Spirituality – Paganism

What is Paganism?

Some refer to Paganism as “the old religion”. I am inclined to both agree and disagree. Paganism is a broad label that incorporates many different religions. The definition given by the pagan federation is as follows;  

Definition of Paganism: A polytheistic or pantheistic nature-worshipping religion.

The reason for the confusion is that many who choose to worship more ancient religions usually fall under these conditions. It also has to be said though that there are two branches in at the very least in my personal opinion to Paganism.

The first branch is what is commonly referred to as  “Neo-Paganism” literally just meaning; “New Paganism”. This is when Paganism is used in the way above.

The second is when Paganism is followed as it’s own defined religion. In this case Pagan follows very closely with the old religious practices of western Europe (primarily). Wicca is specifically “the old religion” that worships the goddess/gods and practices witchcraft. Usually many Pagans will cross-over with Wiccan, although not all Pagans believe in or preform witchcraft thus not defining themselves as Wiccan but they will follow the “Wheel of the Year” in celebration of the Earth and the Gods along with the Wicca Religion.

This is the biggest reason for the crossover is that both follow this same Celtic Calendar and both follow closely with Celtic practices. Due to following such similar practices Paganism as well could be rightly defined as “The Old Religion” but it shouldn’t be confused with Neo-Paganism because as the Neo implies it’s rather new.

In summary, Paganism is both a label accepting all nature-loving polytheistic religion and defining it’s followers, and it is a Religion unto itself, usually taken on by the youth of Celtic heritage to rediscover their roots and be closer to the Gods and the Earth. The two do also play into one another, Paganism can lead to other paths, and a formerly undefined spiritual view that falls into Paganism can progress to following Pagan Practices.

No matter the God or Gods you follow, blessings to you.

 

 

 

 

Japan – The Japanese Religion Shinto-Buddhism

The oldest religion in Japan is 神道 (Shinto) also known as 神の道 (Kami no Michi). This translates respectively to Way of the Gods/Spirit and Road of the Gods/Spirit. Shinto was first written about in the 古事記 “Kojiki” and 日本書紀 (Nihon Shoki in the 8th Century but the name of “Shindo” has been used since the 6th.

Shinto is a polytheistic religion that worships the (“kami”) this word translates in English as gods, and the Kojiki certainly speaks of entities as if they were Gods, but Kami are also spirits of nature for use of a better translation and it is usually easiest when considering Shinto to think of Kami as Kami. Although the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki outlines important Kami such as;

お伊弉諾 (Izanagi) – The First Man

お伊弉冉 (Izanami) – The First Woman

お天照大神 (Amaterasu) – The Sun Kami

お月夜見 (Tsukuyomi) – The Moon Kami

おスサノオ (Susanoo)- The Kami of Storms

お八幡 (Hachiman) – Kami of War

お稲荷様 (Inari) – Kami of Rice

There are many others and even the rivers, rocks and trees carry an essences of Kami. What you do find however is that certain “truths” in regards to Shinto and what “Kami” are is not strictly agreed upon and there are two reasons, one is that in Modern Japan Shinto is giving way to Buddhism and other religions and so as it becomes less important the original ideals get blurred and the second is that Shinto is broken down into separate Sects and each different Sect is noted to have slightly different ideas. There are far too many Sects to state but each important clan within Japan would usually have their own sect to demonstrate their ideas, but also many sects formed out of Buddhist ideals this continued until the war, and then as the Modern times came yet more sects formed to incorporate even newer ideas even now, new Sects are being formed.

I stated previously that Shinto was giving out to Buddhism, but this is not strictly true, so  allow me to expand on my point. 仏教 (Buddhism) was introduced from both China and Japan and in 587 the Japanese court accepted it into Japan, later Confucianism and Buddhist ideals were written into the Japanese constitution was a way of ensuring prosperity and peace to the nation. The official religion of Japan was henceforth known as “Shinto-Buddhism”. What is evident both from history and from first-hand experience of living in Japan is that all Japanese are born Shinto, and Shinto is important to them, but Buddhist ideals within the religion became a lot more important and a lot of the old Shinto ideas remain important either out of tradition or that they are so ingrained into Japanese culture, that the Japanese would call it “cultural” rather than Shinto. Buddhist ideals however tend to be still solidly identified as “Buddhist”.

Religions: Shintoism 83.9%, Buddhism 71.4%, Christianity 2%, other 7.8%
Note: total adherents exceeds 100% because many people belong to both Shintoism and Buddhism (2005)

Most Religious Japanese; at a guess 70% or so are Shinto-Buddhism and so you can take from that 70% of Shinto and Buddhism but then bear in mind for many, the Shinto is quite Buddhist heavy. Those who worship  Shinto solely are about 13% or so. Also however in Modern Japan many confess to being “Non-Religious”.

