Many in Japan are under the impression that the Japanese are “not religious.” But look at daily life here and one could say that they are among the most religious people in the world The return to the family home during the summer Obon season is one good example but previously people would make the annual journey to pay respects to ancestral graves The practice of saying itadakimasu before eating is an expression of gratitude to the myriad kami (deities) and contrition to the living things providing that food insecticide manufacturers hold memorial services for the cockroaches and flies their products have exterminated Is there any other nation quite like this one If faith means acting according to religious convictions the above customs undoubtedly fit this description It may be true that it is uncommon to strongly identify as a believer in a religion with a specific founder What, then, is the faith that forms a base for the Japanese? Ukai Hidenori a religious journalist and Jōdo Buddhist priest at the Kyoto temple Shōgakuji “As well as being a mixture of animism the faith of the Japanese includes regional characteristics at heart it is based on nature worship and ancestor memorial.” This faith is the soil that brought forth the female mediums known as itako Aomori Prefecture’s itako perform many roles but they are likely best known for kuchiyose in which they summon and become possessed by the spirits of the dead in order to convey their words to the living The religious scholar Yamaori Tetsuo says that a belief in the dualism of spirit and flesh whereby spirits live on after the demise of the body is fundamental to Japanese views of life and death This is behind the act of chanting by itako to call forth ancestors from beyond the grave and has a great influence on Japanese people’s lives In the Obon custom of adding stick legs to cucumbers to make them into “horses” and to eggplants to create “oxen,” these spirit animals are intended to carry ancestors between this world and the next one in which bonfires are lit on five mountains in Kyoto on August 16 is also a ritual meant to guide spirits from the various earthly homes they have visited back to the mountains It is widely believed in Japan that after the spirits of the dead leave their bodies, they are purified through offerings from their descendants, becoming kami in their final memorial service held either 32 years or 49 years after their death. Before this, the spirits are thought to live in the mountains and return home at Obon, the New Year Shōgatsu season and the Higan periods around the spring and autumn equinoxes they may also be thought to live in the sea It is likely that the ancient reverence for mountains among the Japanese led to the belief that the spirits of the dead reside there The channeling of spirits by itako is an expression of this faith that lies deep in the nation’s psyche Although today most closely associated with kuchiyose originally itako acted as a kind of spiritual local counselor offering up advice to the women in the area on relationships between mothers- and daughters-in-law and husbands and wives miko conveyed the words of kami and the dead female shamans like the yuta in Okinawa and Amami and the Ainu tuskur perform a similar role along with the kamisama and gomiso in many parts of Tsugaru in western Aomori Prefecture The itako are different from these shamans in that they acquire their techniques through spiritual training While the yuta and kamisama are often suddenly possessed one day by a kami the itako undergo an apprenticeship with an experienced mentor lasting several years This means that traditional itako have a certificate of mastery known as an odaiji as well as prayer beads received from their mentor Irataka prayer beads (left) are strung together with wild boar fangs and pieces of deer horn to ward off evil and old coins to pay the ferry fare across the Sanzu River into the afterlife The odaiji is a bamboo tube holding part of a sutra and is worn on the back to keep evil spirits away This mentor-disciple relationship derives from the history of itako becoming established as a vocation for blind women Esashika Hitoshi is a local historian in Hachinohe and head of the Aomori Prefectural Association for Preserving Itako Traditions there was a blind shaman woman called Taisobā in the Nanbu region She passed on her techniques like channeling the dead to Chōrinbō and they later taught and organized blind women into the group that became the itako As their disciples gained disciples of their own The words chanted for kuchiyose vary depending on the different mentors While Takadatebā’s own blindness was likely a motivating factor in teaching women who could not see this education is also thought to have been a way of assisting those in otherwise precarious circumstances Tōhoku had poor food and sanitary conditions and some children lost their eyesight as a result of measles How to support them in the community was a major issue While blind men tended to specialize in acupuncture women became itako and were involved in Shintō rituals As local needs for a medium between the living and dead brought girls into the profession itako became fixtures in the Nanbu and Tsugaru regions It is thought that there were still dozens of itako in Nanbu from around the 1950s to the 1970s Many in Japan associate the itako with the Osorezan area in Aomori which has an active volcano and a caldera lake and is considered one of Japan’s holiest sites Itako generally relocate from the regions where they are based to Osorezan in summer and autumn The forbidding landscape of Osorezan Other traditional locations in Aomori included Buddhist temples such as Kawakura Sainokawara Jizōson in Goshogawara Kamisama and other shamans also participated in these gatherings Kawakura Sainokawara Jizōson has more than 2,000 statues of Jizō Esashi’s association recognizes only a handful of practitioners following historical