Mitsuhara-san was a Buddhist and Catholic-Christian. Jiksumi-san practiced no religion, but his family is composed of Buddhists, Methodist-Christians, and members of the Church of Gaia, a naturalist religion. And so five distinct sects drawn from three distinct religions are represented in the inner sanctuary. All play their part in the ceremony. There is no contradiction in this, no hypocrisy, at least not in Machiko's view. For all peoples are basically the same. They share a common essence. They may give their gods different names, but these too are all basically the same, concerned with life and the living, spirits, eternity. Spiritual matters, enlightenment. Whatever the names, whatever the particular concerns, it is all basically the same, all with similar intentions. That people should live in peace, respect their neighbors, honor their parents, revere their ancestors, worship the divine. Gods, kami , enlightened spirits—all understand this. As long as the tenets of their own particular faith are observed, the divine take no insult, no affront, if other faiths are also observed. Enlightened beings possess the wisdom to respect all forms of pious living and sacred ritual.