Author: John D. (Page 52 of 202)

Cannabis cultivation denied

January 7, 2017 / John D. / 0 Comments

For ordinary use shimenawa is made of rice rope. For special use hemp may be used.

Mie gov’t rejects cannabis cultivation request for Shinto rituals

Japan Today Jan. 07, 2017 (Kyodo)

The Mie prefectural government said Friday it has rejected a request from a group of shrines to cultivate cannabis for hemp “shimenawa” rope used for Shinto rituals, citing the danger of theft and misuse.

The prefectural government in central Japan said it notified the Ise-based group that sufficient measures, such as installing a security camera, had not been planned to be implemented and hemp shimenawa rope can be made with imported cannabis.

Shimenawa rope is always hung with the thin end to the left

In recent years, Japan has imported around 90 percent of its cannabis for hemp shimenawa rope from China, according to the group. Most domestic cannabis is produced in Tochigi Prefecture in eastern Japan.

Ise, in Mie Prefecture, is known for the Ise Shrine, which dates back around 2,000 years and is dedicated to the ancestral deities of the Japanese imperial family.

In Japan, a law prohibits the possession and transfer of marijuana, but cultivation of cannabis is permitted under strict conditions with prefectural permission. The prefectural government would allow production of cannabis under adequate management control if it is deemed socially and culturally important or indispensable for people’s lives. However, the prefecture said there is no precedent for such a decision.

The group of shrines applied for permission in November. It planned to cultivate a species of cannabis that contains little to no psychoactive compounds, if permitted.

The local government decision came after a guilty verdict in late December on the 37-year-old president of a company, licensed by Tottori Prefecture in western Japan to process cannabis, on suspicion of possessing marijuana.

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There are different types of cannabis plant, some of which are low in the psychoactive compound necessary for marijuana use. To learn about the use of cannabis in Japanese culture, please see here or here. For its use in Shinto, please check here. For an article on Japan’s draconian attitude towards marijuana, see here.

Shimogamo priestess with headband made of hemp

A priest holding the ‘purification wand’ – a branch of sakaki with some hemp string attached

Shrine folklore and Confucianism

January 4, 2017 / John D. / 0 Comments

Shrines and temples offer contact with Japan’s superb folk spirituality (by Kevin Short)

By Kevin Short / Special to The Japan News January 04, 2017

As readers of this column know all too well, I am a great fan and proponent of small, local Japanese shrines and temples.These little sacred spots are often totally unknown outside their own very limited parish area, but they are deeply loved and almost always well taken care of by the people. They offer a great chance for direct, base-level contact not only with the wildlife and old trees of the sacred groves, but with Japan’s superb folk spirituality.

In my research on local shrines and temples I use field notes, simple illustrations and photographs to document the natural and cultural treasures. One immense pleasure is mapping and measuring the big trees in the sacred groves that surround the main buildings. For each tree record species and trunk circumference, which by custom is always measured at about chest height.

For example, in the sacred grove of one tiny local shrine, I recorded two sudajii chinquapins (Castanopsis sieboldii) with circumferences of 300 and 220-centimeter, a 230-centimeter kusunoki camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora), a 240-centimeter kaya (Torreya nucifera), and a 190-centimeter akagashi ring-cupped oak (Quercus acuta).

Each shrine or temple is not just a single building devoted to one main deity; but instead an intricate and complicated web of sacred space, filled with huge trees and also with numerous subshrines and carved stones dedicated to all sorts of minor and local spirits. In some cases the old wooden buildings are decorated with superb wooden carvings that depict scenes from well-known Japanese and Chinese folklore.

The shrine I am now studying boasts three carvings on the sides and back of the main building. One of these depicts an exciting episode from the life of Minamoto Yoshitsune, Japan’s most popular folk hero. The scene is set in the Kurama Mountains just north of Kyoto, where the young Yoshitsune, at this time still known by his boyhood name Ushiwakamaru, learns the secrets of movement and swordsmanship from mysterious long-nosed mountain creatures known as Tengu.

We tend to think of Japanese spirituality as an integration of Shinto and Buddhist beliefs, but the remaining two carvings at this shrine, as well as those at many others nearby, are actually designed as parables in Confucian social morality. These scenes derive from Chinese folklore, and celebrate people who have been especially loyal and kind to their parents.

