currently conducting research on Taiwanese Buddhism, it was natural to visit one of their branch temples in Japan. Thus, I went to Pǔdōng Chánsì 普東禪寺, the Japanese branch temple associated with Zhōngtái Chánsì 中台禪寺, which is located in Kadoma-shi 門真市, slightly outside the center of Osaka. Here is a picture showing the outside of Pǔdōng Chánsì:

Pudong Chansi in Kadoma-shi, Osaka Prefecture

Pudong Chansi in Kadoma-shi, Osaka Prefecture

I was fortunate to be allowed to discuss with the Abbess, Venerable Shì Jiànxuān 釋見瑄, who speaks fluent Japanese because she used to be a teacher of Japanese in Taiwan. Among the topics discussed, I had to touch the delicate question of possible interactions with the Japanese Buddhist schools and ask whether any exchanges were taking place. The reply was that there were no such interactions, because both perceptions of values (kachikan 価値観 ) are so radically different. This was a very diplomatic way to hint at the gap separating a strictly monastic, celibate, and vegetarian clergy from the Japanese pretense of monkhood. More than a century ago, the Indian monk Swami Vivekananda was attracting attention worldwide after his spectacular interventions at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago and the following lectures he gave across the United States. Among Japanese figures impressed by his charisma and spirituality was Okakura Kakuzō, who hoped to invite him to Japan. Unfortunately, because of health issues, this project never came to fruition (although Vivekananda made a brief stopover en route to Chicago). In any case, barely one month before his passing, on June 14, 1902, Vivekananda sent a letter to his disciple Dhira Mata, also known as Mrs. Ole Bull or Sara Bull. It included the following passage relevant to the Japanese situation:

Modern Buddhism—having fallen among races who had not yet come up to the evolution of marriage—has made a travesty of monasticism. So until there is developed in Japan a great and sacred ideal about marriage (apart from mutual attraction and love), I do not see how there can be great monks and nuns.
(accessed March 30, 2015)
I think that it bluntly expresses what most observers feel about the hypocrisy of wearing a robe without making the corresponding commitment in terms of adhering to monastic principles. This boils down to the fundamental concept of “purity,” śauca in Sanskrit, often translated into Chinese as qīngjìng 淸淨. It also constitutes the first of the five observances (niyama) in the Yoga approach to training, which emphasizes mental and physical purity.
The puzzling question is why, although there are a few individual exceptions, there is no articulate movement within the Japanese clergy to return to the original Buddhist precepts. Without wanting to sound too pessimistic, I fear that this may be linked to the current crisis of Japanese Buddhist institutions, where they are compelled to close one temple after another because they lack resources and support from the public.