As usual, JMG, I will understand if you don’t put this through.

I am not sure what exactly your friend was looking for when he went to the temple, but if it was with the hope of being taken in, leaving behind his current life to embark on a new life path of Buddhist study and practice, there is a longstanding tradition in Japan of initially turning away such seekers. The ones who stay outside for three days straight are the ones who are let in, finally; this small ordeal is a traditional way of indicating that one is actually serious.