In one scene the boy Yoko risks his own life to chase away a tiger that has threatened his father. In the other, the filial young wife Mrs. Tang breastfeeds her aged mother-in-law, who is too sick to swallow solid food. At her feet the family baby looks on worriedly.

A strong Confucian social morality, which exhorts people to be loyal and obedient to their parents, and by extension to the national and local rulers, may have been ideally suited to Japan’s strict feudal socio-political system during the Edo Period (1603-1867).

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The following overview of Confucianism in Japan is extracted from Japanese Culture by Roger J. Davies…

In Confucian society, the family stands at the centre and serves as a bridge between the individual and the state, and the properly cultivated man is educated in preparation for regulating the family, then the state itself.

Confucian texts were brought to Japan by the Korean envoy and scholar Wani in the fifth century AD. Elements of classical Confucianism initially entered Japan with many other aspects of Chinese civilization in the first great wave of influence that resulted from the wholesale adoption of Buddhist practices from the 6th to the 9th centuries.

When the Chinese writing system was introduced, much of its Confucian content came with it, and Confucian ethics, political institutions, and educational values were thus inseparably linked with the study of the Chinese language.

At first, Confucianism was overshadowed by Buddhist beliefs and practices, and as a result its greatest impact was not felt until much later, starting with a second wave of influence in the form of Neo-Confucianism in medieval times. During this period, from the 12th to the 17th centuries, Confucian learning became the sole ingredient of an intellectual education in Japan, and was spread throughout the country by Zen Buddhist monks.

The emergence of the Tokugawa shogunate in the 17th century, with its emphasis on law and order, unquestioning obedience, and governmental control of the populace, marked the beginning of a third period of influence. Neo-Confucianism gradually replaced Buddhism, and Confucian schools of philosophy dominated Japanese thought. Confucian values and ethics were institutionalized at all levels of Japanese social and political life during the Edo period, until by the 19th century “the Japanese had become as thoroughly Confucian as their Chinese and Korean counterparts, despite their very non-Confucian feudal political system” (Reischauer, 1988, p. 204).

The present-day emphasis in Japanese life on education, diligence, and historical precedent (i.e., accumulated knowledge from the past as opposed to intellectual debate) all owe much to Confucian influences. Nevertheless, as with other imported traditions, the Japanese adopted Confucian ideals and institutions selectively; thus, “loyalty” in the Confucian sense became synonymous with loyalty to the emperor, and civil service exams, although widely implemented, were restricted to the aristocracy. Confucianism was, however, able to co-exist relatively easily with Shinto and Buddhism, illustrating once again the Japanese preference for synthesis and consensus formation rather than the assertion of one belief system over another (Sansom, 1976).

Hatsumode (First Visit)

January 3, 2017 / John D. / 0 Comments

People flood the stairs up to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Sunday morning as part of their ‘hatsumode’ New Year’s pilgrimage. | Photo by Daisuke Kikuchi

National

2017 rings in across Japan as shrine, temple throngs pray for good year

Japan Times Jan 1, 2017 Staff report

As people across Japan celebrated the turn of the year, they flocked to shrines and temples Sunday morning for their traditional hatsumode pilgrimage to make a fresh start on New Year’s Day.

Meaning “the first prayer of the year,” hatsumode witnesses hundred of thousands of wish-makers visiting Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples during the first three days of the year.

Major destinations, including shrines Meiji Jingu in Tokyo, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Ise Jungu in Mie Prefecture, were crowded with visitors wishing to make a fresh start.

“I wished good health for all my family members,” a woman at Meiji Jingu was quoted as telling NHK. “And also wished my children would study hard.”

Immediately after the New Year’s countdown, people at the shrine started throwing saisen coin offerings into an area equivalent to 400 tatami mats. At major establishments, those monetary offerings amount to hundreds of millions of yen during the first three days of the new year.

In Kamakura, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine was also thronged with worshipers. Visited by roughly 2.5 million visitors every year during New Year’s, the shrine is the third-most popular in Kanagawa and the fifth-most visited in the Kanto region.

“I wished for all of my family members to stay healthy. I’ve lived my life considering good health as the priority, so I’d like to continue doing so,” said a 65 year-old housewife who provided her last name, Tanaka, as she visited Kamakura from nearby Chigasaki that day with her daughter.

