1

rebro Theological Seminary 050502

TO 306 Worldviews in context: The Excluded Middle
Oskar Kllner



Shinto in Anime



Introduction

Anime, the Japanese art of animation, is increasingly more and more popular here in the
west. There is something fresh and alluring both with the stories, which dont really follow
the western format for storytelling, and with the overall visual presentation, often other-
worldly, weirdly colored creations, designed to intrigue their audience. Films like Akira,
Princess Mononoke and most recent: Spirited Away, has created a huge audience that craves
for more. And more is on the way. Japan has all the opportunity and ability to become the
next cultural superpower of the world.

But no medium is without a message; every story has a worldview and makes moral and
spiritual verdicts. What kind of a worldview then can be found in Japanese anime? Even
thou contemporary Japan is a highly diverse society, with plenty of subcultures and belief
systems, still many of the most permeating ideas stem from the old Japanese religion of
Shinto.

In this paper, I aim to give a basic introduction to Shinto and its mythology, and try to relate
how the Shinto way of thinking influences and inspires some contemporary Anime series
and films. In the final chapter I will then, from my studies of Shinto and Anime, form some
theories as to how the gospel could be presented in a Japanese cultural setting.


Shinto Way of the Gods

Shinto has no founder, no canonized holy scripture, no common theology and no strictly hi-
erarchical order of organization. Rather the Shinto organization is a lose knit network of in-
terdependent shrines that share a common religious worldview and common rituals. The
Shinto worldview is very strong and is deeply embedded in Japanese culture. For at least two
thousand years it has commanded the devotion of the Japanese people. Even today, in a
secularized Japan, Shinto is still a major cultural and economic power. It has survived the in-
troduction of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and lately Christianity. Through history
Shinto has, as an ever adapting faith, absorbed elements from other religions, mainly Bud-
dhism, while at the same time always remained distinctly Japanese.


2
Aspects of the Divine

Shinto is both a polytheistic and pantheistic religion. There is a divine spiritual force that
flows through everything, that is everything. The Judeo/Christian idea of God as external of
time and space is foreign and inconceivable. Rather, the entire cosmos is divine spirit. This
divinity is the same in all things, gods, humans, mountains and trees, wherever the divine
spirit manifests itself.

The name Shinto comes from the Chinese characters shen (Spirit) and dao (Way) and sim-
ply means the Way of the Gods. The gods or sprits referred to are called kami, a term used
primarily about the gods of heaven and earth that are mentioned in the old myths, but also
about any and every god that lives in the mountains, rivers, animals, birds and great men of
Japan. In Japan there are supposedly eight million kami. There is no difference in kind be-
tween the divine spirit and its material manifestations, all is divine and divine in full. All that
is alive and all of nature is Kami.

Anything that is to be revered or feared because of their inherent and superior power is kami.
The kami does not have to be good, in a Judeo/Christian way, but can rather be either good
or evil or in between, depending on their nature. The very terms good and evil seems to lose
a bit of their meaning, because the kami are simply what they are, and they have different as-
pects, just as nature has different seasons. They dont need to be good, allknowing, or even
very well informed, they just need to be powerful. Since the divine spiritual force is every-
where, and in everything, even man can become kami after death. In Judeo/Christian culture
the complete otherness and absolute holiness of God is emphasized, in Shinto there is no
such barrier between the divine and the human spheres. There are a number of shrines in Ja-
pan devoted to old powerful emperors and influential scribes.

The old Shinto tradition of forefather worship is quite consistent with this understanding of
the divine. A practicing shintoist sees himself as a link in a long chain of humans (and there-
fore of spirit/kami) that has gone before, and will continue after ones own death. Every fam-
ily and every village has their own collective kami, and some believe that this kami is com-
posed by their ancestors who are still looking over their progeny. The Japanese people (and
all of men) are the descendants of the kami that lived on earth during the prehistoric Age of
the Gods. The Japanese emperor is the direct descendant of the greatest of all kami, the sun
goddess Amaterasu (Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity).

While some gods are forgotten and others are added Amaterasu has reigned supreme in Ja-
pan as the central goddess since the Yamato (sun) clan, devoted worshipers of Amaterasu,
conquered the other tribes in central Japan in the 5
th
century AD. Ameterasu is the physical
sun in itself but has many more aspects. It is divine spirit and has a tangible personality. All
aspects are just as much kami as the other ones. Divine spirit has born and chosen Amaterasu
to shine over man and nature. The warming sunlight, and her life giving presence, assert
Amaterasu as the personification of all spiritual energy.

Shinto loves life, Shinto is all about life. Death is the ultimate enemy, and therefore birth and
regeneration is seen as an opposition against the darkest of evil. So detested is death that
Shinto even leaves the care of the dead and burial to another religion, Buddhism. Therefore
in Japan today, Buddhism is intrinsically linked to the stench of death, and not very popular.
Shinto has not a very clear concept of the afterlife, but rather leaves that as a non question, it
is life, here and now (and how you die, since it reflects on your life and character) that is im-
3
portant, not the afterlife.

Shinto was from the start a pretty uncomplicated animistic nature religion. But through his-
tory, with the influence of Chinese culture, Buddhism, and the way the Japanese imperial
power used Shinto to build its powerbase, the conceptions of Shinto has evolved and
changed into something fairly complex.


History

Whether or not the prehistoric Jomon culture (ca. 7.000-300 BC) possessed a faith with the
same basic assumptions as Shinto is unknown. But around 300 BC with the appearance of
the Yayoi culture, notions of reality, which bear a high similarity to Shinto conceptions,
were evidently present.

By the first century AD china had already had a blossoming culture for over a thousand
years, and even thou travel between China and Japan wasnt that common, it was inevitable
that Chinese traits would affect primal Shinto. Typical traits from Confucianism, Taoism and
Buddhism were integrated into Shinto. But throughout history these foreign elements have
always been adapted and converted thus Shinto has been able to remain distinctly Japanese.
Specifically from Confucianism Shinto imported traits that emphasis: the inherent good of
man, the individuals duty to put family and clan before ones own interests, respect for par-
ents and authority, and a low interest in the afterlife.

Later on, during the so called Kofun or Tumulus era
(ca 300-550 AD), Shinto was characterized by a belief
system that was intensely local, focusing on the spiri-
tual power inherent in nearby topographical features
and on the divine ancestors of clans and lineages. As
the Yamato (sun) clan gained advantage over the oth-
ers, its divine ancestor, Amaterasu rose to supremacy.

The Yamato emperor used his claim as a direct de-
scendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu to promote the
emperor cult. This gave him an extraordinary power-
base, and throughout almost all of Japanese history the
emperor has been worshiped as a god. This was true
even during those centuries (12
th
- mid 19
th
) when the
emperor lost almost all political power to the samurai
Shoguns, and was reduced to a religious figurehead.

But Shinto was soon to confront its worst opponent in
history. Buddhism as a religion was introduced in Ja-
pan year 552 AD, by way of Korea, when a Japanese
emperor let a few of his men try out this new relig-
ion. In Korea and China, where Buddhism was wide-
spread, a higher level of culture had also been devel-
oped. Therefore Buddhism soon became the popular religion among the educated and the
ruling class. Centuries of conflict followed, where Buddhism, backed by the powerful and
rich always had the upper hand. But Shinto was so deeply ingrained in the much larger un-
Jimmu Tenno, legendary first emperor
of Japan, and his magical crow.
4
educated agrarian population that Buddhism never could extinguish it.

A syncretistic movement called the Ryobu Shinto (The double point of view Shinto) came
into being. They tried to integrate Shinto and Buddhism. Buddhist deities and bodhisattvas
came to be worshiped as kami, and vice versa. Buddhist idols came to be presented in Shinto
shrines, which until then had been bereft of any kind of idols.

During a brief period of the 17
th
century there was, by way of the Portuguese missionaries, a
strong Christian presence in Japan, over half a million Japanese was converted. That period
ended quickly when the Shogun reacted against this threat and most of the converts were
slaughtered or forced to reconvert. Christianity was forbidden by law and the land closed it-
self from the outside world.

