 JAPAN ANIME & CHRISTIANITY: WESTERN INFLUENCES
Some other religious customs of Shinto Japanese allude to unknown
origins, and in each case a close relation to Jewish religious tales
and traditions can be found. Take for example, both the entrances to
Shinto shrines and Jewish synagogues hold golden bells that are to be
rung before entering or engaging in prayer. The floor plan of the
Shinto shrine is very similar to that of a Jewish tabernacle. The
"torii" or "gate" that is the entrance to a Shinto shrine, is almost
exactly the same design as the "taraa" gate / entrance to a Jewish
tabernacle. At a traditional Shinto festival "Ontohsai" the ancient
tradition was to sacrifice seventy-five deer, followed by the symbolic
(simulated) sacrifice of a young boy who is saved shortly before death
by another priest playing the role of a "kami" or "god (spirit)," this
is comparable to the Hebrew story of Abraham's near sacrifice of Isaac.
This similarity is compounded by the fact that the Hebrew ceremony also
called for a sacrifice of seventy-five sheep. However, since there were
originally no sheep in Japan, it is believed that deer were substituted
because they are kosher; never mind the fact that animal sacrifice
plays absolutely no role in any other Shinto traditions and seems to go
against the very nature of Shinto itself (it was eventually outlawed in
the Meiji era, and is now simulated with stuffed animals). And finally,
a rumor that the holy mirror in the Shinto shrine of Ise contains an
actual Hebrew phrase (scripted in Hebrew). On three separate occasions,
and by three unrelated people1, this phrase has been translated as the Hebrew name of God, meaning "I Am That I Am."
Some Hebrew social traditions also may have found their way into
Japanese culture, such as bowing as a form of greeting, the imagery of
mountains as holy places of enlightenment and spiritual discovery,
similar styles of folk-dancing amongst both Hebrew and Japanese
peoples, and the sowing of salt before an important (or religious)
undertaking as a symbol for purification. Not to mention the
similarities between the royal crest of the Japanese imperial family
carrying the exact same design as the seal over Herrod's Gate in
Jerusalem (one of the most important entrances to the holy city).
With all of these findings to consider, one can easily see why the
influence of Jewish mysticism is so strong in Japanese anime. And the
introduction of Christianity to Japan in 1549 by Jesuit Francis Xavier,
and its reintroduction in 1859 after Japan's two centuries of
seclusion, has also served its part in shaping the religious and social
lives of the Japanese. Although true freedom of religion did not show
itself in Japan until the Allied occupation in 1945, it has long been
the nature of Shinto to tolerate and even absorb certain aspects of
other religions2.
Shinto-ized versions of Christian angels and demons have found their
way into Japanese art and story. Naturally, with the strong apocalyptic
tendencies of Japanese entertainment, one can see how the Christian
idea of angels as saviors, while also being juxtaposed as the bringers
of Armageddon, would be a fascinating subject for the Japanese. One
example can be found in "Wish," a Japanese manga by the leading female
artist group CLAMP, which tells the story of a young angel, Kohaku,
sent to earth to find another missing angel, Hisui. While these angels
are depicted in the traditional Christian manner (white wings, halos,
white robes, etc…) they are assigned very pagan roles. There are four
archangels, but they are not the typical four found in Christian
mythology, instead they are given Japanese names, and represent the
elements of nature: fire, wind, water, and earth. Kohaku himself
represents a fifth element, that of spirit, and he is assigned with the
role of "hatching" new angels from the "tree of life," (possibly a
Qabbalistic association with Jewish mysticism). Coincidentally, God's
"messengers" are hares, a traditional Shinto myth animal-association
with communication, sending warnings or messages.
A situation which illustrates the angel as destructor can be found in
the anime "Neon Genesis Evangelion." These "angels" are certainly not
represented in the typical Christian fashion as far as looks are
concerned - they are definitely given a Japanese flavor by being
portrayed as giant mecha - but their arrival in Neo-Tokyo is seen as a
sign of the coming of the destruction of the earth.
These current trends of including Western religious symbolism in
Japanese tales do seem on the surface to be not much more than a
sprinkling of the exotic to Japan's "Western-crazed" fads, but I
strongly believe it to be a reflection of distant past influences to
their religious and social traditions, the memory of which may have
been lost for many generations.
1 The three people were: Arinori Mori (the cultural minister of
Japanese education, culture, and science, around 1899), Dr. Sakon (a
professor at Aoyama-Gakuin University, around 1947), and Yutaro Yano (a
Shinto priest, in 1978). Yutaro Yano actually copied by hand the
scribing on the back of the holy mirror, and this picture can be found
in his book which was handed down through his Shinto tradition to his
daughter who has recently published it. The drawing clearly shows the
Hebrew phrase, but it is not known if the drawing is an accurate
representation due to the fact that few other people have been allowed
to look at the holy mirror.
2 In Shinto, notions of "purity" and "cleanliness" are very
important. Blood is considered unclean, as well as artifacts associated
with death or corpses, therefore the tasks of funeral rites and burials
were meted out to Buddhists, who have no strong aversion to dealing
with death. This tradition continues into the present day. |
83: Гости
В условиях финансового кризиса Вооруженные силы Украины становятся центром стабильности. Об этом заявил министр обороны Юрий Ехануров. Он рассказал, что в этом году вооруженные силы будут фактически профинансированы на 9,4 млрд. гривен, что в условиях инфляции меньше, чем в 2007 году.
