It is time to express our strong spirit - Hafurimeku on April 20th

Lecturer: Kenji Nanasawa, Representative Director of General Incorporated Association Shirakawa Gakkan
Editor: Parole Editorial Section, Yasushi Ohno, supervisor

Q.
Looking at the world today, people in this country seem to follow the direction of the government without any questions. Chinese firms have been buying firms in Europe. I believe that Japan is facing not only an economic crisis caused by the coronavirus, but also a crisis of our nation's survival, namely, that of the possibility of being taken over by another country. My question is what attitude should I have to survive this critical situation?

A.
Coronaviruses are not the only topic of concern, as the current situation can be considered a kind of war. In fact, there are reports that the U.S. 7th Fleet has arrived in Guam, and that Chinese aircraft carriers have moved to the Pacific Ocean. In short, this virus has triggered problems not only medically, but also in economic and military arenas, which are starting to escalate.

In order to avoid further military problems becoming more serious and provoking war, the fundamental stance of each country must be called into question. In particular, it is time for Japan to ask what the “dignity of the nation” means.

The Olympics have been postponed and the time frame for the event is no longer valid. Can our country recover its honor? Also, what can we do to regain our national dignity? That is a grave question.

In order to do so, it is essential to restore the memory or “spirit” of the nation as Japanese. That is the key to restoring dignity in Japan.

Given that a collection of individual personalities forms a society and a nation, maybe Japan's future role is to manifest the “spirit” that underlies each personality as the root of human existence.

The spirit here refers to the Five Souls: Aramitama (rough soul), Nigimitama (tranquil soul), Sakimitama (auspicious soul), Kushimitama (wondrous soul), and Kuwashimitama (the soul integrating these four souls). Each of these five souls has its own characteristics. How to sharpen this spirit and show it to society with dignity will become very important in the future.

Amaterasu, for example, has a graceful side, hiding in Amano Iwato, and also has a rough side, breaking Susanowo's sword into three pieces. The latter is exactly the work of Aramitama. This is an example of how a person's spirit (soul) is comprised of various aspects.

What I am trying to say here is that it is time for us to express the strong spirit that is driven by the rough spirit. The Japanese have DNA with the wonderful properties of being honest, down-to-earth, and compassionate. But these qualities alone cannot survive this time of hardship. The mind must be well-balanced and energetic. Since we have five souls, it is also important to express our anger when appropriate.

Japanese Version

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Kenji Nanasawa
Born in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture in 1947. After graduating from Waseda University, he completed a Doctoral Program in the Graduate School of Letters at Taisho University. He developed an information processing system based on knowledge modeling of traditional medicine and philosophies and is a researcher of religious studies. He is involved in developing a next-generation system for digitizing language energies. Mr. Nanasawa re-established the Shirakawa Gakkan as a research institute for the study of the court rituals and ceremonies carried out by the Shirakawa family of Kyoto, a noble family that oversaw the Jingi, an office for religious rituals, for 800 years from the mid- Heian period to the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. He currently serves as the representative director of Shirakawa Gakkan and CEO of the Nanasawa Institute, among other positions.

He has written and served as the editorial supervisor for a number of books, among them Why Do Things Go Well with Japanese? Knowledge Modeling Inherent in Japanese Language and Culture (Naze nihonjin wa umakuikunoka? Nihongo to nihon bunka ni naizai sareta chishiki moshikika gijutsu) (Bungeisha). Also, he is the supervising editor of Three Works on the Study of Hebrew from a Shinto Perspective (Shinto kara mita heburai kenkyu sanbusho) (by Koji Ogasawara), and co-author with Koji Ogasawara of Princess Otohime of the Dragon Palace and Urashima Taro (Ryugu no Otohime to Urashima Taro).