For the Shinto religion the harshest period was during the 18
th
century when Buddhism was
the only religion the state endorsed. New magnificent temples were built by the state, the
priesthood was entirely under the states control and all Japanese was ordered to register
themselves in the temples as Buddhists. An official decree ordered all to build a butsudan, a
miniature Buddhist altar, in every household.

But the Tokugawa Shogunate who endorsed the Buddhist religion had become corrupt and
collapsed. Like a mighty river, which the crumbling dam was unable to hold back, the Shinto
religion experienced an unprecedented revolution and revival. In a bloody civil war the Sho-
gun was crushed and the emperor was reinstated as a political power, actually as the political
power. The movement was very nationalistic. In a great cleansing process the Buddhist dei-
ties was thrown out as foreign and the study of ancient Shinto practices and beliefs was
given the greatest attention. The Ryobu Shinto was completely abandoned, instead the
scribes tried to refine Shinto to as pure a state as possible. This was the rise of the Meiji era,
which started when the very young emperor Mutsuhito ascended the thrown in 1868. He was
a great leader and strategist, that made sure to buy the best know how from the British and
the Americans. Under his leadership Japan was transformed from a backward farming coun-
try to the economical and military superpower of the region. After a while the state observed
that the persecution of the Buddhists was yielding fewer results and more of division in a
time when unity was of the essence. So in 1889 they issued a decree that guaranteed full reli-
gious freedom, also for Christianity.

Parallel to the revival of ordinary Shinto a National Shinto (Kokutai Shionto) was devel-
oped. National Shinto emphasized the divinity and therefore superiority of the Japanese peo-
ple, and how the emperor as the direct descendant of Amaterasu had divine mandate to rule
all the peoples of the earth. National Shinto became the main propaganda channel for the
state as they embarked on military expeditions of conquests in, among others, China and
Russia. The victory of the divine Japanese people was assured. The same religious fever fu-
eled the war that raged in the pacific during WWII. It was first after the inconceivable defeat
at the hands of the US that the emperor admitted to be only human and National Shinto de-
flated and was forbidden by law.

Today only ordinary Shinto remains, but it has a lot of company. Many so called new re-
ligions has sprung up during the last century. Most of these sects have thought-systems re-
sembling Shinto but with traces of other religions, mainly Christianity and Buddhism. The
greatest sect, Tenri-kyo, which shares some resemblance with Christian Science, has about
two million followers. The Christian church has not had a story of success in post war Japan,
5
rather the opposite. Meanwhile the western materialistic and capitalistic way of thinking has
no problem getting converts, making modern Japan into a highly secularized society where
the young often know little about their Shinto history and cultural heritage.


Sacred Texts and Myths

In Shinto there is no official holy scripture, but the two most influential collections of myths
are the Kojiki and Nihonshoki.

The Kojiki was composed in 712 AD by the Heian noble Ono Yasumaro. The Kojiki is a
straight forward narrative, tracking the time from the birth of the first gods, creation of the
world, and the divine genealogy all the way till the first Yamato emperor, the legendary em-
peror Jimmu Tenno.

The Nihonshoki was compused in 720 AD by a committee of scholars, who sought to rectify
what they believed to be Ono Yasumaros excessive emphasis of the imperial Yamato clan.
Instead of just telling one story, the Nihonshoki is a collection of all the different versions of
the mythical past that could be found among the major clans, which resulted in a jumble of
compromises and contradictions. The Nihonshoki is therefore a treasure trove of tales that
shows the great range and diversity of ancient Shinto mythology.

The Nihonshoki starts its mythos with the birth of the gods out of chaos.

THE AGE OF THE GODS

Of old, Heaven and Earth were not yet separated, and the In and Yo not yet divided.
They formed a chaotic mass like an egg which was of obscurely defined limits and con-
tained germs.

The purer and clearer part was thinly drawn out, and formed Heaven, while the heav-
ier and grosser element settled down and became Earth.

The finer element easily became a united body, but the consolidation of the heavy and
gross element was accomplished with difficulty.

Heaven was therefore formed first, and Earth was established subsequently.

Thereafter divine beings were produced between them.

Note how the chaotic primal material of creation is like an egg. When this consolidates
into heaven and earth the first gods were spontaneously created between them. The earth is
almost certainly perceived as a female principle, and heaven as a male one. In the mythos the
gods are either spontaneously created from different objects and actions, or they are given
birth in physical procreation by another god.

The Kojiki tells that after seven divine generations birth is given to the deity Izanagi (Male-
Who-Invites) and next to his younger sister Izanami (Female-Who-Invites). These two has
been called Japans Adam and Eve, because they are the primeval ancestors of many of the
gods and all of the humans. These two gods where given the task by the other gods to create
6
land out of the chaotic mass that was twirling beneath heaven, for this task they were given a
heavenly jewelled spear. The Kojiki tells of the creation of the first Japanese island:

So the two deities, standing upon the Floating Bridge of Heaven pushed down the
jewelled spear and stirred with it, whereupon, when they had stirred the brine till it
went curdle-curdle, and drew the spear up, the brine that dripped down from the end
of the spear was piled up and became an island. This is the Island of Onogoro.

The deities started copulating and after a false start Izanami gave birth to the entire Japanese
island world and a multitude of different kami. But finally Izanami died in childbirth being
burnt bad while giving birth to the god of fire. (Because of the Shinto abhorrence with death,
it says that she retired.) Izanagi, terrible in rage and sorrow slew the infant fire god, and from
the spilt blood, a multitude of new gods arose.

Now follows a story where Izanagi much like the Greek Orpheus attempts to rescue his be-
loved wife from Yomi, the land of the dead. But just as Orpheus in Hades, Izanagi disre-
garded her plea not to look upon her. He saw that Izanami had become a rotting, hideous de-
mon, filled with eight thunder deities and fled in horror, pursued by Izanami and the fe-
male demons of Yomi. He managed to evade her and placed a huge rock in front of the en-
trance to Yomi.
1


To purify himself from the stench of Yomi, Izanami bathes in the sacred river Hi. As he
washed himself a multitude of kami was spontaneously born from the water and the filth.
The most important ones of these were the last three. The Kojiki tells:

The name of the deity that was born as he thereupon washed his left august eye was
Amaterasu (Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity). The name of the deity that was
next born as he washed his right august eye was His Augustness Tsukiyomi (Moon-
Night-Possessor). The name of the deity that was next born as he washed his august
nose was His Augustness Susano (Brave-Swift-Impetuous-Male).

After this Izanami retired to the northwest part of Kyushu island, where today a handful of
shrines are dedicated to him and Izanagi. But before his retirement he handed over his power
and authority to the sun goddess Amaterasu. The moon god Tsukiyomi became lord of the
night, while the storm god Susano became lord of the sea. But Susano, or as his name can be
understood: the raging male, was jealous of Amaterasu, and challenged her to a contest of
producing as many offspring as possible, which they did with the help of a sacred fertility
jewel.

After losing the contest Susano was so enraged that he rampaged through heaven and earth.
He did so in such a brutal fashion, causing so much chaos, that Amaterasu locked herself
into the Heavenly Cave of Darkness. and refused to come out. But the world, deprived of
sunlight was withering and dying, so eight million kami gathered outside the cave for delib-
erations. Finally they devised of a trick to lure the sun goddess out of the cave. They con-
structed a mirror, and put it in front of the opening, and then they laughed and played, until
Amaterasu curious about the ruckus cautiously opened the door. Astonished she saw herself
in the mirror and came out to see who it was. Then the other kami took her hand, pulled her
out of the cave, slammed the door behind her, and made her promise to never leave them
again. Then the Kami caught Susano, and as punishment for his rampage they made him pay
a fine, cut of his beard, pulled out his toe and finger nails and finally banished him to earth.
7

It is typical of Shinto, never to paint a deity, as all evil or all good, so down on earth Susano
suddenly becomes a hero. He saves a beautiful maiden from a hideous hydra, a dragon with
eight heads and eight tails. After the battle, as he walks around cutting of the tails of the hy-
dra, he finds the Herb-Quelling Great Sword in one of its tails. Today, Susanos great
sword, Amaterasus sacred mirror and the fertility jewel are said to reside in the imperial pal-
ace and they are the three greatest items of Shinto worship.