traditions who has been called the “last itako,” is still young There have not been any itako acting as mentors for a long time Nakamura Take (left) and Matsuda Hiroko Matsuda is performing the now rare oshirasama asobase a January ceremony for the household deity Oshirasama Local populations are aging rapidly outside of Japan’s big cities and this is particularly true for remote mountainous areas many itako have retired or passed to the other side While the association is making efforts to preserve traditions improved medical care means that fewer children lose their eyesight from measles so it becomes more difficult to find potential future itako There may be an increase in self-described itako in the future In August 2022, Kawazu Project, which I am the president of, published a photobook together with photographer Watada Aya called Talking to the Dead, which takes the itako as its subject. As well as the journalistic focus on recording the itako and their vanishing culture, I wanted to gain a new understanding of Japanese views of spirits and religion which is the basis for practices like kuchiyose and to convey this to readers in Japan and around the world My final feeling after completing the book is that itako are essentially there for sharing grief and providing consolation They seem to be a kind of “grief care” system established by the people of the past The grief of losing a loved one or someone close is indescribable the greater the void it creates in someone’s heart taking a new step forward with pain etched in their hearts I feel that the itako provide the strength for that forward step I put all of Nakamura Take’s words during kuchiyose into text form Every one of them provided comfort to the person who wanted to hear from a loved one who had passed away saying that all was well in the next world They helped someone grieving to look toward the future Scientific advances have made our lives extraordinarily comfortable but this has not meant a decrease in those who seek spirituality—I actually think such people are increasing Material prosperity is not the same as emotional fulfilment is why people have tried to share their fears and grief with others through faith and thereby overcome them (Originally published in Japanese on December 27 a 90-year-old itako who lost her eyesight at the age of 3 after contracting measles Korea.net hosts networking event for Honorary Reporters Accord with Japan to protect both nations' people abroad A bilateral agreement with Japan will bolster cooperation in protecting the nationals of both nations abroad Click here to read more about the latest summit between leaders of both countries Talks with NZ seek to upgrade ties to strategic partnership Korea and New Zealand have agreed to advance talks on elevating the bilateral Partnership for the 21st Century concluded Korea and New Zealand have agreed to advance talks on elevating the bilateral Partnership for the 21st Century concluded in 2006 to a comprehensive strategic partnership Mixed boccia pair to face Hong Kong for Paralympic gold the Jeong-Kang pair will face in the final Hong Kong in mixed pair BC3 boccia 🌕 S-Tier food for Chuseok 🌕 | K-Cuisine Relay | Ep.28 Galbijjim & Samsaeknamul “Reading is so sexy!” — Headlined by The Guardian (UK)　| Balance Talk | Ep Korean German architect in Seoul seeks to innovate Hanok Grassroots group seeks to clean up trash from Jeju waters Polish capital hosts Korean cultural event at Breakfast Market Hanbok-clad children play traditional games President Yoon attends opening of Cyber Summit Korea Descendants of Korean War veterans attend event in Incheon Multicultural families attend Chuseok event Address by President Yoon Suk Yeol on the 79th Liberation Day Keynote Address by President Yoon Suk Yeol at the NATO Public Forum K-pop management innovation changes global music industry Korea-French friendship to drive future partnership Denmark's digital strategy to preserve global democracy 10th workshop of European Association for Korean Language Education (EAKLE) PNP launches TOP COP special class to enhance tourist safety K-Culture Extravaganza Lights Up Jozi: Korean Cultural Centre Unveils ‘Travelling Korea’ Korean Restaurant to open soon in Abuja-Envoy Jusung Gabriel Park & Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra Production Design: Scene Architects Build On-Screen Worlds Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker The Future of AI and Buddhist Teachings (Dr 60th Anniversary of Normalization of Japan-South Korea Diplomatic Relations: Pre.. The Bridal Boat and Iris Festival in Itako –The Traditional Japanese Bridal scene- Copyright © 2015- Foreign Press Center Japan Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information National Report Ibaraki Prefecture--Public health officials here withdrew an advisory warning farmers not to dine with their foreign workers as an anti-coronavirus precaution after the contents drew fire for being inappropriate The advisory was in the form of an email sent May 19 by the Itako public health center in Itako to the Hokota city government in the prefecture and Hokota's local agricultural cooperative The intention was to share it among farmers hiring foreign workers Citing numerous COVID-19 cases in foreign communities and farms where many foreign nationals worked the document urged farmers to remember “to wear masks when conversing with foreigners” and “not dine with foreigners.” After being alerted to the advisory on May 21 officials in charge of infectious diseases at the prefectural government urged the Itako public health center to cancel the guidance “The advisory may cause misunderstandings because it targeted foreigners,” a prefectural official said had a high ratio of foreign nationals among its residents Most of them work as technical intern trainees who came to Japan from developing countries The city is famed for its melons and other fruits (This article was written by Kazumichi Kubota and Keiji Maruyama.) New film ‘Along the Sea’ focuses on exploitation of foreign trainees Tsunami-hit area struggles to find foreign workers in pandemic Saitama temple takes in exploited Vietnamese trainees Information on the latest cherry blossom conditions Please right click to use your browser’s translation function.) A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II In-house News and Messages No reproduction or republication without written permission Today's print edition Home Delivery In one hand is a cold beverage; in the other Clad in a yukata (summer kimono) and perched on the embankment of a river Bright sparks spread out like big flowers on the pitch-black canvas A slight smell of mosquito-repellent incense drifts through the air.