Susanowa (Susa-nš-wo)

In the Shinto creation story we hear about several of the different deities that both Izanami and Izanagi parented or that forced their way out of Izanami’s body like Susanowa did. Susanowa, also spelled Susa-ns-wo, was born from Izanami’s nose and was given control of the sea. He is thought of as an evil god, which makes sense since Japan is an island that in its history has been devastated by several storms, hurricanes and even tsunamis. Susanowa is Amaterasu brother but has also parented several children with her, which is similar to other religions like Hinduism and the ancient religions of greek, roman, and egyptian. There are two main stories about Susanowa, one is how he was banished from the heavens after committing a great offense against his sister and spouse Amaterasu. The other is after he was banished and wondering the earth he found the 8 headed snake, Koshi, after defeating him Susanowa got the sword Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, which would go along with Amaterasu’s mirror to become one of the Imperial Regalia of Japan. I found it interesting to find another sea god that was thought of as “evil” or bad since most religions sea god is thought to be easily angered or vengeful. For example the Greek god Poseidon was usually thought to be angry or if not respected to be vengeful.

japanese imperial regalia.

A version of Susanowa

 

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind– Purity and Pollution

**Spoiler Alert—This post may give detail about the movie that you might not want to know. If you would like to watch it before reading this go here.

I recently watch the Hayao Miyazaki film “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)” and not only is the entire film a great representation of the Shinto belief of pollution and purity on people and the world, but it has also become one of my favorite Miyazaki films of all time. The film is set in an apoplectic world were the earth has become polluted and the insect and forest have become poisonous.  There are several nations scattered around who have different point of views on how to deal with the forest and insects, but the movie follows the Princess Nausicaa who symbolizes purity in the world.

We first see the idea of pollution and purification in the creation story. Where after Izanami dies from giving birth her partner Izanagi goes into the yomi-no-kuni (realm of the dead) to get her back after promising her he wouldn’t. When she sees him she runs after him angrily, after returning to this realm he bathed in the river in order to start the “purification of his august body… from the pollutions and impurities” from this process the spirits of evil were born. This was the start of the pollution of the physical and spiritual that Shintoism is so wrapped in.

Obmu & The Toxic Jungle

Toxic Jungle

In the movie the Toxic Jungle is a poisonous place that the humans created by polluting and destroying the earth that the Kami had given to them. Through her adventure Princess Nausicaa relieves that forest is only poisonous because the soil is not the water or the air and that the planets of the forest are taking the pollution of the world in and purifying it. And that the insects, like the giant Obmu’s, are just trying to protect the forest so that the process can continue and the world can be pure again. Dr. Lucy Wright wrote about this movie in the Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, she describes the Obmu as a “god-like race… (who are) able to telepathically feel the pain of all the creatures in the Jungle”. An example of this “god-like race” is when Princess Nausicaa is ran over by the Obmu in order to save her village and the Obmu seeing the purity of her bring her back to life.  Dr. Wright also quotes John K. Nelson who wrote “A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine” who points out one huge difference between Shintoism and Christianity, which is that Shintoism believe that “evil does not stain one’s soul, it only obscures it temporarily rather then the belief of “original sin”.

Princess Nausicaa

 

Nausicaa and baby Ombu

In the movie Princess Nausicaa is the main character and what seems to be the only one who understand the Toxic Jungle and its inhabitants. She represents both the idea of a pure heart and the ultimate connection between nature, Kami and humans. The connection between her and nature is her ability to talk to the insects and understand when they are troubled this ability is ultimately what saves her. Her being a princess and this ability is another connection to Shintoism since the ruling class of Japan was thought to have divine powers. Nausicaa ends up being the person who shows the world and the other warring nations what the forest and Obmu are really trying to do.

While the isn’t one particular part of this movie that reflects Shintoism its more of the entire story that teaches us about the idea of purity and pollution. The movie also gives us a idea of what are world might be like if we continue polluting it. This is proven even more when Miyazaki told people that his inspiration for this story was the pollution of Minamata Bay with mercury in the 1950s and 1960’s. He recalls hearing about the how the fish poured into the bay and that he admired how they could absorb the poison and survive. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is not also a wonderful representation of Shintoism but also a reminder of what the human effects could be if we aren’t careful.

 

Goddess of the Sun– Amaterasu

 

Amaterasu coming out of the cave.

Amaterasu is the one of the main deities of Shintoism; she is the sun goddess and ruler of the heavens. Her birth is different in both of the sacred books of Shintoism. In the Nihongi she is one of the daughters of Izanagi and Izanami from the creation story. While in the Kojiki she comes from Izanagi’s right eye a lot like how Athena, in Greek mythology, was born from Zeus’ head.  In many of the Shinto stories Amaterasu is involved in one way or another if not the main character like in this story translated by Dr. Barbara Mori of California Polytechnic State University. The Mirror in the story was later given to one her grandsons, Ninigi-no-Mikoto, and then placed with the other two Imperial Regalia of Japan in the Ise-Jingue shrine. It is also believed that she sent her grandson Jimmu, along with his brothers, to pacify Japan and become first Emperor of Japan making all his ancestors related to her.

