Forest Bathing by Hector Garcia

Author:Hector Garcia
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

PART FOUR

The Philosophy of Shinrin-Yoku

Shinto Spirits

Japan is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, yet as contradictory as it seems, tradition continues to carry a great deal of weight in all aspects of Japanese life. And it’s remarkable that the two worlds rarely collide. The new blends harmoniously with the old: geishas using smart phones, school girls dressed in yukatas11 and schoolboys in jinbei12 in the summer, touch screen vending machines at the entrance to Buddhist temples, or professors walking around university campuses in wooden getas13.

Respect for ancestors and tradition in general is ubiquitous in Japanese culture, and it’s a value inherited from the Confucian religion originating in China. Another value embraced throughout the country is respect for nature, and this is inherent to Shinto, Japan’s native religion. It can seem contradictory at first that a country having some of the largest megalopolises on the planet respects nature. But it turns out that Japan, despite being among the ten most developed countries in the world, has the largest area of forests and mountains, with 67% of its territory being forest cover.

Among the many themes addressed by Studio Ghibli productions, one is common to almost all of its films: nature. Spirited Away contains a very direct allegory: spirits contaminated by human trash have to be cleansed at the thermal baths. In Princess Mononoke, most of the action takes place in the woods where all kinds of creatures live, including kodama, tree spirits numbering in the hundreds, thousands and even millions. In Japan, belief is not in one all-powerful God; Shinto is an animistic religion in which spirits inhabit mountains, trees and rivers.

Ghibli is Shinto, nature, Japan.

A Call to the Spirits of Nature

When travelers who have just arrived in Japan enter a Shinto shrine, which is usually austere, even minimalist, they are often surprised by its bareness. Accustomed as Europeans are, in our case, to our impressive cathedrals, we might well think: is that all? But as visitors learn to value the simplicity of Shinto, they find that the beauty of its shrines begins to resonate in their hearts. The purpose of the Shinto shrine is not to overpower nature as something superior. It doesn’t consist in demonstrating to the natural world what we humans are capable of, as many Western constructions attempt to do. On the contrary, Shinto shrines are intended to be integrated into nature in the most subtle way possible, for the purpose of calling to the spirits residing there to come communicate with us.

In Shinto, humans are part of nature, which we must honor as something superior while accepting that we are only part of its creation. Alan Watts makes a reflection that summarizes that vision well:

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