“We usually visit the shrine near our house, but decided to come to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu this year because I’ll be turning 40 this year,” said the daughter, a dispatch worker, adding that the omikuji paper fortune she acquired at the shrine was not necessary good but waking up early for hatsumode made her feel refreshed.

Aika Miyaji, 15, and Ryotaro Okamoto, 16, a couple attending a junior-high school in Yokohama, said they are looking forward to attending the same high school starting in April.

“Our wish is passing the entrance exam,” said Okamoto, adding that it was his first hatsumode at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu accompanied by Miyaji, who visits the shrine every year. “The examination is in February,” said Miyaji. Okamoto added: “We’ve studied so hard for this.”

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu was established in 1063 by Minamoto Yoriyoshi (988-1075), and traces its origins to Yoriyoshi’s descendant, Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199). It is the geographical and cultural center of Kamakura, and is one of the most popular tourist spots in the city alongside the historic Hasedera Temple and Kotoku-in Temple, where the Great Buddha is located.

In Kumamoto, where massive earthquakes devastated many homes as well as the prefecture’s iconic Kumamoto Castle last April, people wished for a quick recovery for their homeland. “I wish this year will be a peaceful one,” a 69-year-old woman was quoted as telling the Asahi Shimbun at Aso Shrine in the city of Aso, one of the hardest-hit areas.

People also took in the New Year’s Day sunrise at the top of the Roppongi Hills highrise in central Tokyo. Thanks to the fine weather, the special viewing event ended in success, its organizer said.

Apart from traditional shrine and temple visits to celebrate the turn of the year, many younger generations joined New Year’s countdown events for more excitement.

In Tokyo’s bustling Shibuya district, the iconic scramble crossing in front of Shibuya Station became pedestrian-only between late Saturday night and early Sunday morning. It was the first experiment by Tokyo police for better crowd control, as every year the crossing had become extremely congested, raising the risk of accidents and other trouble.

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For a personal account of a Hatsumode in the snow in 2015, please see here.

A participant at the 2015 hatsumode

A Happy New Year

December 30, 2016 / John D. / 4 Comments

New Year beginnings
The way Shinto and Buddhism complement each other is never more clearly seen than on the night of Dec. 31. Buddhism is other-worldly, concerned with individual salvation. Shinto is this-worldly, concerned with rites of passage and social well-being. At New Year the two religions come together like yin and yang, either side of midnight. Buddhism sees out the death of the old; Shinto celebrates the birth of the new.

In the dying minutes of the year, people line up at a Buddhist temple to hear the bell riing, or to ring it themselves. By tradition it is rung 108 times, once for every attachment that plagues the human condition. The atmosphere is solemn, and in the darkness the booming of the large bell carries with it a mournful feel that is carried for miles in all directions.

Once midnight strikes, by way of contrast, it’s time to head for a shrine to pick up arrow and amulets for protection through the coming year. The contemplative pre-midnight atmosphere is now replaced by a celebratory mood. Suddenly there are laughing voices, bright kimono, and gaudy lights. Stalls with wannabe yakuza sell candy floss and goldfish. Here all is jollity and smiles.

Arrows in red and white, celebratory colours of vitality, to ward off evil spirits throughout the coming year

‘Akemashite omedeto’ (Congratulations on the New Year) is heard on every side, as people toss coins into offertory boxes over the heads of those in front. Hot saké is served spiced with ginger, while young women in kimono stand huddled over their fortune slips. With the blessing of the kami, the Year of the Rooster will surely be a good one.

Traditions and customs
New Year is a time of special food – osechi ryori – beautifully displayed in lunch boxes as only the Japanese can do. The custom originated with the Heian aristocracy, for whom New Year’s Day was one of the five seasonal festivals. Since it was taboo to cook during the three day event, food was prepared beforehand.

The New Year food is a feast for the eyes as much as the stomach, full of symbols and auspicious elements. There’s tai fish to signify ‘medetai’ (congratulations), and black beans as a wish for good health (mame can mean bean and health). Broiled fish cake (kamaboko) is laid out in red and white layers, traditional colours of celebration and suggestive of the rising sun.