Ise Shrine

 

Inuyasha and Shintoism

Inuyasha is an anime that ran on TV August 2002 to October 2006 and written by Rumiko Takahashi; it was pretty popular when I was in high school and while doing this project I realized that there are quite a few Shinto reference. While this anime, like several other anime’s and Japan itself, has several Buddhist reference it is hard not to notice the Shinto references like the characters, shrines, some of the demons and what the characters in the show view as sacred. Here are a few that can be seen through out the series.

Priestess

Kikyo (priestess)

In the very first episode viewers see a demon running though a local Shinto shrine the person who stops the demon is Kikyo the shrines priestess. She is wearing exactly what a Shinto priestess would wear the red hakama (a long pleated skirt) and a white haori (kimono Jacket) with her hair tied up. In the show Kikyo is often portrayed with an azusayumi (bow), which is one of the many things that priestess might have carried with her. In the Shinto religion white is the color of purity, which the priestess was, suppose to be and suppose to keep the shrine pure. In his book Shinto the Kami Way Dr. Ono says that an imperial princess or someone from the ruling class usually took the role of priestess like at Ise shrine. Her duties would have been to go into trances and speak with the Kami, but today their main duties are to assist with shrine functions, participate in ceremonial dances and fortune telling.

Kitsune

In the very first episode viewers are introduced to the idea of a kitsune, however it isn’t called that out front.

Shippo (Kitsune)

One of the women from the village asks another if Kagome is a “Perhaps she’s a fox in disguise” (it’s about 10 minuets into the first episode of the first season) this is the first reference to a kitsune. The next one is when we meet the character Shippo in episode 9. He is portrayed as a small boy with a foxtail and ears, however in the Shinto religion kitsune are usually female. According to Encyclopedia Mythica a kitsune is a “A fox spirit, or a demon who appears in the shape of a fox, in Japanese mythology. Kitsune-Tsuki (“Fox-Lunacy”) is possession by such a spirit. It occurs mostly in women. The fox spirit enters through the fingernails or the breast”.  But in some Japanese myths, like the ones that Lafcadio Hearn talks about in his book ‘Glimpse of unfamiliar Japan’, a kitsune can take the form of a beautiful woman to lore men to them or when they fall in love. There are two types of kitsune the yako or the zenko. The Yako is an mischievous spirit that like to play tricks on the humans and take their form. The other is the Zenko which is celestial spirit usually associated with the god/goddess Inari who work as her messengers and protectors. However both of types have special abilities that can be passed down to even their human children, which Shippo portrays as the show progress.

There is another huge reference that is portrayed through out the series which is the 3 sacred treasures of Japan but the references and things are to long to go into at this point and I’ll cover it next week. But over all the series its self is very good and has several demons and folk lore that can be found in both Shintoism and Buddhism plus some killing and an alright love story.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

The Creation of Japan

Izanagi and Izanami creating Japan

Every culture has their own way to explain how the earth and their people were created and Shintoism isn’t any different. The Kojiki, one of the two sacred books in Shintoism, tells the story about how Japan and its people were created. In 1969 Donald L. Philippi translated the creation story for an article written for Princeton University Press.

The creation story has a lot of the important factors that are in the Shinto religion like how all the deities and Japan are being born from nature and when Izanagi returns from Hell he has to bath in order to purify himself, which is something that people still do today. This story reminds me of the Greek story of Orpheus and Eurydice, were Eurydice is killed and Orpheus goes to hell to get her.  This correlation is probably the reason why I enjoy this creation story.

 

Shintoism In “My Neighbor Tororo”

 

Last weekend I watched the Hayao Miyazaki film My Neighbor Tororo(1988) and I enjoyed ever second of it. IMDB summarized the movie in one sentenced: “When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wonderous forest spirits who live nearby.”  After watching the movie once just because and then again to catch all of the Shinto references I decided to write about the main ones shown.

The Camphor Tree

 

Camphor Tree

The giant tree that you see in the movie is a Camphor tree but more then that it is a worship tree that can befound at any shrine local or big. In the movie the guardian of the forest, Tororo, lives in the camphor tree while Tororo isn’t a Kami he does live in the tree next to a local shrine. According to Dr. Ono’s book “Shinto the Kami Way” the worship trees use to be thought of as a way to understand the spirit of the Kami, however today they are an expression of the divine consciousness.  In the movie we first see the huge tree the moment that the girls arrive at their new house and then we really get to see it when the girls and their father go to “greet the Guardian of the Forest” which is about 31 minuets into the movie.

