(no subject)
For some reason I ended up spending all morning randomly reading Ainu myths. X_x; After watching a lot of animu n'stuff I think a lot of people have a general idea of Japanese Gods and myths but, it's kinda interesting to see a lot of series taking in and making spin-offs of all these myths too. *^*
fyi, apparently there's about a total of 85,000 Gods/spirits living in Japan. O_o; At least there's that many temples and shrines registered. @_@;;
- Shinto (The Road/Path of God).
The Gods: The world was created by Izanami and Izanagi with their kids Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo.
The Belief: Live life the way it is. There are doings by God that even mankind cannot do anything about and humans will live within that natural cause.
- Tribal Gods/sprits:
The Gods: Ogres, tengus, kappa, Inugami, Nurarihyon (lol) etc.
The Belief: They are not there for worship, but for fear or protection.
- Buddhist/Hindu Gods:
The Gods: Buddha and a bunch of Hindu Gods (Kannon, Bosatsu, Myo-oh, Yasha, Shaka)
The Belief: It started off with just the Buddha then sudden all these other guys came into party and now there's a whole crowd of it. Basically, I really don't know how to explain this since it's not just Buddhism and it's not just Hinduism either. X_x; Half the time, most of these minor Gods are treated as Gate Guardians at temples and I really don't know what each of their roles are.
- Taoism/Onmyou-dou (The Road/Path to Yin and Yang):
The Gods: Seiryu, Byakko, Suzaku, Genbu, Fujin, Raijin, etc.
The Belief: The balance between the universe and the path of life. I don't know much about this one either. . . I know along the way, the whole belief of Taoism disappeared and only the traditions remain in modern day Japan. X_x;
- Ainu Gods:
The Gods/The Kamuys: Pirka Kamuy, ape huci kamuy, rep un kamuy etc. . .
The Belief: The Kamuys are part of their lives. ie: When the Ainu captures a bear, they believe the Kim-un Kamuy (The Bear God) has brought them meat and fur for them. Visuals and traditions are very close to Native American tribes, imo. D:
Hmm, I miss my Asian philosophy class. D: I wish there was like. . . a Japanese philosophy class. Personally, I do not have a particular religion or believe in 1 God or anything of that sort. If anything, I am Shinto-Buddhist. . . leaning towards Shintoism. I do believe there is some greater force we can't do anything about and we just have to live along with it. While some people may think. . . it's technically a religion telling you "BAD THINGS HAPPEN. SUCK IT UP." but uh. . . you gotta learn to accept that in order to MOVE ON too. x_x; Well, that's just my opinion. Granted, there is no "charismatic teacher/savior/leader" like other religions so, at a time of despair, relying on Shintoism is kinda hard. But, I think simple traditions based off Shintoism is what keeps Japan together at a time of despair like this too.
At least. . . that's what I would like to believe.
ps- I only thought about looking into Japanese religions/beliefs only because some moron online said that the whole "Pray for Japan" thing is stupid since we're all praying to the same God who destroyed Japan with a Tsunami. >_>;
uh . . . no? I think we're all praying to the. . . people who died and those who are trying to do their best to live and not some (insert name of a God here) who destroyed Japan or the world or whatnot.
Yeah yeah, getting all nasty about the internets is silly but, it just irked me. I was hoping the world is mature enough to not point fingers at (insert name of a God here). I guess according to this guy, we need to get mad at the 85,000 "registered" Gods that live in Japan. =/ Have fun trying to name all them.
fyi, apparently there's about a total of 85,000 Gods/spirits living in Japan. O_o; At least there's that many temples and shrines registered. @_@;;
- Shinto (The Road/Path of God).
The Gods: The world was created by Izanami and Izanagi with their kids Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo.
The Belief: Live life the way it is. There are doings by God that even mankind cannot do anything about and humans will live within that natural cause.
- Tribal Gods/sprits:
The Gods: Ogres, tengus, kappa, Inugami, Nurarihyon (lol) etc.
The Belief: They are not there for worship, but for fear or protection.
- Buddhist/Hindu Gods:
The Gods: Buddha and a bunch of Hindu Gods (Kannon, Bosatsu, Myo-oh, Yasha, Shaka)
The Belief: It started off with just the Buddha then sudden all these other guys came into party and now there's a whole crowd of it. Basically, I really don't know how to explain this since it's not just Buddhism and it's not just Hinduism either. X_x; Half the time, most of these minor Gods are treated as Gate Guardians at temples and I really don't know what each of their roles are.
- Taoism/Onmyou-dou (The Road/Path to Yin and Yang):
The Gods: Seiryu, Byakko, Suzaku, Genbu, Fujin, Raijin, etc.
The Belief: The balance between the universe and the path of life. I don't know much about this one either. . . I know along the way, the whole belief of Taoism disappeared and only the traditions remain in modern day Japan. X_x;
- Ainu Gods:
The Gods/The Kamuys: Pirka Kamuy, ape huci kamuy, rep un kamuy etc. . .
The Belief: The Kamuys are part of their lives. ie: When the Ainu captures a bear, they believe the Kim-un Kamuy (The Bear God) has brought them meat and fur for them. Visuals and traditions are very close to Native American tribes, imo. D:
Hmm, I miss my Asian philosophy class. D: I wish there was like. . . a Japanese philosophy class. Personally, I do not have a particular religion or believe in 1 God or anything of that sort. If anything, I am Shinto-Buddhist. . . leaning towards Shintoism. I do believe there is some greater force we can't do anything about and we just have to live along with it. While some people may think. . . it's technically a religion telling you "BAD THINGS HAPPEN. SUCK IT UP." but uh. . . you gotta learn to accept that in order to MOVE ON too. x_x; Well, that's just my opinion. Granted, there is no "charismatic teacher/savior/leader" like other religions so, at a time of despair, relying on Shintoism is kinda hard. But, I think simple traditions based off Shintoism is what keeps Japan together at a time of despair like this too.
At least. . . that's what I would like to believe.
ps- I only thought about looking into Japanese religions/beliefs only because some moron online said that the whole "Pray for Japan" thing is stupid since we're all praying to the same God who destroyed Japan with a Tsunami. >_>;
uh . . . no? I think we're all praying to the. . . people who died and those who are trying to do their best to live and not some (insert name of a God here) who destroyed Japan or the world or whatnot.
Yeah yeah, getting all nasty about the internets is silly but, it just irked me. I was hoping the world is mature enough to not point fingers at (insert name of a God here). I guess according to this guy, we need to get mad at the 85,000 "registered" Gods that live in Japan. =/ Have fun trying to name all them.