LABYRINTH

Don’t stare in that sad direction
Close your eyes and let’s kiss
A sweet melting melody

It pulls you in
A paradise in the Labyrinth
There’s no exit or end
I want to be wrapped inside

Source: https://www.lyrical-nonsense.com/global/lyrics/mondo-grosso/labyrinth/english/

Zombies and Shintoism, The  Way of the Spirit (Gods)

Updated Jan 24, 2023

Japanese zombie cinema teaches us a lot about the people who live there.

Zombies represent liminal figures, something between day and night, living and dead, or humans and animals. In a shinto sense, they are something between the polluted and the pure. Like all beings, they have the possibility of being purified.

Shen= Spirit;    To=Tao (Way)

Purity remains an important part of Shintoism.

Gaki or hungry ghosts represent imbalanced beings with their lack of purity. Thus, ghosts and the undead represent impurities as if such spirits are lacking in balance. Furthermore, hell stands as an impure realm.  Keep in mind, everything is sacred. Indeed, everything has a soul or spirit in Shintoism. Even computers!

Yu Beong-Cheon, a scholar, writes about Lafcadio Hearn’s  “Dream Carp” from the book, Shadowings.  In the tale, the artist Kogi was famous for his paintings of carps which he would not sell to anyone who eats fish. Something extraordinary and almost spiritual about his talent made his work invaluable to many.

Kogi had such a love and understanding of the spirit of the fish that he became a golden carp himself. “The crux of the story is that the secret of art is not to copy the object realistically but to capture its soul, and that in order to achieve this feat an artist must first of all be one with his subject” (66-7).

To capture its spirit is key!

In Western society, such stories are not as plausible because of the idea of the “Chain of Being” where humans stand above the animals in a spiritual hierarchy.  Why would a man want to be a fish?

But in Shintoism, the beauty and/or purity of all non-humans are equal and in some cases perhaps greater.   To have sympathy with zombies, un-humanlike beings, is a simple act of Shintoism.

Shinto:  Way of the Spirit (gods)

Shen= Spirit

To=Tao (Way)

Life and death, good and evil, right and wrong all exist within a different plane of existence for the ninja. Shintoism helps to balance such opposing forces. Purity is an important part of Shintoism. Gaki or hungry ghosts represent imbalanced beings with their of lack of purity. Thus, ghosts and the undead represent impurities if such spirits are lacking in balance.  Hell is an impure realm.  Everything is sacred. Indeed, everything has a soul or spirit.

Yu Beong-Cheon, a scholar, writes about Lafcadio Hearn’s  “Dream Carp” from the book, Shadowings.  In the tale, the artist Kogi was famous for his paintings of carps which he would not sell to anyone who eats fish. Something extraordinary and almost spiritual about his work made his work invaluable to many. He had such a love and understanding of the spirit of fish that be became a golden carp. “The crux of the story is that the secret or art is not to copy the object realistically but to capture its soul, and that in order to achieve this feat an artist must first of all be one with his subject” (66-7). In Western society, such stories are not as plausible because of the idea of the “Chain of Being” where humans stand above the animals in a spiritual hierarchy.  Why would a man want to be a fish? But in Shintoism, the beauty and/or purity of non-humans is equal and in some cases perhaps greater.  

In “The Story of Kwashi Koji,” when a work is stolen, it becomes blank because you get what you paid for. The protagonist explains: “In any picture of real excellence there must be a ghost. . .”  (qtd in Yu 66).  Art becomes a haunting, just as life is.  We are too positivistic in America where seeing is believing. Instead, we need to feel more, where feeling is believing.  Ninja must have such senses in order to be successful.

Awaken the artist within and allow the ghosts that surround us to be heard and seen for the first time.  Ghosts are not so much demons, unspeakable spirits or vampires of our nightmares. Instead, ghosts are the purity of actions that connect us to the natural and bountiful  energy that surrounds us.  We are the ghosts or gods that need to witness the deities or spirituality within the precious objects.   Instead, we of the Western world objectify and oppress the material world. We own land.  Instead, the land owns us.  We, the West, do not have the respect and equality of the spiritual world taught by Shintoism, where religion is about being in harmony with nature.

We blow up atoms to unleash the astronomical  powers unleashed.  Instead, we need to have reverence for the spiritual atoms that are unleashed through respect of their just being.  Everything is energy and has the potential to unleash its awe, its beauty, power and/or its terror. The atomic ghosts are there. Are we spiritual enough to feel them? 

The name of Shinto came about as a way to distinguish it from foreign religion of Buddhism. Thus in  a sense,  it was the nameless native nature religion and animism. All is Kami (spirits or gods).

Most Japanese believe both in Buddhism and Shintoism while maintaining duties that are  Confucian in natures.  Weddings are usually performed by Shinto priests.   Even if they are Atheists or Christians, elements of Shintoism permeate their being.

Another aspect of Shintoism is its respect for nature. The ninja works within nature.

Two Shinto texts appeared trying to distinguish it from Buddhism: 

• Kojiki (Ancient Matters) Emperor as Descendent of Sun.
• Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan) became a record of Japanese religion.

Treasures of Japan:

• Spear
• Mirror
• Comb

Makoto is the balanced nature or harmony with nature, Kami.

Tama is a beautiful rock and the Soul,  Tamashii  Ball Wind.

Four spirits are mentioned: 1) the spirit to rule with authority, ara-mi-tama;  2) the spirit empowered to lead to harmony or union, nigi-mi-tama; 3)  the spirit causing mysterious transformations, kushi-mi-tama; and 4)  the spirit imparting blessings, saki-mi-tama.

Izanagi (father sky)  and Izanami (mother Earth) are gods who stand on the floating bridge over the river of reality.

More Shinto items of importance:

•  Mt. Fuji, a holy place.
• Shintai, the god-body, a Shinto symbol manifestation of the divine.
• Kami-dana,  a worship shelf
• Amaterasu Omikami, the sun Goddess from which the emperor (Mikado) is a descendent.

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Works Cited

Yu, Beong-Cheon. “Lafcadio Hearn’s Twice-Told Legends Re-considered.”  American Literature. 34. 1 (Mar 1962) 56-71.

Works Consulted

“Shinto.” www.religoustolerance.org/shinto Yu, Beong-Cheon. “Lafcadio Hean’s Twice-Told Legends Re-considered.”  American Literature. 34. 1 (Mar 1962) 56-71.

–Doc Nirvana

Aka Dr. Wayne Stein