Living as Japanese

I was born as a Japanese. I am going to write how the world looks like from my eye as Japanese.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 225: Together with the nature

I am not sure whether you believe or not, but ancient Japanese were all telepathists. Through winds, the sky, smell of air, touch of water etc., they got messages from the nature which we think incarnations of gods.

If we are purified enough, it is easier for us to hear these messages. However, if our mind is full of junk information, we hardly hear them. Unfortunately, the present is the era when we are very away from the nature and got to lose this ability, but still, some of them keep having this.

Just throw away your stereotype ideas, return to pure yourself and dive yourself into circumstances which are made by the nature, then you may hear something different from the usual. In this case, hear is not using your ear, but using your mind.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 224: The awe of the nature

It is very difficult to explain, but sometimes I really feel the awe to the nature. Today is the day I feel so.

While I see the sky, I feel an infinite power from it. How huge, how large and how powerful it is!

Even scientists explain the phenomena of the sky, clouds and wind, the thing I feel is beyond it.

Let’s throw your body and mind into the sky. You may feel something overwhelming you mind.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 223: Emotions are necessary to learn words

When you try to understand Japanese spirituality, you may first hit a barrier against Japanese unique words.

Unfortunately, there is no equivalent English word to these Japanese words. Therefore, we need to explain meanings of them to use various English words and this process makes more difficult to understand Japanese spirituality, or sometimes meanings of them might be conveyed misunderstandingly.

Do you know how we learn a language? I think you never realize how you learn words. But if you watch the process closely, we realize we always learn words with our emotions. Without these emotions, we cannot catch the core meaning of words. Because Japanese words are composed by these emotional senses.

To catch these meanings, we need to let our mind make a move. Emotions and meanings are always related to understanding.

It is said this kind of learning is established by latter teenage. Thus, it is said it is difficult to learn Japanese spirituality for people who grow up outside of Japan. Even for Japanese, if they haven’t grown up in Japan while their childhood, they cannot get this sense to understand Japanese words related to Japanese spirituality.

This is why it is said difficult to understand Japanese spirituality.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 222: No difference between animals and human beings

Have you ever watched “Life After Death with Tyler Henry” at Netflix?

In that program, he said “human beings are also an animal”. This is what he said when he read a lady who really loved her dog.

When I heard this, the world is the same. Sometimes, we human beings think that we are special, but not because we are also one of animals.

Where’s difference between us and them? This connects to one of ideas of Japanese spirits, and which we should not forget. What do you think?

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 221: When wind blows

Can you imagine that we can see cherry blossoms only after 1 month and a half …? However, as we walk around, we will feel another spring will come soon.

I think this kind of sense to feel is most important for Japanese spirituality, but unfortunately this sense has been diminished gradually.

As we consider about our daily life, it is rather important to earn money, but keeping with a sense that we are a part of the nature is important for the earth, I think.

If you have a time, I recommend you to feel and smell the wind which blows.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 220: Something connects

There are so many things related to Japanese spirituality, which is understood as Shinto and I cannot explain all, but whenever I join hands with gods, I feel something.

It happens in my mind, but I believe it connects to something. When I think of this, it is okay that I cannot explain it because I think it is the things which we cannot explain with present science and some others.

Anyway, this kind of feelings which we feel is important for Japanese spirituality. If you are interested in this kind of feeling/intuition, I strongly recommend you “Zen in the Art of Archery”. Because I believe it is one of books which explains you this kind of feeling.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 219: God of snow

Today it is snowing ouside. Then, it recalled me that I wrote about the thunder and the wind gods the other day.

We Japanese believe all the natural phonemena are related to gods. Therefore, we think, today, the god of snow happily plays around.

And after snowing, snow provides huge blessings to mountains and water. Therefore, we Japanese think snowing is one of gods' works and thank the natural phenomena .

This idea is one of Japanese Spiritualities.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 218: First spring day

Today was a cold day. We had a snow in the morning in Tokyo. It was a very short time, but it was enough to realize a winter has come.

However, today is a first spring day in lunar calendar. We already greeted a spring under a calendar. Of course, it is difficult to feel a spring, and also tomorrow will be colder than today. However, we Japanese expect a spring comes soon.

Anyway, February is a coldest season in Japan. We will have cold days from now on.

Please take care of yourself not having a cold etc.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 217: Setsubun (節分)

Tomorrow is Setsubun. In the mean of lunar calendar, it is the end of a year. A new year will start after Setsubun.

When I think about Setsubun, I feel curious about Japanese culture because Japanese culture accepts almost everything. Setsubun is related to the lunar calendar, but we normally use and follow the solar calendar. I mean we Japanese make good at both calendars.

I can say the same thing to religions. Shinto is thought as Japanese original religion, but at the same time, we accepted Christianity, Buddhism and others and we enjoy every ritual festival of them. I think this is rare comparing with other countries.