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); Watching firework displays has long been a quintessential summer experience in Japan with relatively cooler evenings offering a moment’s respite from the unrelenting daytime heat At this year’s riverside fireworks festival in Itako After a four-year hiatus due to the pandemic the festival once again entertained locals and visitors alike with 3,000 fireworks with some laying out blankets on their laps That’s because the event was held in late October for the first time “It’s too cold to wear a yukata in this weather,” said Yuka Ishida who was visiting Itako from a neighboring city with her friend Fireworks festivals, traditionally a summertime feature, are becoming more common in October in order to avoid Japan’s increasingly uncomfortable summers. And it's not just fireworks. It’s now common to fight off surprisingly active mosquitoes in November And in more and more fall foliage viewing spots across the country people must wait until late-November or even December to see brilliant hues of red emerge on maple leaves Climate change — as evidenced by the record-beating heat the world experienced this year, including unusually high temperatures in November across Japan — is disrupting the nation’s autumn and seasonal experiences autumn in Japan officially begins at the beginning of September and runs until the end of November is making summers start earlier and last longer Japan may become a country of two seasons — just summer and winter — some scientists warn The impact of autumn's fade is huge — not just environmentally but also socially and culturally Hordes of businesses rely on seasonal demand be it beer companies with autumn specials or operators of viewing tours to see colorful leaves the disappearance of a season is an existential threat The viewing of fall foliage is practically a national obsession which provides fall foliage forecasts for 700 viewing spots across the nation this year’s peak in Sapporo didn’t arrive until Nov In almost all other major cities across the country the arrival of vibrant red maple leaves is expected to be between two to nine days later than usual says its predictions are based on past data on the color changes of leaves tied to drops in temperature because temperatures were quite high in September a trend that followed into October,” Ito says “It’s known that coloration changes start when it falls below 20 degrees Celsius and deepens below 10 degrees Celsius.” Autumn leaf coloring is affected not just by temperature changes but also other factors and the process varies by region and plant maple leaves contain a green pigment called chlorophyll The leaves start changing color in the autumn when this chlorophyll is broken down as the weather changes at which time another pigment called anthocyanin is synthesized It is anthocyanin that gives the leaves their red hues Ginkgo leaves have a different coloring mechanism where the carotenoid pigments contained in the leaves become more prominent as chlorophyll decreases Environmental group Greenpeace recently published a report showing that the fall foliage season for maples and ginkgos in three major cities has been pushed back by up to five weeks The group analyzed data from the Meteorological Agency which tracks dates on which most leaves on sample trees are judged to have turned red for maple and yellow for ginkgo compared with the averages for both kinds of trees for the 1953-69 period the fall foliage dates in the 2010-19 period arrived much later 21 days later in Sapporo and 36 days later in Fukuoka the Meteorological Agency has monitored one sample tree in Kita-no-maru Park in Chiyoda Ward as an indicator of the prefecture’s fall foliage trends the fall foliage season had not been declared in Tokyo this year with dates for the past several years ranging from Nov This contrasts with the trend in the 1950s when the agency annually declared the fall foliage date for Tokyo between Nov Will there be a day when most of Japan starts expecting “fall” foliage as something to arrive in winter — say around New Year’s “But it’s possible that we will see more deepening of colors in December or January where fall foliage regularly takes place later than in other places its peak season is already mid-December or late December “A future where we will observe leaf color changes in January doesn’t seem so distant to me.” In addition to autumn leaves, extreme weather is disrupting schedules for summertime fireworks festivals The famous Tama River fireworks festival in Tokyo Organizers shifted the schedule in part to avoid trouble due to sudden downpours hot food such as yakisoba (fried noodles) and takoyaki (octopus balls) were selling briskly while only a few visitors stopped by the goldfish-scooping stand which involves dipping your hands in a tank of cold water Visitors appeared happy that the local festival had resumed regardless of the time of year it was being held and some said it was better for it to be organized in the fall rather than at the height of a hot and humid summer a professor of meteorology at Mie University argues that Japan could turn into a country of two seasons the permanent winds that