After a non-measured period of time, the Age of the Gods was coming to an end. Amaterasu
invested her authority in her offspring, the imperial clan of Yamato, and so with the legen-
dary emperor Jimmu Tenno, known (or actually not so well known) history begins.


The Sacred in Society

The centers of Shinto devotion are the many shrines that are scattered throughout the coun-
try. There are huge temples as well as small and very modest country shrines. The first
shrines was probably just small huts, constructed
to frame the topographical feature that was ob-
ject for devotion, trees, stones, rivers, moun-
tains. The most famous of all sacred mountains
is Mount Fuji, which is traditionally considered
a powerful kami. Still today, shrines are built to
highlight nature, and the surroundings are often
green areas filled with trees and gardens. The
only thing that might tell a passerby, that the
park area hes passing by is actually a Shinto
shrine, is the traditional torii leading into the
area. The torii is a sacred gateway, consistent of
a pair of posts topped by two crossbars, one of
which extends beyond the uprights. The torii
marks the boundary between the impure, outer,
secular world and the holy ground of the shrine.
In passing through it, a visitor symbolically un-
dergoes a ritual of purification.

The Shinto shrines are called jinja, and differ in
size from huge building complexes, to a tiny
rooftop shrine. A typical jinja consists of two
buildings, the honden (sanctuary) which holds
the image of the kami to which the shrine is
dedicated and is rarely, if ever, visited by lay-
people, and the haiden (oratory).There will also
be some storehouses and outer houses before
which worshipers pray and make offerings.
Many shrines also have one or more huge Cam-
phor trees on the premises, these trees who can
become up to a thousand years old, are often re-
garded as sacred. The torii, some buildings and
trees are usually decorated with gobei, paired
The most famous torii in Japan is in the sea off to
the island of Miyajima and marks the entrance to
the shrine of Itsukushima. Visitors must pass
through the gateway by boat before entering the
The sacred Camphor tree in the background is over
800 year old, growing on premises of the Kumano
Nachi Taisha shrine.
8
strips of paper, each torn in four places to symbolize the presence of kami. Another decora-
tion is the shimenawa, a rope of interwoven strands of rice straw used to mark a place con-
sidered sacred.

Shinto has no ethical code of its own. They emphasize only a
few, but very important, tenets for righteous living. Respect
for tradition, clan, family and the purity of the heart. A mans
heart (kokoro) can become polluted, and so he starts doing
things poorly and sloppily. A hardened kokoro makes a person
turn in on himself, sulking, refusing to openly and politely re-
late to others. Then man needs to be purified, just as in myth,
the deity Izanami purified himself by taking a bath in the river
Hi. The purification is both by literary washing away the dirt,
as well as cleansing ones attitudes, in order to act with genuine
"sincerity" (makoto) toward others. The great importance of
ones attitude is stated in a Japanese proverb: "Both suffering
and happiness depend on how we bear our
kokoro (kurushimu mo tanoshimu mo kokoro no mochiy).
2


The Shinto calendar has a great many local and national festi-
vals and rituals. A festival is called a matsuri, and possibly the
greatest matsuri is the purifying ritual of o-harai (great-
cleansing). O-harai has an ancient tradition from the 6
th
cen-
tury and takes place two times a year, the last of June and last
of December. It is a ritual (In my opinion not entirely unlike
the annual Old Testament ritual of cleansing) where that which is despicable by the kami is
taken away. Simplified; food is offered up to the kami, and afterwards a priest waves a stick
called the kiri-nusa, over the congregation. After collecting the impurities from the people,
the priest hack the kiri-nusa into little pieces and throw them into the shrine brook, where
they flout away into nothingness. The people can now go home, they are cleansed and puri-
fied.

There is also an old rural ritual concerned with both purification and revitalization, the Yu-
tate Shinji (Hot water ritual), part of the Shimotsuki Matsuri (November Festival). A hot bath
is prepared and the kami are invited to come and bathe in it. The water, now full of divine
power, is splashed on people to rejuvenate them during the cold winter.

Every traditional Japanese home has a miniature shrine, or kamidana (god-shelf). This con-
tains a small replica of a honden with the names of family ancestors who are honored as
kami. An elderly member of the household, often the grandmother, tends the kamidana by
placing on it each morning small cups of sak (rice wine), and small dishes containing rice
and vegetables. At shrines priests distribute similar offerings, because all kami must be nour-
ished to be favorable.

Two of the greatest shrines in Japan are the shrine of Ise, and the Meiji-jingu in Tokyo.
While Ise is one of the most ancient jinjas in all of Japan, the Meiji-jingu was constructed as
late as 1920 to honor the great emperor Mutsuhito Meiji. A special place is the Yasukuni
temple on the Kudan hill in central Tokyo. It is a monument over all the soldiers that died
Shinto shrines are built to frame
nature. This is the Nachi waterfall,
133m high, the highest waterfall in
Japan, and believed to be a power-
ful kami.
9
before and during the WWII. During the Yasukuni matsuris people from all over Japan come
to venerate relatives that died on the battlefield. Since these died, gloriously sacrificing
themselves for the emperor, they have become kami, and received Yasukuni as their splen-
dorous dwelling.


Anime

How then can Shinto conceptions and myths be found in contemporary Anime? I will now
present and analyze four different Animes: three movies made by the same director, the leg-
endary Hayao Miyazaki of studio Ghibli, and a series by studio Bones, the 26 episodes epic:
Rah-Xephon.

Hayao Miyazaki is legendary in Japan and his works has reached the highest level of popu-
larity. His genius lies in his knack of transformation and transfusion. He transforms and rein-
vigorates Shinto beliefs for a contemporary audience, and uses elements out of Japanese
myth such as dragons and kami as inspiration for his characters. He creates a hybrid Japanese
modern myth that is accessible to post-modern audiences all over the world. Hayao Miya-
zaki became renowned, even through the western world, when his films Princess Mononoke,
and Spirited Away, distributed by Disney, became over night hits. As I write this, his next
movie Howl's Moving Castle, is being dubbed from Japanese to English and will premier
in the west during the summer of 2005.

Rah-Xephon is a very complex and interesting Anime series, and will probably always be
compared to its genre predecessor Neon Genesis Evangelion. Even thou I personally think
that Rah-Xephon is the superior one; many will se it as nothing more than an Evangelion
copycat. Evangelion used imagery from the Judeo/Christian religions, and freely looted
western occultism, and mangled it all into unrecognizability, which was sometimes pretty
cool. But it had a story that was almost incomprehensible. Rah-Xephon is just as deep, inter-
esting (and sometimes confusing), but as opposed to Evangelion, after having seen the entire
series you can actually look back on it, and it all makes sense.


Rah-Xephon 2002

An interdimensional epic
Rah-Xephon features an interdimensional epic, across time and
space, with cosmic significance. A few years back, earth was at-
tacked by an alien race from another dimension called the Mu.
They wiped out all of humanity except from the ones living in
Tokyo, over which, human scientists managed to erect a protec-
tive force field dome. Every now and then the Mu manages to
break through the dome, but the Tokyo military defends the city
without too much trouble. Ayato is an ordinary high school stu-
dent, living with his mother, who has a high ranking position in the governments. One day
some government agents come for him, but he is saved by a mysterious woman named Ha-
ruka. She kills the agents and Ayato is chocked to discover that they have blue blood. Ha-
ruka tells Ayato that everything he thinks he knows is a lie, but Ayato, not trusting her, runs
away. Suddenly the Mu attack again and in the bedlam of battle Ayato escapes the carnage
Ayato, getting scolded.
10
into some undisclosed government facility. There he stumbles upon
the Rah-Xephon which is a mecha, a giant robot, a fighting machine
of superior ability. Ayato ends up connecting with it, and defeats
the attacking forces. But Harukas words have sown a seed of doubt,
and with power of the Rah-Xephon he penetrates the dome to the
outside world.