But if we think about Japan is the country which host more than 8 million gods, it would be natural for us to accept others.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 216: Ishin-denshin (以心伝心)"

Yseterday, I wrote about 4 letter idioms. “Ishin-denshin (以心伝心)” is one of famous 4 letter idioms. Ishin-denshin means “being able to share minds of each without using letters and language”.

It is kind of telepathy, but most of Japanese people had this kind of ability before. Unfortunately, as time has gone by and science has been replaced with this, we have lost this ability gradually, but still we can find this ability in the words of KY, “Kuuki Yomenai”.

KY means to read people’s minds through atmosphere and behave accordingly. This is, I think, totally different from other country cultures.

Anyway, if you master this skill, you can survive in Japan even you are not Japanese.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 215: Japanese 4 letter idioms

In Japan there are various kinds of 4 letter idioms. Only 4 letters, but the meaning which contains is huge.

The reason why it contains full of meaning is each letter contains various meanings. It means "various meanings" multiply "various meanings" equal huge number of meanings…

If this idea is difficult to understand. Let's think of a mathematical formula. It is the same idea as it.

Each formula does not mean for people who does not know its meaning, but for people who know the meaning, it tells a lot of things.

4 letter idioms are same. So, tomorrow, I’d like to write about “Ishin-denshin (以心伝心)”, which implies we Japanese might be a psychic since ancient time.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 214: Thunder god and Sind god

In Japan, since ancient era, we believe all alternations of the weather are handled by each god. I am not sure you have heard a “thunder god”, and a “wind god”. These 2 are very famous gods which handle the weather. Besides these 2 gods, there is a dragon god. This god is related to rain and water.

Ancient Japanese prayed for a dragon god when they did not have any rain, lands were dried out and they couldn’t cultivate any crops.

Once a dragon god listened to our pray, the dragon brought rain over lands. Also this dragon god was not only one. There were many dragon gods over all Japan and each dragon god had their own character.

Thus, the figures of a dragon god are different in each area.

The more you learn these folklores, the more you are interested in Japanese spirituality. Therefore, I cannot stop learning Japanese folklores, especially related to gods.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 213: Amaterasu-Oomikami (天照大御神)

There is the old saying that “the sun watches you” in Japan. In this case, the sun means the god called “Amaterasu Oomikami (天照大御神)”. It is believed Amaterasu Oomikami is a god of the sun and shines all over lands on the earth.

Long, long time ago, this god hided in a cave because she was really angry with her brother’s violent behaviors. Because of it, there was no sunshine at all over the land. There became no difference between day and night. People had to spend their time in the dark and were scared of darkness because evil spirits could behave actively.

This is a very famous story written in Japanese old history book. If you are interested in Japanese spirituality, let’s have a look of the book called “Nihon-shoki (日本書紀). You will find amazing stories related to the origin of Japanese spirituality and be fascinated to the world of Japanese ancient stories.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 212: Coldest season, February

I was amazed that we will have cherry blossom season only after 2 months. Can you imagine that?

At this moment, we have cold days, but only 2 months later, we have cherry blossoms! It means we do not realize the alternation of climate, but the nature keeps changing day by day.

And now, at this moment we are going forward to a coldest season in a year. But that coldest season is only a month duration. So, let’s enjoy the season which we can enjoy only now.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 211: Advantage of geographical differences in Japan

This morning, my sister sent me pictures of snow at the same time pictures of blue sky. These are the pictures she saw from a window of Shinkansen. As these areas are only 10-15 min away, she saw 2 totally different sceneries. She was amazed the difference and impressed variations of Japanese nature.

This shows richness of Japanese nature. Thanks to these geographical differences, we can enjoy blessings from the nature, especially about foods in Japan .

Do you know how many different local cuisines in Japan? So many. You might be surprised that you can taste so many different cuisines in such a small country like Japan. Also, Japanese sake. Each local area has their own cuisines and Japanese sake which goes with the cuisines.

So, if you really want to enjoy Japanese sake with foods, let’s select the sake which is made from the same area where foods are cultivated and obtained.

Foods make Sake more delicious than drinking with sake where comes from other area. Let’s try this selection and enjoy how different tastes of sake change from the same area and different area.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 210: Winter and summer solstice

Did you realize the length of day time has got longer and longer day by day comparing to last December? In Japan there are 2 days; winter solstice and summer solstice.

The day time becomes shorter and shorter as it goes forward to a winter solstice and after a winter solstice, the day time gets longer and longer.

The difference of a length of day time is very tiny, but we definitely feel the day time becomes longer than before.

In December, it gets dark around 4:30pm, but in January without notification, it becomes around 5:00pm.

It is only 1 month, but not only 1 month. There is already 30 min difference. Then, we feel another spring come again in such phonomena and that expectation makes us happier.

I believe this is blessings of the nature which can be felt in Japan where physically sits at unique position in the world.

[yumi-funiu]

Living as Japanese 209: Tyler Henry - Life After Death"

These days I often watch Netflix program “Tyler Henry – Life After Death”.

At the beginning, it was only practices to listen to English, but as far as I got to understand contents, it became more than practices. His talk is really connected to Japanese spirituality, I think and I learn many things from him.