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Reflections on Shinto and Budo – 神道と武道に於ける思考

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Reflections on Shinto and Budo – 神道と武道に於ける思考 Reflections on Shinto and Budo – 神道と武道に於ける思考 Scholarship presentation by Angela in August 2014 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................. 1 Background and thoughts ...................................................................................................... 1 What is Shinto ....................................................................................................................... 2 The cycle of Tama and Kegare .......................................................................................... 2 Kegare 気枯れ , Furitama 振魂 and Misogi 禊 ..................................................................... 3 Letting Go – an exercise for body and mind - purification ...................................................... 4 Sampai .................................................................................................................................. 5 Ise Jingu and Yoshino ........................................................................................................... 6 Empress Shoken ................................................................................................................... 7 Women in Shinto – 女性と神道 ............................................................................................. 8 Summary ............................................................................................................................... 9 Bibliography .........................................................................................................................10 Acknowledgments I would like to thank Meiji Jingu and Shiseikan for all the support which I have, especially Nakajima Guji, Miyazaki Gonguji, Inaba Meiyo Shihan, Araya Kancho, Imaizumi Kenkyuuin, Uchikoshi Kenkyuuin, Uematsu jimucho, Hosokawa san and all the people in the Shiseikan dojo who practise sincerely and diligently. The attitude in the dojo is always directed to improving one’s practice and towards the improvement of all. This is something I appreciate deeply and would like to achieve as well in my training. Also I would like to thank ISBA for their support and for making it possible that there is a regular exchange with the Shiseikan. Background and thoughts From my background I am an atheist and I believe rather in science than in gods. But there are limitations to what we can know ourselves or even scientists can find out. Here I refer mainly to the popular books by Stephen Hawking. Maybe in the 17th or 18th century it would have been possible for a person to know all the scientific discoveries of his time. Nowadays it is much too specialised and to learn and to understand everything would require more than one life time of study. But science does not necessarily always address the spiritual needs of people so therefore I was going with an open mind to the Shiseikan and to Meiji Jingu to discover more about Shinto and its connection to Budo both for myself and for ISBA, where I can act as an multiplier and share what I have learned. Below is a narrative of the things which I found especially important for me. Everything I write is based on my limited religious understanding. I do not intend to hurt anyone’s religious feelings. What is Shinto Shinto is the traditional religion of the Japanese people, but in its core it includes a strong link to nature and propagates an explanation of life cycles. As such it is universal, although the key for understanding and experiencing shinto are the matsuris, which are performed in elaborate ancient Japanese court costumes accompanied by traditional music. Natural phenomena are interpreted as kami, e.g. growth, fertility and production, wind and thunder, sun, mountains, rivers, trees and rocks, some animals and also ancestral spirits, e.g. imperial ancestors and the dead. Kami can be understood as a honorific name for noble sacred spritis (5). There is a sense of adoration for their virtues and authority. Human beings could be kami as well, but usually posthumously. Guardian spirits can be kami as well. There is also the concept of tama, which is discussed in Iwasaki (4).Tama is described as the mysterious principle of all existence. But it could also be understood as the soul or spirit of a person or a kind of life force. There are many kanji which have the same sound, but a different meaning. Tama can be expressed as 霊 (spirit) or 玉 (spherical shape) or 珠 (jewel) or 魂(soul). But at the same time speaking of tama in the Kojiki all of the meanings could be equally true, since the writing system has been introduced from China and sometimes Kanji have been selected for their sound and sometimes also for their meaning. This makes the study of Shinto difficult. The character 霊 also appears in 霊気, which is Reiki, formerly written 靈氣. 靈 is the old form of the character and is comprised of the elements of 雨 (rain) + a shape indicator of suggesting linked beads of water or linked + 巫 (sorcery) → medium invoking a procession of spirits or like shrine maidens dancing. So the meaning of the old pictogram could be dance performed in order to invoke rain, whereas nowadays it is used to mean spirit. The cycle of Tama and Kegare Having a discussion with Iwasawa san she explained about the cycle of Tama, which can be interpreted as the cycle of seasons. Tama is strong in summer and declining in winter, which is called Kegare 穢れ and is translated as defilement (becoming impure). However that may be a wrong way of looking at it. According to Tanikawa Kotosuga (6) a scholar in Edo period it would also be possible to write Kegare using the characters 気枯れ, which also is pronounced the same and means the decline of energy. In winter the energy level is believed to be low and this represents the status of Kegare. In spring the energy level rises again and becomes strong again. There are important Shinto ceremonies celebrated by the Tenno and also in many Shinto shrines through the season of the year which depict this cycle as inherent meaning. The story of Amaterasu (the sun goddess) hiding in her cave can be interpreted as the summer hiding in the cave (or return to the womb) and subsequently as the winter season and she being coaxed out of the cave is representing a rebirth or end of winter and a new start of the cycle of the seasons. There is an analogy in the celebration of Easter in the Christian faith. Especially I have experienced the lively way Easter was celebrated in the Greek Orthodox Church in Cyprus. The death of Jesus on the cross symbolizes the winter, the resurrection three days later is a symbol for the new season and that the sun is coming back. The lively way this was celebrated during the festivities with drums being played and processions through the village is reminding me powerfully of some of the matsuris I have witnessed in Japan. But we can also find similar stories in Northern or German mythology and in Greek mythology, which themselves may have been instrumental in the celebration of Easter in Christianity. I presume that everywhere where there is a noticeable difference in the length of the day between summer and winter we will find similar stories and explanations. Kegare 気枯れ , Furitama 振魂 and Misogi 禊 An interpretation of kegare for an individual person is that someone is ill or suffers decline of spirit through overwork, stress of modern life, being far away from nature. In some cases this stress can result in Burn Out or it can result in Hikikomori (e.g refusing to participate in the society) or depression e.g. for business people. In that sense he/she is experiencing kegare and needs reinvigoration. The reinvigoration happens through utilising furitama and misogi. Budo training incorporates the idea of increasing our energy trough the training. Furitama means shaking the soul or spirit and besides invigorating the body it helps also to increase the ki or spirit and to let go of negative thoughts and tensions within the body. Visualising the cycle of ki (Shinki 神気、Genki 元気，Kegare 気枯れ) by performing furitama increases energy. Utilizing Furitama helps us to regain our centre and can reduce stress. This is for me a direct application of Shinto in Aikido. Misogi is a ritual immersion in cold water. The meaning of Misogi is to become one with the universe and is aimed on self-purification and to obtain energy from a sacred place originating mythically from the time when Izanagi went back from Yomi no kuni, where he had tried to get Izanami back to the land of the living. Purifying himself in the river he gave birth of many kami, including Amaterasu and Susanowo. Thus Izanagi performed the first misogi turning impurities into something good going forward. Performing the misogi with the people from the Shiseikan and the people from the Instructors course was a unique experience. This was the first time for me to participate in such an event. Each of us needed to find their own resolve to enter, but being in the group has helped to build the energy and resolve to do it. The whole of the preparation presenting oneself at the shrine and witnessing the old Kagure is creating already an enchantment. Chanting the purification poem at the waterfall is aimed at bringing the kami of heaven and earth together to witness the self sacrifice into the cold water. The chanting of the poem in the valley of the waterfall creates a special atmosphere. Comparing Misogi e.g. to baptism I find some points which make it remarkably different. First of all I choose do it as a adult
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