Outside he learns that the world is safe and sound. Actually it is To-
kyo that is occupied by the Mu, and they have raised the force field
dome to prevent earths united forces, the TERRA, to attack and take Tokyo back. With his
new mecha he pledges his allegiance to TERRA and works towards the destruction of the
Mu. Then he makes the horrible discovery, that he himself has blue blood. Is he himself a
Mu?

The human and divine
The truly interesting part of the series comes towards the
end. Rah-Xephon turns out to be something much more
than just a fighting machine. It was actually built by a gen-
ius Mu scientist for the purpose of tuning the world, in
essence, reshaping it into something else, hopefully some-
thing better and less twisted, but it all depends on who con-
trols the tuning process.

Towards the end Ayato merges with Rah-Xephon to pro-
duce something much akin to a god or a powerful kami.
The Mu send out a female counterpart, also necessary for
the tuning, and they fight, to determine what kind of world is to be created. Will it be a
world for the Mu, or the earthlings, will it be
a world of war, or one of peace. Like some
war crazed Izanagi and Izanami they fight
until Ayato finally finds love in his heart
and defeat his female counterpart, absorbing
her power. And so the world is destroyed in
what looks like a huge nuclear explosion,
becoming an egg. The world has ones again
become a chaotic mass like an egg, the
primeval state of chaos described in the Ni-
honshoki. Ayato, his heart filled with love
and longing for peace, tunes the world,
and it becomes something beautiful, with a newly
born baby as the last symbolic picture.

The last images of Rah-Xephon reminds of the
Christian hope for a new heaven and new earth
in the book of revelation. But in Christianity, the
hope for such a future world of peace and har-
mony is solely based on the power and mercy of
God, not on man or technology. The very thought,
of man being able to reform the universe in such a
Rah-Xephon, the mecka.
Ayato merges with Rah-Xephon to
produce something much more
than mere man.
The final showdown between the Mu and the humans is
just about to begin.
Like some war crazed Izanagi and Izanami
Rah-Xephon and his female counterpart slugs
it out, to the death.
11
drastic way, is much easier to conceive in a Shinto
context than in a Judeo/Christian one. In Shinto eve-
rything is spirit, the whole cosmos is kami, and
therefore, even humans, can rise to become the
changers of worlds. In a Judeo/Christian setting
where the absolute power, otherness and holiness of
God are promoted, the thought of man ever doing
such a thing is much harder to envision. There is
simply an impenetrable wall between the human and
the divine, between the created and its creator. Man
is not to play God! (Even thou the western man of
course likes to do so anyway, but there is a greater
psychological gap to bridge. And in the west the
manmade utopias has not the divine quality that
seems to be the case in the east.)


There are many examples in Japanese Anime
where humans gain special powers, sometimes
almost divine ones, through technological means,
such as drugs, genetic engineering, cyborg im-
plements etc, or through spiritual means, as psy-
chic powers, special sacred techniques etc, or
through a combination of both. A classic Anime
in this genre is the cult film Akira, a film I can
recommend, both for study and enjoyment. Some
other Animes where humans gain divine or at
least supernatural powers are: Kurau Phantom
Memory, Ghost in the Shell, Iria - Zeiram, the
violent Elfen Lied, Escaflowne, Lost Universe,
Outlaw Star, Read or Die, Candidate for God-
dess, and the most famous of them, already mentioned, Neon Genesis Evangelion. There are
many more. That the theme of human divinisation should be so common, is not surprising
when one looks upon the human and the divine, not as different in kind, but in degree.

The whole world explodes in a huge nu-
clear-like explosion, and a new world is
born. There seems to be some kind of com-
mon fascination for nuclear-explosions,
perhaps because of the bombings during the
WWII. These explosions can be seen in
many different animes, and are used in
many symbolic ways. The end of Akira is a
classic example.
The world has once again become a chaotic
mass like an egg, the primeval state of chaos
described in the Nihonshoki
A baby, the symbolic hope for a new future, in peace
and harmony.
12
Hayao Miyazakis: My Neighbor Totoro. (Tonari no Totoro) 1988

All of Hayao Miyazakis films have been huge hits in Ja-
pan, but one of them is extra cherished, the childrens
story of Totoro. It is a simple story about Mei and Sat-
suki who lives with their dad out in the country, close to
the forest. They are all anxiously waiting for their sick
mother to come home from the hospital. Mei and Sat-
suki befriend some of the kami of the forest, first among
them the giant, cuddly, teddy-bear-like Totoro. He be-
comes their friend, takes them on adventures and helps
out in some difficult situations.

A measurement of the films popularity can be seen from that it has had its own museum for
years, and an exact replica of Mei and Satsuki's house is right now involved in a tug-of-war
as several cities want to host the building. Among them is Hayao Miyazakis home town To-
korozawa, that wants to bring this house back to our city, the hometown of TOTORO. We
think many of the worldwide fans of TOTORO would agree that the house should be relo-
cated where it really belongs.
31


Totoro, a very cute kami
The movie, My Neighbour Totoro, has a pretty low pace and is very cute. One can under-
stand why small children all over the world love this film. The kami are presented as very
cute and comical, and if you dont know enough of the Shinto background, you can easily
dismiss them as just amusing forest animals. Still there is no mistake that Totoro is the spirit
king of the forest and the guardian kami of the area.

One day when out in the garden, Mei discov-
ers some strange, animal looking kami, which
she follows in under the garden bushes and up
a small forest path. She arrives at a great sa-
cred Camphor tree, and search for the little
kamis, who seems to have disappear. She dis-
covers a hole in the tree trunk and reaching
for an acorn falls into it. She lands softly on a
green carpet of moss, discovering that she is
inside the tree and that she is not alone. A
huge creature lies sleeping in an alcove
nearby. Unafraid Mei climbs up the furry
thing, and after introductions (When asked his
name, the being growls something that sounds
like Totoro), Mei falls asleep on his giant
belly.

Mei is waked by her big sister Satsuki, sleep-
ing in the shrubbery near the house. She des-
perately tries to show her big sister Satsuki the
path to the giant Camphor tree, but it has
magically disappeared. Satsuki laughs at her
Studio Ghiblies logo, with Totoro.
Mei discovers a hole in the tree trunk
Mei climbs up on Totoros big belly and makes intro-
ductions.
13
and Mei, flustered starts crying. But their dad comforts her, and tells her that he doesnt be-
lieve she is lying, and explains to her: You certainly met the lord of this forest. That is a
very lucky thing. But it is not always possible to find him. Still they go to give him greet-
ings.

The Shinto Jinja
Dad knows where to go.
He takes them for a walk to
the forest. They come to an
old torii, which signifies
the presence of a Shinto
jinja. Behind it is stairs
leading into the forest.
They walk up the stairs,
passing by an old spirit
house, (small clay or stone
houses constructed for
kami to reside in) and see
the giant Camphor tree.
The tree is decorated with a
shimenawa rope symboliz-
ing the presence of kami.
Just next to the tree is a very old and simple shrine. Filled with joy Mei runs to the tree, but
she cant seem to find the hole. Dad tells her again that its because you cant always meet
him but that they shall all meet him later on if they are lucky. He then makes the girl stand at
attention and addresses the tree: Mei has already relied on you! From now on, we too would
be pleased to make your acquaintance. after which they bow in respect and then race each
other home.

The next day, while waiting for their father, who
is on a late bus from town, they meet Totoro
again. Evidently even a kami needs to take the
bus from time to time J, because hes suddenly
standing there, next to them at the bus stop. Its
raining, so they let Totoro borrow their umbrella,
which he happily accepts. He gives them a gift in
return. Suddenly Totoros bus arrives, and it is not
just any kind of bus, but a cat bus, normally in-
visible to human eyes.