Inari and the Foxes

Inari Shrine with a statue of a fox outside.

Another big reference in the movie is to the Kami Inari. Inari can be referred to as either male or female and is the Kami of food or rice. Which is a significant in the movie since all around the shrines are rice fields that most of the villagers that live there work in. You see the first Inari shrine 3 minuets into the movie and you can tell because of the fox statue that is sitting just outside of the red torii. The fox statues are everywhere in an Inari shrine because that is his/her guardian animal. Dr. Ono explains that guardian animals were believed to be the attendants or messengers of the Kami. You see another Inari shrine when the girls go to meet their father at the bus stop in the rain and the younger sister gets scared when she sees them.

Stone Lanterns

The last reference I’ll bring up are the several small stone lanterns scattered through out the film; the main ones being the lantern at the girls home and the ones at the small local shrine where Tororo lives. Dr. Ono explains that devoted parishioners usually give the lanterns as gifts to the shrine. He explains that the stone lanterns originate from the customs of making fires in order to greet and honor the Kami.

These are just three things that can be found through out the movie but you can also find a several Buddhist references like the shrine that the girls use to get away from the rain. I should probably say that the “spirits” through out the movie aren’t Kami and Miyazaki makes a point to say that about several of his movies. However the movie is wonderful like so many of his other movies and still has several references to Shintoism.

 

Gate Guardians

A visitor to a Shinto shrine should expect to find several things that are suppose to give or encourage good luck, but there are also four common things that can be found to ward off evil spirits and misfortune.  In Dr. Ono’s book “Shinto the Kami Way” he discusses the four things that are usually considered to be the guardians of the shrine and can usually be found at the front next to the torii. The first of these are Nio-Sama (Deva Kings) that originates from India but that both Shintoism and Buddhism adopted when the three religions meet. Nio-Sama’s are ferocious creatures that have some semi-human features. In his book Dr. Ono makes a point to say that these creatures are actually kind but the ferocious look is to ward off evil spirits. The second things Dr. Ono says you can find are two stone austere dignitaries (soldiers) who are put in a sitting position; carry sheathed swords and arrows on their backs while holding a bow in their hands. They are either facing the shrine or outward and are there to represent two mythical Kami. The third thing is usually in place of the Nio-Sama, these are a pair of animal guardians (Komainu). The animal guardians are placed next to the tori and one is usually male while the other is female. The most common ones are dogs and lions, however there can also be the guardian Kami which is the forth type. The guardian Kami is housed in a sanctuary with in the precinct of the shrine and is represented by a statue of the messenger or guardian animal of the Kami that the shrine is built for represents them. An example of this is at Inari shrine that are built for the god/goddess Inari you can find several foxes which are his/her guardian animal. These four things represent the people’s want and need to ward off any bad fortune that might come across them, the same thing that people in the west use good luck charms.

Guardian Lion

Deva King

Inari’s fox messenger (Kitsune)

Inari Shrine in Kyoto

 

The Sacredness of Nature

Nature is such a major part of the Shinto religion that even the shrines are placed where nature is abundant and beautiful. In Dr. Ono’s book “Shinto the Kami Way” he explains that nature leads the mind of worshipers from the mundane “to the higher and deeper world of the divine and in transforming his life into an experience of living with the Kami”.  In order to obtain this experience shrines can be placed in places like mountains, caves, and even cities but all of them must have some sort of nature in or around them like a worship tree. A worship tree is believed to be the home of some kind of Kami or has some kind of unusual shape that’s considered sacred and is usually roped off or has a rope with paper hanging off it around it. Like many other religions Shinto’s beliefs are based on the world that it is surrounded by and thus were the Kami live among us.  Dr. Rosemarie Bernard of Harvard University has written on her site about this and raises three main points about the religion and nature. The first is that shrines are built around nature that is considered sacred to the people that believe their Kami are there. The second is that certain discretion towards nature and the Kami is essential, since they nurture human life.  To help with this discretion certain rituals have to be done to help keep the calm.  The final point is the rituals of purification, which keeps the balance between nature, Kami, and humans and are performed regularly. For me this idea that nature is sacred is actually easy to understand because of how my parents raised me. However, I can see how some people might find it strange that a religion makes it necessary to keep balance between nature, Kami and their worshipers. However, I do think everyone can take from this that nature does have a sort of pureness to it and thus needs to preserved.

Stone Lanters at Kasuga Grand Shrine

 

Shintoism portrayed in “Spirited Away”

Many anime’s have several Shinto aspects put subtly into them, like characters visiting a Shinto shrine or different folklore that could be found in the religion. The Japanese film Spirited Away (2001) is one of those anime’s that has several Shinto aspects to it. Spirited Away was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who has also directed other Japanese films like Princess Mononoke (1997), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) and many more.  While Miyazaki puts his Japanese heritage into a lot of the films that he writes it seems like Spirited Away has a little bit more in it.

