For the Shinto blog assignment, I chose the video “Sunshine Through the Rain.” The video starts with a young boy standing outside in the sunshine and the rain. His mother comes outside and tells him that he should stay home, because the Foxes often like to have their wedding ceremonies during weather like that, and that they do not like it when people witness these ceremonies. Nevertheless, the boy goes out into the woods, and happens upon one of these ceremonies. When he returns home, his mother tells him that one of the Foxes came by the house, and is angry with him for seeing the ceremony. She tells him that the Fox left a dagger for him to kill himself with, and that she cannot let him back into the house until he has been granted forgiveness by the Foxes. She warns him, however, that the Foxes rarely forgive, and that he should be prepared to die. The child wanders off in search of the Foxes to ask their forgiveness.
At first I was a little confused, and unsure of how this related back to Shinto (especially since I missed the lecture on Shinto), but I’m going to do my best here. Shinto ethics are very important and are taken very seriously. Those who do not follow this strict set of ethics are often punished very severely. Shinto myths are used to instill these ethics and to reinforce them. The story of the little boy is one that reinforces the ethics of obedience and respect. These are things that seem to be held in very high regard in this culture, as shown by the fact that the mother won’t let her own son back into the house until he receives forgiveness, and that she accepts the fact that he may have to die. His crimes of disobeying his mother’s orders, and disrespecting and angering the Foxes is punished harshly, with the worst punishment (in our eyes) of all – death. However, in Shinto, death is not the worst punishment; dishonor is far worse. Suicide is very common in occasions of dishonor, as shown by the expectation that the boy will kill himself because of what he has done.
I also missed the lecture on Shinto and it was kind of hard to get the necessary information to do the blog. I agree that it links to Shinto about following the rules very strictly and if you don't then the consequences are harsh.
ReplyDeleteThe thought of punishment for grevious sin is evident, but also evident is the Shinto emphasis on the strongest and most awe-inspiring aspects of nature being embodied by Kami. For instance, the Rainbow, a majestic, rare, fleeting and powerful symbol of nature, is the home of the Foxes. For some, the rainbow at the end would have just been another beautiful part of nature after a sunshower, but for the boy, it was a very ill omen.
ReplyDeleteI like that you brought up the fact that disobendience and dishonor is not tolerated in Shinto. Hence why the boys punishment was so severe.
ReplyDeleteI also liked that you pointed out dishonor is worse than death. Ultimately, dishonor leads to purposeful death. It's interesting in the United States, that death is extremely hard to deal with, and somewhat taboo. Along with that, dishonor happens on a daily basis, and we just deal with it.
ReplyDeleteI as well missed the lecture on Shinto, but this story of the young boy sounds good. I think we recently just learned that samurais take dishonor far more serious than death and they would gladly take there own life to restore their honor. It is very hard for me to understand that concept, because I think that I could just live with that dishonor, but we are not in the same time period.
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