King of nature
When the children open Totoros gift they find,
wrapped in bamboo leaves, and tied with a dragon
beard, a lot of tree acorns and seeds. They plant the
seeds in their garden, thinking it would be great to
have some trees, but even after quit a few days
they havent sprouted. One evening, Mei asks dad
if the seeds will sprout the next day, and he an-
swers that he doesnt know, but he bets that Totoro
Right in front of Mei is the old Jinja, and to the left is the huge Camphor tree,
decorated with a with a shimenawa rope symbolizing the presence of kami.
Satsuki gives it all shes got and the seeds sprout.
Totoro and the children, waiting at the bus stop.
14
knows. That night Totoro comes to visit the
garden. Mei and Satsuki wake up and see
Totoro and his small kami friends doing some
kind of ritual, walking around the tree seeds,
they run out to join them in the fun. They
imitate Totoros praying stance, and suddenly
the seeds start to sprout. The harder they try,
the more seeds sprout, until the tree grows
into gigantic proportions overshadowing the
entire garden. Satisfied with his work, Totoro
takes the girls on an adventure, flying across
the country like the wind on his spinning top.
The next morning when the girls wake up, they run out into the garden, there is no giant tree,
it is gone, but the seeds have all sprouted. They dance around the seedlings shouting It was
just like a dream, but it wasnt a dream.

It is easy to see that Miyazakis is heavily
inspired by the Shinto worldview. It is
evident that Totoro is a kami, or rather
his very cute character is created from the
idea of forest kami. During the end cred-
its, there is a song, where one of the stro-
phes goes: Totoro he has lived in the
forest since ancient times... if you ever
meet him, it is wonderful fortune. Totoro
is more than just a cuddle and cute forest
animal; he is the lord of the forest. He
lives inside a sacred tree, and looks out
for those that make his acquaintance. He
has power over the wind and can make seedlings sprout; he is over all a true giver of life, but
not all knowing, nor all powerful, just like the ancient kami.

Sacred trees
The sacred Camphor trees are not only portrayed in My Neighbour Totoro but are popular
and powerful symbols in other anime as well. In the very popular series Tenchi Muyo the
imperial family (of the galactic empire) is linked to special sacred trees, so called Jurai trees,
who has en inconceivable amount of power, making the imperial line the most powerful
family in the known universe. In
another famous anime, Inu Yasha, a
Camphor tree at a Shinto jinja is
used to travel back and forward in
time. Since the tree has such an-
cient roots, it has the inherent
power to warp time and space, and
send anyone back or forward to the
ancient times when gods and de-
mons (oni) roamed Japan.


Totoro roars in the wind, as he takes the girls on
adventure, flying across the country on his spinning
top.
Totoros magic cat bus, normally invisible to human eyes.
Mei at the sacred Champor tree, looking for the hole.
15
Hayao Miyazakis: Princess Mononoke. (Monomoke hime) 1997


In the past, humans hesitated when they took lives, even non-human
lives. But society had changed, and they no longer felt that way. As
humans grew stronger, I think that we became quite arrogant, los-
ing the sorrow of "we have no other choice." I think that in the es-
sence of human civilization, we have the desire to become rich
without limit, by taking the lives of other creatures.
Hayao Miyazaki
4



While My Neighbour Totoro is a lovable movie for children Princess Mononoke is clearly a
film for the adult. It has great depths of meaning, and there are plenty of scenes that arent
appropriate for young children.

Hayao Miyazaki has a great respect for nature, and in his stories ha lets his kami emerge out
of, and represent nature. He has been known to say that we should treasure everything be-
cause gods and spirits might exist there
5
and this worldview is palpable in all of his films,
from his earliest, Nausicaa, to his latest Spirited Away. An elementary theme in each film is
the hero or heroines awed appreciation of nature. However, the relationship between hu-
mans and nature is not always harmonious.

The conflict between man and nature
Humanity and nature are linked to each
other, in modern thought, by being part of
the same ecosystem, and in Shinto thought,
by being of the same universal spirit. Still
modern man separates himself from nature
and uses it as a tool for his own endeavours.
Miyazaki is very much aware of this in his
work and says in an interview about Princess
Mononoke that Ive come to the point where
I just cant make a movie without addressing
the problem of humanity as part of an eco-
system
6
Man, separated from nature, easily
ends up destroying the natural environment (Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke) or simply
becomes a stranger to nature via the inevitable separation that comes with urbanisation
(Totoro and Spirited Away). Princes Mononoke is the story of the destruction of the kami by
modern man.

Ashitaka is the prince of a tribe living in the north east of
Japan. One day a huge kami boar, turned demon, attacks
his village and he has to defend it. But in slaying the de-
mon he is also cursed by it. Inside the dead boar they find
a round piece of metal, laying in there, always aching and
throbbing, it had driven the boar mad until he had suc-
cumbed to fear and hate and turned into a demon. The
wise woman of the village cast pieces of bones to divine
the wishes of the gods, and she charges Ashitaka to travel
A huge kami, turned demon, attacks Ashitakas village,
and he has to defend it.
Princess Mononoke, the Possessed
princess, raised by the wolf god.
16
west for the source of this metal ball and to see
with eyes unclouded by hate. He cuts of his top
hair knot, thus renouncing himself from his tribe,
and travels west to find his destiny.

Ashitaka soon comes across a village of iron min-
ers, the Tataraba, who are trying to build themselves
a new future out in the wilderness. But the wild
does not want them there. They are being relent-
lessly attacked by the wolf god and her tree children, two wolfs and a human girl. The girls
name is San, but she is called Princess Mononoke (Possessed Princess) by the villagers, and
has been raised by the wolf god.

The Tataraba are led by a female named Lady
Eboshi, who is trying to create a sanctuary for human
outcasts. She is as passionate about protecting her
people as she is ruthless about annihilating the kami
that stand in her way. She is in every sense, a truly
modern human. Miyazaki comments: What Eboshi
is trying to do is to build a paradise as she thinks of
it. Hence, she is a person of the 20th century. She has
a clear ideal and can take action. And if she was in-
terfered with she wouldn't hesitate to kill, sacrifice,
or even sacrifice herself.
7


The forest is ruled by the great forest spirit, Shishi-
gami, a deer like kami that changes into a huge, tree-
towering giant during the nights, called the night
walker. Shishigami is both a giver of life and a
bringer of death. Where he walks, nature flourishes
and dies, in an eternal circle of life. Even the wolf
god and her allies are in awe of the Shishigami.
There is also a group of forest spirits that does not
seem to care, or even be aware of the war, the child-
like and quite eerie kodama.

Suddenly the wolf god is reinforced by the huge
tribe of boar gods. They have come to make a
last stand against humanity, and so the war be-
gins, and the age of the kami draws to a close.
Along side the war there is also a mysterious
group of men, sent out by the emperor himself,
to return with the head of the Shishigami which
is believed to render its owner immortality.

Ashitaka tries to see with eyes unclouded by
hate (Eboshi laughs scornfully at him when he
says that) and work as a mediator between the
forces of humans and the kami of nature. Both
sides comment several times that Ashitaka must
The great wolf god.
The old white boar. King of the boar tribe. He is a
Nushi, a term used to refer to an exceptionally big
and old creature. The belief is that such creatures ac-
cumulate special powers as they grow older , and
therefore they are called the nushi of a place to show
respect.
Shishi Gami, the Great Spirit of the forest. During
the day he has the shape of an elk, and during the
night he changes into the giant nightwalker.
17
be on the other side, when he is trying desperately
to convince everyone that there are no sides.

The destruction of the kami
After some initial skirmishes, a mystifying meet-
ing between Ashitaka and the Great Spirit Shishi-
gami, and some more serious trouble, the boar
gods attack the humans in huge numbers. But the
humans, led by Lady Eboshi, are more than ready
for them. The boar gods might be kami with an-
cient powers, but the humans have tamed fire, guns

and explosives. In a huge battle the boars are
slaughtered to the very last one. But Eboshi is not
satisfied. With a group of her best hunters she enters
the forest, looking for Shishigami. She finds the
Great Spirit inside a sacred glade, just turning into
the nightwalker. Cocky, she yells to her men
Watch closely, this is how you kill a god! and
fires, beheading the Shishigami. The humans take
the head and run, but the headless nightwalker turns
into some kind of amoeba-like monster, devouring
everything around it for miles, the forest and the
mining colony, looking for its lost head. Finally
Ashitaka manages to get the head back, and the
nightwalker is ones again complete. But it is too
late, the sun is rising, and as the first light of dawn
punches through the weakened nightwalker, he falls
and dies, dispersing its divine life giving power over
the forest. The forest blooms ones again, but the
great kami are gone, it is now a safe, tamed forest.


