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Japanese culture
has a rich religious and mythological history, drawing from Eastern
religious systems such as Hinduism and Buddhism and a folklore partly
shared with China and other historical neighbors. More recently,
ideas generally thought of as 'Western' - Christianity, mermaids,
and curious space aliens - have joined the party.
Collectively,
these elements of religion and mythology are crucial to anime and
manga, whether they are an important aspect of the story, or simply
are part of the implicit cultural background material.
Why it
Matters in Understanding Anime
Belief in kami
(roughly, gods) was common until relatively recently in Japan, and
can still be seen in nostalgic, atavistic anime such as My
Neightbor Totoro
or Princess
Mononoke.
However, this notion of godliness is drastically different from
the general monotheism of Western traditions; what the Japanese
call a god would probably be labeled a 'sprite' or 'elemental' in
the West. The O Totoro and the Forest God are, after all, more or
less the same thing characterized two different ways. The supernatural
is associated with - or rather, integrated into - the physical world.
This is just
one example of the ways in which Japanese assumptions about the
order of the world, past and present, might confuse an uninitiated
viewer.
The Importance
of Context
Every culture
has a state religion or two that, even if it is not really observed
or believed, powerfully informs both the structure of society and
the thoughts of the people who constitute it. In America, this is
the Judeo-Christian tradition; for Japan, it is Buddhism and Shinto.
This understanding is crucial for two reasons.
First, there
is a host of customs, allusions, and metaphors implicit in anime
derived from the Buddhist or Shinto tradition. To the extent that
anime is a production and reflection of Japanese culture, it carries
Eastern religion as its default mode of supernaturality.
Of course,
Judeo-Christian elements are popular, even pervasive in anime. Indeed,
some productions, such as Revolutionary
Girl Utena
and Neon
Genesis Evangelion,
are in terms of plot nothing but re-envisionings of Judeo-Christian
myth. And to somebody brought up in the Judeo-Christian worldview,
they seem really strange.
They are strange;
but to the target audience, almost none of whom are Christians,
the tradition is a foreign one. It's an appropriation of somebody
else's religious system, much like Star Wars or a host of
Disney animated films.
This also means
that if you understand Japanese religions a little better, you'll
understand a lot more about Japanese storytelling and productions.
An Example
and an Exhortation
In Card
Captor Sakura,
Sakura and Li use mantras and mudras - ritualistic hand poses -
to invoke the powers of the Clow Cards. In Shinto, mantras and mudras
are used to invoke the powers of the good gods; because Clow Cards
are summoned in this way, they are fundamentally good. This is crucial
to understanding what's really going on in Sakura, and is
presented symbolically.
If you want
to know more about the spiritual and religious aspects of anime,
a little work in the library will go a long way or, if you'd like,
you can even begin on
the web.
-Brian Kerr 
References
Martinez, D. "Gender, Shifting Boundaries and Global
Cultures." The Worlds of Japanese Popular Culture. Ed. D.
Martinez. Cambridge UP, 1998.
Ortabasi, Melek. "Fictional Fantasy or Historical Fact? The Search
for Japanese Identity in Miyazaki Hayao's Mononokehime." A Century
of Popular Culture in Japan. Ed. Douglas Slaymaker. Lewiston:
Mellen Press, 2000.
Potter, David. "Who in the World is Hasekura Tsunenaga? Presentation
and Appropriation of Local Symbols in Provincial Japan." A Century
of Popular Culture in Japan. Ed. Douglas Slaymaker. Lewiston:
Mellen Press, 2000.
Card
Captor Sakura
My
Neightbor Totoro
Neon
Genesis Evangelion
Princess
Mononoke
Revolutionary
Girl Utena
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