Although the first shrine visit of the year (hatsumode) is supposed to be done within three days, people continue to pay respects for several days afterwards. Each year has its own auspicious direction, calculated by Chinese astrology, and the custom was to visit a shrine that lies in that direction (though few follow that these days). According to statistics, it seems the vast majority of Japanese visit a shrine at some point, though the percentage is skewed by the number of people who visit two or more shrines (for example their closest, their favourite shrine, and their ujigami).

Numbers are published and scanned with great interest, as if like GDP they reflect the well-being of the nation. Meiji Jingu invariably tops the rankings, with just over three million visitors (though one wonders who counts them). In the Kansai region Fushimi Inari comes top with over two and a half million – one reason why I’ve never dared visit it at New Year, though it’s a personal favourite.

From now on the New Year is all about firstness and freshness. There’s the first dream of the year, which if it is about Mt Fuji, a hawk or an aubergine (!) is held to be particularly auspicious. There’s the first snowfall, the first sign of spring, and the year’s first haiku…

A new year dawning:
First snow upon the mountains
Forming a fresh sheet

One interesting custom is the giving of money to children, known as toshidama. Toshi is the year, and dama is its soul or spirit – so it’s as if one is renewing the spirit of the year through the gift. No doubt the money helps give extra vigour to the young!

Decorations
The traditional New Year decoration is a length of shimenawa (sacred rice rope), festooned with ferns and the stem of a bitter orange, which is hung on the door (see pic at top). For Lafcadio Hearn, the shimenawa was the true ancient symbol of Shinto, other elements such as the ofuda and the torii having come in later. The fern is an evergreen and a symbol of the lifeforce, while the bitter orange is called daidai, which can also mean ‘generation to generation’. It indicates awareness of the ancestral continuity of the household.

It’s customary at this time of year to have steamed rice cake (mochi). This was traditionally done by pounding it by hand and eating fresh, but nowadays supermarkets are filled with plastic packages containing two circular rice cakes on top of each other surmounted by a bitter orange.

A pair of kagami mochi with daidai bitter orange and urajiro leaves

Rice is a symbol of fertility, and the mochi cakes symbolise renewal of vitality through the eating of rice. Circular cakes are known as kagami mochi (mirror rice cakes). According to tradition, the sun-goddess Amaterasu presented her grandson with a circular mirror and told him to treat it as if it were her very self. It’s why mirrors are often used in shrines as the sacred ‘spirit-body’ of the kami. In this sense partaking of the round mochi is a kind of sacrament, the Japanese equivalent of communion.

The prime symbol of the New Year are the kadomatsu decorations seen in front of stores and large buildings. These can be grandiose affairs, consisting of three upright pieces of bamboo of differing length to represent the Taoist triad of heaven, earth and human.

Pine and plum branches complete the arrangement – pine not only as a symbol of constancy and vitality, but because the needles ward off evil spirits. The plum symbolises the promise of spring (before cherry blossom, the plum was Japan’s favourite tree for its early flowering amidst the austerity of winter.) Bamboo stands for persistence, a much admired trait among Japanese.

Kadomatsu in traditional style. Bamboo (for perseverance), pine (for evergreen), with nanten berries (red vitality), habotan (bad things become good) and plum (promise of spring) are the basic materials

Who’d have thought so much symbolism could be packed into a simple New Year decoration of natural elements? It’s indicative of just how important a role the New Year plays in Japan, and how much renewal, reinvigoration and revitalisation are written into the culture.

One of the sacred white roosters in the grounds of Ise Jingu. As herald of the sunrise, the cockerel is the animal messenger of Amaterasu. With the coming of the Year of the Rooster, it makes for a good new year resolution to get up early and attend to what’s important in life! A Happy New Year to all Green Shinto readers and please continue your support in the coming year.

Hearn 7): Shinto heart

December 26, 2016 / John D. / 6 Comments

Izumo Taisha – for Hearn ‘the living centre of Shinto’

Christmas day in Japan, falling on a Sunday this year, seems an opportune time to consider the relative lack of Christianity in the country. This is despite some 150 years of Westernisation, yet only 1.5% of the population are Christian, amongst the lowest percentages in the world.

In my book on Hidden Christians I came to the conclusion that the incompatibility of Christianity with Japanese values was due to the hold of Shinto on the Japanese mind. I didn’t realise it at the time, but Lafcadio Hearn had made more or less the same point a hundred years earlier. It’s just one example amongst many of his renarkable perspicacity.