Mononoke is set in the Muromachi era (1392-1573).
Among other things this was a time of great turmoil
when the relationship between man and nature was
radically changed in Japan. Firearms had been im-
ported by the Portuguese in 1543 and the Iron Age
was dawning. Miyazaki however, is not attempting
historical realism; rather, he tries to illustrate a power
shift in the ever increasing conflict between nature
and the newly industrialised humans. Miyazaki ex-
plains:

I think that the Japanese did kill Shishi Gami around the time of the Muromachi era. And
then, we stopped being in awe of forests. Well, I don't know if it was really during the Muro-
machi era or not, as there would certainly be regional differences, but at least from ancient
times up to a certain time in the medieval period, there was a boundary beyond which hu-
mans should not enter. Within this boundary was our territory, so we ruled it as the human's
world with our rules, but beyond this road, we couldn't do anything even if a crime has been
The forest spirits called kodama are child-like
and quite eerie
The boars attack, only to be met by explosives.
And in a huge battle, they are slaughtered to the
very last one.
Lady Eboshi and one of her hunters. The
newly industrialized humans have mastered
the magic of fire, and so, through death, they
make themselves the gods of a new era.
18
committed, since it was no longer the hu-
man's world... ...As we gradually lost the
awareness of such holy things, humans
somehow lost their respect for nature. This
film deals with such a process in its en-
tirety... ...This film is just reenacting what
humans have done historically. After Shishi
Gami's head was returned, nature regener-
ated. But it has become a tame, non-
frightening forest of the kind that we are ac-
customed to seeing. The Japanese have
been remaking the Japanese landscape in
this way.
8



No happy ending
The film ends on a note of sorrow and melancholy. The conflict is not resolved. Ashitaka,
torn between his wish to protect nature, but at the same time unable to turn a blind eye to the
starving humans, caries the conflict with him, as a thorn in his side. Miyazaki explains:

It is a thorn that stuck in Ashitaka without being resolved. Ashitaka is the kind of person who
is willing to live with the thorn. So, I think that Ashitaka is a person of the 21st century... ...In
our daily lives, things that humans can do to protect nature are limited... Ashitaka has no
choice but to suffer and live, while being torn between such conflicts. That's the only path
human beings can take from now on.
9


Miyazaki evidently thinks of Ashitaka as the
post-modern man, who must always live with
the consequences of modern man, mighty yet
powerless, always longing for that harmony
that can not be restored. Miyazakis criticism
of modern Japan can be seen as a criticism of
the entire modern project, throughout the en-
tire world:

The place where pure water is running in the
depth of the forest in the deep mountains,
where no human has ever set foot - Japanese
had long held such a place in their heart We have lost it. I'm not interested in Japan as
a state. But I feel that we have lost our core as the people who live in this island nation ...
It's not like we can coexist with nature as long as we live humbly, and we destroy it because
we become greedy. When we recognize that even living humbly destroys nature, we don't
know what to do. And I think that unless we put ourselves in the place where we don't know
what to do and start from there, we cannot think about environmental issues or issues con-
cerning nature.
10



Lady Eboshi holds the head of the Shishi Gami, and eve-
rywhere around her, the kodama falls to the ground.
The weakened nightwalker is hit by the light of dawn,
and falls to its death.
19
Hayao Miyazakis: Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) 2001

Spirited Away is a story of discovery. It is the story of how Chihiro, a typical Japanese urban
child, came to discover an entire world, filled with powers, that she had no idea existed. At
the same time it is a story of inner discover as throughout the film Chihiro matures and
comes to a deeper understanding of herself. It is also a journey of discovering the environ-
mental issues of the modern world, and how they are interconnected with the kami.

The kami are not gone
Spirited Away takes a more positive stance, then
Princess Mononoke, on the continuous life of
kami in modern Japan. This echoes of reality, be-
cause even thou the process of secularization is a
powerful one, the old Shinto faith is still practiced
around Japan, and with the post-modern currents
presently challenging the naturalistic rationality
of modernity, the old religions are once again
gaining followers. The name Chihiro is composed
of chi =1000, hiro = "inquire, fathom, look for,"
so Chihiro can mean "looking deeply," or
"inquiring after many things".
11
This is very appropriate, because in Spirited Away Chihiro
represent the typical Japanese child, unaware of her cultural and spiritual heritage, who dis-
covers that the kami are not gone. Rather, they are still an active and dynamic force behind
the curtains of the world.

The film starts with a sullen Chihiro, glooming in the
backseat of the car. The entire family is moving to a
new town, and Chihiro doesnt want to leave her
friends, and she is scared of the new and unknown.
When dad gets lost on the way to the new house, as a
typical male he wont stop and ask for directions,
(interesting how this male characteristic seems to be
cross cultural J ) instead he pushes the four wheel drive
car onto a small forest road. Chihiro is the first to sense
that something is wrong, but her parents will not listen
to her.

At the start of the old forest road there is an
old torii leaning against a huge Camphor
tree, marking that this was ones the gateway
into a sacred area. And at the ground, there
are tons of small spirit houses. As the car
hurls itself through the forest Chihiro makes
goggled eyes upon a grinning statue by the
side of the road. The squat statue seems to
leer and grimace at her; however it is
closely modeled on Douso-jin, a roadside
Shinto kami and protector of travelers. Stat-
ues of this kami were often put at the
boundary of a village or at crossroads to in-
The old torii is leaning against a Camphor tree, mark-
ing that this was ones the portal to a sacred place.
Spirit houses, small clay or stone houses
made for kami to dwell in.
The squat, leering statue is closely modeled on Douso-jin,
a roadside Shinto kami and protector of travelers.
20
dicate the right direction. From the symbolic subtext it is clear that the family is moving,
from the secular into the sacred, from the known into the unknown.

The realm of the kami
Finally the family has to leave the car and walk,
and as they walk through a tunnel-like building
and across a dry riverbed, they end up in a strange,
but seemingly deserted world. Chihiros parents
think that it is an old theme park, abandoned long
ago. Dad explains to Chihiro: They built so many
of them you see. And perhaps it is not strange for
modern man to regard the world of the kami as a
man made fantasy world, just as antiquated as an
old theme park.

They are just about to leave when Chihiros par-
ents smell the wonderful scent of food. They find
an unattended food stall, in an abandoned mar-
ketplace, and starts eating despite Chihiros pro-
tests. She leaves them to explore and as day turns
to dusk she meets a young boy named Haku. He
tells her to leave immediately, but when she re-
turns to her parents they have been turned into
two big slobbering pigs, and the riverbed is filled
with water, turning it into a great ocean. And as
night falls, the old world of kami comes alive
again

The last phrase in the Japanese title Sen to Chihiro no kami-kakushi explicitly indicates
the hidden realm of the kami. It can be literally translated as "something hidden by kami.
There is an old Japanese expression: kami-kakushi ni au (to experience kami-kakushi), which
refers to those incidents when a person is mysteriously missing for some time. If that person
returns without remembering being gone, that person has been "hidden by the kami."
12


In this hidden realm, shadows materialize in front
of Chihiros eyes and turn into all kinds of crea-
tures imaginable. Everywhere, there is color, life
and laughter. A huge barge arrive on the riverbed,
and at first there seems to be no one on it, but af-
ter a while, behind floating paper masks there are,
materializing from thin air, even more beings ar-
riving for the party.

Unable to leave, Chihiro is now comforted and
helped by Haku. Soon she is forced to apply for
work at the huge bathhouse that dominates the
area. This is the focal point for all the arriving be-
ings, run by the pitiless witch Yubaba (yu = "hot
water," baba = "old woman").
13
At first, Chihiro
is not welcome, Yubaba sneers at her and says,
Chihiros parents think that the realm of the
kami is an old theme park.
As punishment for eating food that wasnt
theirs, Chihiros parents have been turned into
two slobbering pigs.
The apparitions wear classic Japanese court attire
with white "kasuga sama" masks. These masks
appear to be the same as those masks worn at
"bugaku" performances offered at Kasuga-jinja in
Nara prefecture.
21
This is no place for humans. Its a bathhouse where
eight million gods can rest their weary bones. So the
creatures are kami, come to rest and get purified. But
Chihiro persists, and she gets a job cleaning the bath-
house. When Chihiro signs the employee contract, Yu-
baba steals Chihiro's name, and she is given a new
one: Sen. This is a typical example of word and name
magic. In many cultures all over the world it is be-
lieved that if you know the true name, of something or
someone, you can also control it.