blow from west to east in middle altitudes born from temperature gaps between the polar region in the north and the equator to the south have weakened due to the warming of the Arctic As the winds snake through the globe in big slow waves Japan has found itself trapped in a windless noting that this is why this year hot temperatures persisted long into September and beyond Spring is also shrinking as temperature rises start earlier in part due to the melting of snow in Eurasia caused by climate change expediting the transition from spring to summer winters — marked by occasional cold snaps and heavy snowfalls — will stay “One of the reasons Japan will continue to have snow in the winter is because it is surrounded by the ocean and the ocean surface temperatures are rising,” he said “This warming increases the volume of water vapor created which then experiences a phase change higher in the atmosphere and falls down as snow “Autumn will as a result end up being squeezed into shorter periods.” a professor of social policies at Osaka Metropolitan University and haiku poet says climate change has even disrupted the world of haiku as the short poems consisting of 17 syllables must always contain kigo She explains the current confusion surrounding the poetry form by citing a work by Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902) books that list thousands of seasonal words covering everything from animals plants and weather phenomena to traditional events but “an autumn mosquito” carries a special context “It conjures up the image of a mosquito that used to be very active in the summer but is now losing energy and flying feebly and is about to end its life by laying eggs and leaving its offspring behind before the winter,” she says this year we saw no mosquitos flying during the summer and only in the fall have they become active That’s completely out of sync (with haiku’s world view).” What would happen to haiku poets if Japan loses autumn and if four seasons become something that they can find only in the saijiki In a time of both misinformation and too much information quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing Your subscription plan doesn't allow commenting. To learn more see our FAQ Sponsored contents planned and edited by JT Media Enterprise Division Please view the main text area of the page by skipping the main menu. The page may not be displayed properly if the JavaScript is deactivated on your browser as well as its launch in the magazine's June issue on May 17 The prologue's first chapter is titled "Sandaime Itako no Anna" (Anna The second chapter is titled "Death Zero From Flowers," while the third chapter is titled "Dai Butsu Zone" (Great Buddha Zone) The issue also featured the final chapter of Takei's Nekogahara manga The manga's fourth and fifth compiled book volume are slated to ship on May 17 Viz Media published the Shaman King manga in English in the past Takei has also worked on the Ultimo and Jumbor manga. He began Nekogahara in the then-new Shonen Magazine Edge in September 2015 though Viz Media confirmed with ANN last August that its license of Shaman King was still active at the time Hiroyuki Takei's Shaman King manga was previously published by Shueisha Source: Comic Natalie Sequels are usually worse than the films they’re based on since the motivation for making them is often to cash in “The Godfather: Part II” is a notable exception to that rule and so is “Last of the Wolves,” Kazuya Shiraishi’s hardboiled follow-up to his 2018 actioner, “The Blood of Wolves.” That old-school cops-versus-gangsters film won a long list of awards including best actor prizes for star Koji Yakusho a scruffy Hiroshima detective who gets results by chucking out the rule book.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); three years after “The Blood of Wolves.” This time the protagonist is Shuichi Hioka (Tori Matsuzaka) who was once Gami’s straight-arrow protege but has since adopted his deceased mentor’s maverick persona He is bent on carrying out his predecessor’s plan to keep the peace between once-warring Odani and Itako gangs The June issue of Kodansha's Shonen Magazine Edge revealed on Thursday that Jet Kusamura will launch Shaman King: Red Crimson, a new spinoff manga of Hiroyuki Takei's Shaman King manga The magazine previews the art centering on the character Tao Jun "A crimson shadow draws close to the flower of the Tao family." (Note: Kodansha hasn't yet made the preview image for the spinoff manga available online.) Hiroyuki Takei launched a new arc for the Shaman King manga titled Shaman King The Super Star in the same issue on Thursday, and the issue's cover features the manga (pictured below). Kodansha published three prologue chapters on April 17 Kodansha published the manga's fourth and fifth compiled book volumes on Thursday Japanese publisher Kodansha is now listed as the trademark owner for "Shaman King" in Japan although Viz Media confirmed with ANN last August that its license of Shaman King was still active at the time Shueisha previously published Hiroyuki Takei's Shaman King manga The figure stands at about 160 millimeters tall and which are a weapon and itako tool that she uses during the course of Shaman King and lanterns to create a mystical Japanese atmosphere MegaHouse also showed off an unpainted figure of Yoh Asakura wielding his Oversoul Harusame You can also get this Shaman King Anna figure from shops such as Premium Bandai and Animate. The official Kotobukiya US online store doesn’t offer it yet Here are some more pictures of the Anna figure: The reboot anime of Shaman King started airing in April and started streaming on August 9, 2021 Most of the cast from the original series reprised their roles in this adaptation Shaman King follows the story of Yoh Asakura who participates in the Shaman Fight tournament in order to become the Shaman King The Lucrea Shaman King Anna figure pre-orders will close on September 29