Following Hearn’s visit to Izumo Taisha, which greatly impressed him, he turned in his essay on the subject to speculation about the nature of Shinto and its hold on the Japanese mentality. In so doing he identifies the ‘mudswamp’ into which missionaries stumbled, as Endo Shusaku so graphically described in his writings (from Jan. 21, Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Silence is going to hit Japanese screens.)

The following is taken from Hearn’s essay on ‘Kitsuki: The Most Ancient Shrine of Japan’ in the first of his 15 Japanese books, Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan (1894). (The paragraphing is mine.)

But to have seen Kitzuki [Izumo] as I saw it is also to have seen something much more than a single wonderful temple. To see Kitzuki is to see the living centre of Shinto, and to feel the life-pulse of the ancient faith, throbbing as mightily in this nineteenth century as ever in that unknown past whereof the Kojiki itself, though written in a tongue no longer spoken, is but a modern record. Buddhism, changing form or slowly decaying through the centuries, might seem doomed to pass away at last from this Japan to which it came only as an alien faith; but Shinto, unchanging and vitally unchanged, still remains all dominant in the land of its birth, and only seems to gain in power and dignity with time.

Buddhism has a voluminous theology, a profound philosophy, a literature vast as the sea. Shinto has no philosophy, no code of ethics, no metaphysics; and yet, by its very immateriality, it can resist the invasion of Occidental thought as no other Orient faith can. Shinto extends a welcome to Western science, but remains the irresistible opponent of Western religion; and the foreign zealots who would strive against it are astounded to find the power that foils their uttermost efforts indefinable as magnetism and invulnerable as air. Indeed the best of our scholars have never been able to tell us what Shinto is. To some it appears to be merely ancestor-worship combined with nature-worship; to others again, it seems to be no religion at all; to the missionary of the more ignorant class it is the worst form of heathenism.

Doubtless the difficulty of explaining Shinto has been due simply to the fact that the sinologists have sought for the source of it in books: in the Kojiki and Nihongi, which are its histories; in the Norito, which are its prayers; in the commentaries of Motowori and Hirata, who were its greatest scholars. But the reality of Shinto lives not in books, nor in rites, nor in commandments, but in the national heart, of which it is the highest emotional religious expression, immortal and forever young. Far underlying all the surface crop of quaint superstitions and artless myths and fantastic magic there thrills a mighty spiritual force, the whole soul of a race with all its impulses and powers and intuitions. He who would know what Shinto is must learn to know that mysterious soul in which the sense of beauty and the power of art and the fire of heroism and magnetism of loyalty and the emotion of faith have become inherent, immanent, unconscious, instinctive.

Happy Solstice! (Rock Cave myth)

December 21, 2016 / John D. / 0 Comments

Japan’s central myth is that Amaterasu, the sun-goddess, retired to a Rock Cave after the upsetting antics of her brother, Susanoo. As a result the world was deprived of her radiant light. Some have interpreted this as a reference to a solar eclipse, but given the festivities put on to draw out the sun it seems more in line with other midwinter celebrations around the world aimed at reviving the dying earth and its waning energy.

Faced with midwinter darkness, the other gods held a festival to rouse the sun-goddess from her cave. The shamanic dance of Ame no Uzume, who exposed her breast and genitals as a sign of fecundity, instigated the process by which the sun was induced to return. In this way light and warmth returned once more. Make merry, runs the message, and the ritual jollity will help ensure a miraculous rebirth!

Opening the door of the Rock Cave behind which Amaterasu is concealed

Kyoto today is cold, grey and the sun is hid within a heavenly rock cave of thick clouds. But it’s a time to rejoice, for the shortest day of the year is upon us, and from here on we’ll be heading towards spring, new growth and revival. Let us set up bright lights, feast and drink to dispel the forces of darkness. All hail the eternal cycle of nature!!

Celebration of the midwinter solstice is a worldwide phenomenon, as noted in an article in the Huffington Post:

Opening of the rock cave

“In 2011, the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere will occur on Dec. 22, 2011…. Officially the first day of winter, the winter solstice occurs when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun. This is the longest night of the year, meaning that despite the cold winter, the days get progressively longer after the winter solstice until the summer solstice in 2012.