Shinto by no means is dying out in Japan, it is just very different from ancient Shinto and ever changing, but this is similar to many world religions. Shinto is in fact also very slowly gaining a Gaikoku (foreign) following from Gaik0kujin who have lived in Japan, and thus slowly spreading to outside of Japan.

 

 

Feature Artist – Collin Bogle

Si belle…

“Foxglove” by Collin Bogle.

 

I just discovered an amazing Artist known as Collin Bogle through one of my Facebook pages. You can scroll and buy his Art on his website here; http://www.collinbogle.com/

Here are some of my other Favourites!

Japan; Kobe City, The Port City.

 神戸市 ー 港町 Kobe City – The Port City

Country: 日本 Japan

Area: 京阪神 Keihanshin

Prefecture: 兵庫県 Hyogo

ハーバーランド（夜) Harbourland at Night.

 

Kobe City is the fourth largest city in Japan and is part of the Keishin Metropolitan area, it is the most famous port in Japan and remains one of the most international cities next to Tokyo. Many ships still port in Kobe bringing people from all over the world to this bustling Japanese city. The heart of Kobe is known as 神戸三ノ宮 (Kobe Sannomiya) This is a place of large buildings, many shops and at night many beautiful lights. Fashion is a big deal in Kobe so there are many clothes shops in Sannomiya and a monthly fashion show held in the city. As part of Sannomiya also stands the most important place in Kobe’s history 生田神社 (Ikuta Shrine) This was the founding place of Kobe City which at that time was known as Hyogo Port. To this day Ikuta shrine is important to the city and the locals, and it holds many local events and festivals.

Following up from Sannomiya is 元町 (Motomachi) Ikuta shrine sits in the middle of the two places and Motomachi literally means “Origin Town” it is similar to Sannomiya with many shops but is known for it’s large Daimaru department store and it’s long arcade. In the long arcade street you will find many wonderful shops, on of the only places I personally know to sell reasonably-priced fruit in Japan, and the Kikat shop which is a much given Japan’s renown of having different Kitkat flavours. Motomachi is also home to 南京町 (Nankinmachi) the China Town in Kobe with a large chinese community Nankin has authentic buildings and food as well as a large chinese new year festival.

Following on from Motomachi is the most famous and well known place in Kobe. The Port with an English name known as ハーバーランド (Harbour Land). Harbourland has many seafront malls, but also, the famous Port Tower (see above) and Naka Pier that I swear is horribly misnamed. Naka meaning inside, but it is very much outside and very long so perhaps Nagai Soto (Long Outside) Pier. I should start a Mayor electoral campain “out with false advertising”. I digress. This really is a lovely place, and one thing that hit me was that the Sea was actually blue! Imagine that! If that is not impressive enough for you Harbourland also has delicious pancakes and a Studio Ghibli shop.

山から神戸港を見ている Looking at Kobe Port from the Mountains

 

If you move away from Sannomiya in the other direction you will approach  新神戸 (Shin Kobe) from here you can go up Mount Rokko on the Ropeway and visit the Nunobiki Herb Gardens, a beautiful fairytale-like setting with European buildings and an abundance of beautiful flowers and herbs. The opening times and sights are different in Winter compared with Summer, but it is always beautiful and a sight worth seeing.

Another place worth a visit is 王子公園(Oji Koen) if you like Animals, Oji Koen is know for it’s zoo and it had Red Pandas and Giant Pandas alike as well as Snow Leopards and a Polar Bear to name a few, I say that it is a place to go if you like animals, as an animal lover I really enjoyed it BUT the zoo was very small as you would expect being in the middle of a city, and they decided to put many many animals in this small zoo meaning the enclosures are tiny and not suitable, which made me rather angry myself. Proceed with caution I would say.

Last on my list of beautiful places in Kobe is 六甲 (Rokko). Rokko not only provides another ropeway up Mt Rokko that provides a stunning view of Kobe but it is also a very quiet and pretty district. The river flows from the Mountains all the way through Rokko and Nada Districts by means of a beautiful stream that runs down in little waterfalls, also little steams run alongside the streets and under peoples houses, following the main river just 20 minutes will take you to the sea. On a rainy day this water world is rather magical, streams of rainwater run down the roads whereas the steams and rivers now run fast with excess water down the mountain and through the districts, beautiful sounds, as the water flows all around and on a sunny day this district of water sparkles like jewels.

六甲ー世界の水Rokko -The World of Water

 

 

六甲山 Rokko Mountain