Sen, bereft of her true identity, finds good friends in a
young, confident woman named Lin, and in an old
man, living in the basement of the bathhouse where he is in charge of the boiler. His name is
Kama-ji ( kama ="iron pot, boiler;" ji = "old man")
14
and has multiple spider-like arms
which he uses to perform his duties.

Environmental restoration
According to Miyazaki the inspiration for the bath-
house comes from the old Shinto ritual of Yutate
Shinji where kami bathing water, is splashed on
peoples to rejuvenate them during the cold winter.
Miyazaki has in a genius way transformed the ideas
and practices of Shinto for his contemporary audi-
ence, and infused it with a passion for environ-
mental concerns. The idea of the film seems to be
that even the kami themselves can be rejuvenated and reenergized by being once again puri-
fied. The kami has not been killed off by the rational thought of the modern world. They are
still around, and through environmental work and caring for nature, mankind can once again
connect to this lost part of her existence.

The films best example of kami restoration is the purification of the stink god. This scene is
almost the perfect analogy for an ecological undertaking. Miyazaki describes his inspiration
for this scene, which is very close to what happens in the anime:

No, it doesnt come from mythology, but from my own experience. There is a river close to
where I live in the countryside. When they cleaned the river we got to see what was at the
bottom of it, which was truly putrid. In the river there was a bicycle with its wheel sticking
out above the surface of the water. So
they thought it would be easy to pull out,
but it was terribly difficult because it had
become so heavy from all the dirt it had
collected over the years. Now theyve
managed to clean up the river, the fish
are slowly returning to it, so all is not
lost. But the smell of what they dug up
was really awful. Everyone had just been
throwing stuff into that river over the
years, so it was an absolute mess.
15


Chihiro signs her employee contract, wit-
nessed by Yubabas three "bouncing heads".
These heads are reminiscent of daruma dolls
(representing Bodhisdharma), or youkai, a
kind of human-like goblins.
Kama-ji, in charge of the boiler room.
The arrival of the stink god.
22
In the film Sen is given the task of cleaning
the stink god (cause no one else wants to do
it.) She works up her courage and does so
when she finds that the god has a thorn in
his side. Yubaba rallies the entire staff to
help Sen pull out the thorn. It happens to be
the handle of a bicycle, and when they fi-
nally get it loose, a flood of garbage and de-
bris pour out of the stink God. There are
among other stuff old steel bars, oil barrels
and microwaves, the trash of modern soci-
ety. With the blocking garbage gone, an old
kami wooden mask surfaces from the water. The face says Well done and gives Chihiro a
ball of bitter substance that appears to hold self-knowledge. Finally, out of the water comes
the radiant, powerful dragon of a river kami, it flies out into the night, pure, powerful and
free.

Identity and self-understanding
Even larger than the issue of environmental care is the
question about identity and self-understanding. In the film,
Miyazaki has included an eerie being, which seems to be
the very anti thesis of a complete and stable self; a creature
called No face. I think that No face has many charac-
teristics in common with the lonely man of the modern
world, isolated, seen by no one and therefore being no
one. Sen first notices No face outside the bathhouse, and
it seems like she is the only one who can see him. He
looks like a black shadow with a white mask. Because she
can see him No face gets very attracted to her and
wants to follow her into the bathhouse. Thinking it is a
customer she opens the door, and then forgets about it.
No face is a very lonely creature, since no one
notices him, he has no one to relate to, and there-
fore he has no true identity. He exists in an exis-
tential and relational limbo. Even Sen seems not
to notice him, and No face, frustrated takes mat-
ter into his own hands. He finds that he can create
gold from his hand palms, and he tricks a lone
bathhouse worker, a frogman, to get close to him.
He then eats him, and so gains a voice. Since he
has no own identity, he has to eat those around
him to be someone, to be able to communicate.

The entire bathhouse goes crazy with joy over the new costumer who has springs of gold in
his palms, but Chihiro, who must hurry on an errand, is not interested. Gold can not buy her
friendship, and that is the only thing the discouraged No face really wants. Instead she
feeds him the ball of self-knowledge she gained from the river god, and when No face
realizes who he is: a no one, he gets sick, and disgorges everything and everyone he has
eaten, until he once again is a small dark shadow. To the great dissatisfaction of Yubaba, all
the gold that No face left them suddenly turns into mud, it was never real. Now, small and
Lin is leaning in through the door, looking for her friend
Chihiro among all the junk.
No face tricks a frogman into
coming close, and then eats him.
No face eats everything around him, and
swells into monstrous proportions.
23
insignificant, No face follows Chihiro on her er-
rant, and possibly here is the start of a new and
true friendship, that might, in time, give No face
his own voice and identity.

Chihiro also help Haku realize his real identity,
that story can also be seen as another one of Miya-
zakis criticisms of the modern ways. One day Chi-
hiro sees a great river dragon flying in the sky and
without thinking she cries out Haku. Later, she
suddenly remembers, how she could possibly have
known that it was him. It is knowledge from the real world. When she was little she once
fell into a river and almost drowned, but was saved by that rivers kami, a great river dragon.
Chihiro explains to Haku: She [mom] said they drained it and built things on top, but Ive
just remembered. The river was called its name was the Kohaku River. Your real name is
Kohaku. Knowing his own name, Kohaku is freed from yubabas power, he has regained his
identity, even thou the river is no more. Perhaps that was why Yubaba could enslave even a
powerful river god; he had been horribly weakened by the draining of his river. Filling riv-
ers, and building on them, is common practice in Japan where real estate is a very valuable
commodity.

Towards the end of the film, remembering her own
name, Chihiro breaks free of Yubabas power and by a
risky game of wits; she manages to get her parents out as
well. They walk back through the park and find their car
where they left it. Her surprised parents find a layer of
dust on it, they dont remember anything.

Identity through relationships
It is very interesting to see that the film endorse, not some kind of inner search for yourself,
but rather that you should reach out, facing obstacles in a brave manner, and find yourself in
relation to others. Throughout the film Chihiro faces her challenges and her character ma-
tures and is purified. She is no longer the sulking child in the backseat. She and her parents
have been "hidden by the kami" and through that process her kokoro (heart) has attained ma-
koto (sincerity) toward others and the world.

This message is clearer for a Japanese audience than for a western one, therefore, in the
dubbed English version, when they are driving away in their car, Chihiros dad asks her if she
is up to the challenges
of a new home and new
school. Chihiro re-
sponds "I think I can
handle it."
16


No face offers Chihiro huge amounts of gold,
but she is not interested.
Haku, in his guise as human and river dragon. In some respects Hakus character
can be seen as the embodiment of traditional Japanese values. His clothes resem-
bles those of the Heian period, he wears something similar to a Shinto priests for-
mal robes. Also, his speech is formal and traditional.
Yubaba on a bad hairday
24
Missiological approach

With this knowledge, of Shinto myth, history and contemporary manifestations; how then to
communicate the gospel to Japanese culture? I definitely do not imagine that I will be able to
give the answer to that question. I would need to live in Japan for a couple of years and thor-
oughly study the culture first. I can however present some tentatively theories and sugges-
tions.

First of all, we may not forget, that even thou Shinto is still strong in Japan, the majority of
the Japanese are secularized, with only rudimentary knowledge about Shinto. Of course,
even the secularized have plenty of unconscious premises, inherited from Shinto, in their
worldview. The worldview of a christian Westerner and an ordinary Japanese is by all reck-
onings vastly different but I believe it to be possible to find some common ground, some po-
sitions of contact, so that a dialog can get started and the gospel explained.