**Spoiler alert—but don’t worry I wont tell you the end**

The film begins with the main character, Chihiro, pouting in the back seat while her and her parents are on the way to their new house. Her father takes a wrong turn that leads them down what seems to be a rather abandoned road. When suddenly they find themselves at the entrance of a abandoned amusement park, Chihiro’s parents decide to park and explore forcing Chihiro to reluctantly follow. Once inside they find an unattended, fully stocked, food stall her parents begin to eat the food with a crazy appetite. Chihiro refuses to join them and starts to wonder around and stumbles across a bathhouse. As dusk approaches while Chihiro is still wondering around when she meets a white dragon disguised as a boy named Haku who urges her to leave at once.  When she runs back to the food stall to get her parents she finds they have grown fat and are transforming into pigs.  Unable to leave and scared to death she is comforted and helped by Haku, who escorts her through the now lively amusement park that is filling with all sorts of different creatures on their way to the bathhouse to relax. Haku takes Chihiro to the bathhouse were he introduces her to the owner, Yubaba. Eventually Yubaba steals Chihiro’s name and forces her to work for her, were she meets and befriends several strange creatures. In order for Chihiro to save her parents her and her new friends must get her name back and pass Yubaba’s test.

In October of 2004 an article in The Journal of Religion and Film explores Miyazaki’s movie and how he portrays the Shinto religion. The writers, James W. Boyd and Tetsuya Nishimura, talk about Miyazaki’s thought on the Shinto religion and how it impacts his movies. For Spirited Away he talks about how villagers in Japan would call for the local Kami to bathe in their baths, a lot like how in Spirited Away the Kami (creatures) visit Yubaba’s bathhouse. The reference of Shintoism is first seen about 10 minuets into the film when Chihiro passes a torii that is surrounded by several smaller shrines.  A torii is seen at the entrance of a shrine or place where Kami come, in the movie it is seen on the side of abandoned road right before they reach the area where the bathhouse is.  The bathhouse is where most of the action takes place in the movie here to be where the central theme of purifying ones self is shown. Boyd and Nishimura explain that this theme is also a major part of Shintoism that over time we become polluted and end up doing things poorly. In order to fix this we have to act in a way to wash away the dirt (both literally and figuratively) in order to purify ourselves and become “a sound, pure and bright heart/mind, in order to act with a genuine ‘sincerity’ toward others and the world.” This is the lesson that Chihiro learns and the reason for many of the dirty creatures visit to the bathhouse to get clean.  Another strong aspect of Shintoism shown in the film is the creature, Kami, which visit the bathhouse.  All of the creatures shown are from some sort of folklore but the main ones in the film are Haku and No Face. Haku is a river dragon that disguises himself as a human; he is the other main character that helps Chihiro. No Face is a ghost-like Kami that at first seems evil, but since there is no real evil or good in Shintoism you learn very quickly that he’s not and just needs the bathhouse in order to cleanse his attitude but is always sent away by Yubaba’s.

All of these things make Spirited Away not only an amazing movie but also a good and entertaining reference for Shintoism. I had seen the movie before but I went back and watched it again before writing this blog. Watching it again after reading this article made it even more intriguing and interesting. I completely suggest watching any of Miyazaki’s films but especially Spirited Away because of the Shinto references. 

 

Shinto Shrines

Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine

In the Japanese religion Shinto shrines were built as places for worship and a place for Kami‘s to live. The shrines themselves weren’t meant to be extravagant like other cultures wanted for their gods, but were suppose to be part of nature. However, like other religions the shrines hold things that the religion or the people in the community find sacred or that represent whatever Kami the shrine was built for. These objects were put in the center of the shrine and were closed away so that no one could see them. Shrines also hold festivals, weeding’s and other important functions other then funerals because they are thought to be impure. The site factsanddetails.com gives a wonderful list of random facts and other important things about the shrines, what goes on there and about the priest and priestess that are in charge of them.

There are so many shrines around Japan that they have been categorized into groups by who they are dedicated to. The major groups are imperial shrines, Inari shrines, Hachiman shrines, Tenjin shrines, Sengen shrines, shrines that are dedicated to the founders of powerful clans and local shrines that are usually built for a local Kami. This site gives a great explanation of who these Kami are and examples of their shrines around Japan. Along with the shrine description this site also explains the main 8 things that can be found at the shrines.

To me one of the most interesting things at a shrine would probably be the Omikuji, which are pieces of paper tied around string and hung around the shrines. Each piece of paper is randomly picked and has a fortune inside that can foretell good or bad luck. In order to either receive the good luck or to scare off the bad luck people tie them around tree branches asking the Kami’s to help.