The winter solstice is celebrated by many people around the world as the beginning of the return of the sun, and darkness turning into light. The Talmud recognizes the winter solstice as “Tekufat Tevet.” In China, the “Dongzhi” Festival is celebrated on the Winter Solstice by families getting together and eating special festive food.

Until the 16th century, the winter months were a time of famine in northern Europe. Most cattle were slaughtered so that they wouldn’t have to be fed during the winter, making the solstice a time when fresh meat was plentiful. Most celebrations of the winter solstice in Europe involved merriment and feasting. In pre-Christian Scandinavia, the Feast of Juul, or Yule, lasted for 12 days celebrating the rebirth of the sun god and giving rise to the custom of burning a Yule log.

In ancient Rome, the winter solstice was celebrated at the Feast of Saturnalia, to honor Saturn, the god of agricultural bounty. Lasting about a week, Saturnalia was characterized by feasting, debauchery and gift-giving. With Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity, many of these customs were later absorbed into Christmas celebrations.

One of the most famous celebrations of the winter solstice in the world today takes place in the ancient ruins of Stonehenge, England. Thousands of druids and pagans gather there to chant, dance and sing while waiting to see the spectacular sunrise.” (Article by Jahnabi Barooah)

Closing the circle: the winter solstice shows the commonality of ancient cultures

Yokai

December 16, 2016 / John D. / 2 Comments

Detailed explanation of perhaps the most popular of the yokai, the kappa

Recently publications about yōkai are prevalent, but what are they exactly? The answer seems to be rather vague. Here’s Wikipedia’s answer: “a class of supernatural monsters, spirits and demons in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for “bewitching; attractive; calamity;” and “spectre; apparition; mystery; suspicious”.

One of my Japanese students has written on the subject, and I thought it was of interest for the link of yōkai origins with Shinto and animism. Here then, with thanks to Kosei, is an excerpt from his essay:

Kosei, wearing a magatama round his neck

Yokai came from the idea of yao yorozu no kami (eight myriad gods). It means everything in nature has a god or spirit. A fleeling of worshipping existence in nature seemed to turn into the idea of animism. In other words, Shinto seems to be related to yōkai. Shinto is also polytheism. Kami of Shinto comprise different kinds of gods, spirits and ideas such as worshipping great persons who died, ancestor worship and animist kami. These kami may bless people. On the other hand, they may also curse people.

It was thought spirits had emotions. So there are two different kinds of soul in Shinto. One was nigi-mitama, which is a positive side of kami such as sunlight and welcome rain. It is a sign of the grace of kami. The other side was ara–mitama, which is the negative side of kami. It caused natural disasters, plagues and desolation of people’s hearts through war and suffering. People kept offering prayers for nigimitama to be guardian deities. The objects of prayer were ancestral spirits, nature and animals. People tried to seek repose of the souls and make the spirits benevolent by offerings in order to avoid disasters and misfortunes. Yōkai are thought to be aramitama that were not offered prayers, worship and offerings. People forgot or neglected them.

Dragon in Poland – a type of European yokai?

In ancient times yōkai such as oni or daijya appeared in literature. And later yōkai were drawn in emaki scrolls in medieval times. Each yōkai was described in detail as to how it looked. At first people feared them as terrifying monsters, but as time passed they became more familiar. Finally because of the advance of science and rationality, people learnt to enjoy them as entertainment.

A typical kind of yōkai is the kappa. It lives all over Japan, particularly in rivers, waterside or the sea. The appearance is wet green skin, with a shell on the back like a turtle. It has a bill and webbed hands and feet. The top of its head contains a hollow basin holding water. In addition, it smells fishy. Kappa are very mischievous and sometimes drag people into the water. Also it likes sumo wrestling with children. There are various theories about its origin. One possibility is that it was originally a god of water, and in some areas it is worshipped as a kami. In other areas it was simply a fearful monster which causes misfortune.

Japanese yōkai and British fairies have some similarities. They are mythical and supernatural beings. They can be mischievous, like Puck. And like yōkai, they seem to have their origin in animism. They are particularly well-known in Celtic culture, with its Druidic emphasis on nature spirits.

Kappa at Suwa Jinja in Nagasaki. Notice the hollow in its head where water collects.

Pagan spring at Glastonbury, said to be the haunt of fairies