To communicate, both parties must first be aware of some basic concepts. Perhaps the most
basic concept in a religious dialog is the concept of God. There is such a huge difference be-
tween the Judeo/Christian God and the Shinto gods, that perhaps one shouldnt even use the
same word for them. I think that we instead should import and use the word kami. Also, the
huge difference between monotheism and pantheism must be made clear, and the absolute
characteristics of God must be explained. According to Christianity God is not part of the
universe; he has created the universe and upholds it with the power of his word. It is true that
Gods spirit permeates the universe, but the universe itself isnt God. Nevertheless, one can
see the Masters touch everywhere in nature. Therefore all of mankind can join in the awe of
nature, and give thanks, not to nature itself but to its creator.

[Later addition to the concept of God: During the seven months since I finished this work
I have been thinking a lot about how to translate the concept of God into Japanese culture. I
finally ended up reprimanding myself for cultural pride and have changed opinion some-
what. In the history of the western church we have been fighting all pantheistic traits as her-
esy for so long that we have forgotten something. We have often emphasized Gods transcen-
dence on the expense of his immanence. And we have often emphasized God personal attrib-
ute so strongly that we have forgotten how his immanent presence and power may be experi-
enced in an impersonal way. We have therefore no cultural right to disqualify the Japanese
experience of the divine. I still believe the Christian dogma to be true, not thanks to any
western cultural superiority, but thanks to Gods self revelatory grace. I believe in an inclu-
sive attitude rather than an exclusive one. By seeing the Japanese concept of an impersonal
all encompassing spirit as a true experience, of the immanent presence of the all encompass-
ing personal God. Then the presentation of God could be based on something already experi-
enced in Japanese culture. That it is, this same God, this same Spirit, who people all over the
world experience, each one according to his own history and culture, who by Himself has re-
vealed who He is, through the person of Jesus Christ, a Jew (not a westerner), for the benefit
and salvation of the whole world. Jews, Swedes and Japanese.]

There is another basic concept that might be hard to translate, the concept of sin. That is
really nothing new, because we have the same problem here in the west in our post-modern
culture. Even if sin doesnt get distorted into sex, fun, shame or something else, peo-
ple simply dont regard themselves as sinners, thinking: Hey, Im just as good as the next
guy. My guess is that the Japanese people dont see themselves as sinners either. There are
25
many reasons for this. Just a few generations ago they thought of themselves as divine, and
since then they have, with their own hands, rebuilt themselves from the ashes into an eco-
nomic super power. Another factor is that they do not have laws as unattainable as the Ten
Commandments in their culture; rather the opposite as in Shinto, good and evil tend to lose
their meaning. They have therefore no meta-human moral code to wake them to an under-
standing of their own inability of righteousness. And finally, during the last century they
have been hit from the west, first with the man centered humanism of the modern era and
then with the relativism of the post-modern era. How ever could they ever see themselves as
sinners, in need of divine intervention and forgiveness?

There might however be another way to present Christ, namely as Christos Victor, the glo-
rious conqueror of death, Lord of all the powers (included among them, the kami), giver of
life, ruler of the earth. In Japanese culture those individuals, who give their own life, for
family, clan and nation, are regarded as heroes, as the Yasukuni shrine is just one example
of. Then the character of Jesus, his life, and his death, should be very intriguing. Here we
have a man, who gives his life, not only to save family or friends, but to save all of human-
kind! Could there be a greater hero?

And perhaps there is a way to present sin in a comprehensible way as well. I feel I would
have to do much more research on this subject, but the o-harai (great-cleansing) ritual is in
my opinion not that different from the Old Testament annual atonement. The Jews sacrificed
and transferred the sins of the people onto a goat, which was send into the wilderness. The
participators of the o-harai, sacrifices and transfers their sins into the kiri-nusa, which is
hacked and washed away by water. In my opinion it would be good theology, and hopefully
culturally relevant, to perceive sin as the impurity in man that separates us from God. This
impurity keeps us from being able to meet God and build a relationship with him. But Jesus
Christ died on the cross for all mankind; he was the great kiri-nusa of all time, and his body
got broken, just as the kirinusa sticks. But Jesus conquered death, rose again, and now, any-
one who believes in him, can have ones impurities washed away, by the purifying blood of
Jesus and by his gift, the living water that flows from the heart (kokoro).

There are some other things in Christianity I think many Japanese would appreciate. The
myths of Shinto are clearly not historical, but the Bible as opposed has a very high level of
historicity. I think many modern Japanese would appreciate historical truth.

In Spirited Away, we saw how Chihiro matured and became a person with greater self-
understanding by relating to others. I have no idea how widespread this idea is in Japan, but
this is very close to the Christian idea of identity. God is relationship and fellowship. Before
anything had been created, the father, son and holy spirit of the trinity enjoyed fellowship,
and loved each other. Fellowship between humans is part of being created as images of
God. The ultimate human expression for this fellowship is the church (at least when it func-
tions as it should.) A way to reach the Japanese heart should therefore be for the local Japa-
nese congregations to truly pursue their divine mission and love thy neighbor as thyself.
By doing so, they would authenticate other peoples identities (and their own for that matter)
with the love of Christ.

Again I am only speculating, but perhaps the easiest way to show the love of Christ is to care
for the socially impoverished, those that dont have the energy to fulfill the ever increasing
demands of company and society. I think the church is called to work, with a social pathos,
against the evils of modern society, no matter if is the destruction of nature or of man, it has
26
to be opposed.

Finally, I believe, that in a society that abhors death and celebrates life, the news of the res-
urrection and eternal life in Jesus Christ, must indeed be good new. Just as Shinto loves life,
so God is not a God of the dead, but of the living. I think it is clear from animes like Neon
Genesis Evangelion and Rah-Xephon that the Japanese, as all of humanity, longs for a better
world, a world of peace and harmony. The Christian faith has this hope; hope for a new
heaven and a new earth. But that is not going to happen through man, neither with the help
of advanced technology nor mystical occultism; it is going to happen because God, the crea-
tor of all, has promised to do so. That is indeed good news, for the Japanese and for the en-
tire world.
27
Notes

1) One could think that a story like this would convince the Shinto scribes that there exists a Hades-like after-
life. But instead, through history, Shinto scribes have made great efforts explaining that the story of Izanami in
Yomi is inconsequential, and that there isnt a shred of evidence that Yomi really exists.

2) Boyd & Nishimura (2004).

3) Tokorozawa Junior Chamber, Inc. (2005)

4) Toyama, (1997).

5) Wright, (2004).

6) Wright, (2004).

7) Toyama, (1997).

8) Toyama, (1997).

9) Toyama, (1997).

10) Toyama, (1997).

11) Boyd & Nishimura (2004).

12) Boyd & Nishimura (2004).

13) Boyd & Nishimura (2004).

14) Boyd & Nishimura (2004).

15) Wright, (2004).

16) Boyd & Nishimura (2004).



28
References

Ashton, W. G. (Tr. 1896). The Nihongi (excerpts) at Sacred-texts.com.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/nihon0.htm

Chamberlain, B.H. (Tr. 1882). The Kojiki (excerpts) at Sacred-Texts.com.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kojiki.htm

Ershammer, Selfrid. (1959). Shinto Gudarnas vg. Stockholm: Svenska Kyrkans Diakonisty-
relses Bokfrlag.

Littleton, C. Scott. (2002). Understanding Shinto. London: Duncan Baird Publishers.

Toyama, Ryoko (1997). Interview: Hayao Miyazaki on Mononoke-hime at Nausicaa.net.
http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/interviews/m_on_mh.html

Wright, Lucy. (2004). Wonderment and Awe: the Way of the Kami. at Refractory: A journal
of entertainment media. http://www.refractory.unimelb.edu.au/journalissues/vol5/wright.
html

Tokorozawa Junior Chamber, Inc. (2005) Welcome Home, Satsuki and Mei!
http://www.tokorozawa-jc.or.jp/events/house/index_e.html

Boyd, James W. and Tetsuya Nishimura (2004). Shinto Perspectives in Miyazaki's Anime
Film "Spirited Away" at The Journal of Religion and Film. http://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/
Vol8No2/boydShinto.htm