From this respect people regarded the mountain itself as a sacred object. Regarding the reverence towards mountain kami, this began with an awareness of the mountain as an important water resource for rice cultivation. This long continuing value system has made it possible to protect the forests in such a way until present day. This is not only due to the Japanese climate or its mountainous geography, it is rather due to the influence of Japanese ancient civilization which respected the forest, treating it in a spiritual sense as well. When we think of the sharp decrease of the world’s forests, or the destruction of the tropical rainforests which have a grave impact on the environment of the planet, it is remarkable that 67 percent of Japan is still forested. There, the spirit of revering various kami, the land, nature, people, and, on top of that, the spirit of appreciation of the harmony among all these things was developed. So, it was natural that people developed the idea that they could make their society flourish only when they worked together, fully performing their role, but at the same time, helping and supporting each other. Therefore the relationship and connection between the natural environment and the people was that of blood kin like the one between siblings.Īgricultural society based on rice cultivation, like that in Japan, cannot exist without unification and harmony among all things on earth: mountains, rivers, the sun, rain, animals and plants, not to mention the cooperation among people. The ancient Japanese considered that all things of this world have their own spirituality, as they were born from the divine couple. A male kami and a female kami appeared at the end and gave birth to the islands of Japan as well as the natural environment and several more deities who became ancestors of the Japanese. According to the Kojiki, in the beginning of the universe there appeared various deities ( kami) from the chaos. In Japan, the Kojiki (The Record of Ancient Matters) is the oldest form of literature that presently exists. They transmit the spirituality of ancient ancestors to their ascendants accordingly mythology and legends are valued as the most important cultural heritage of the people. These geographic and climatic conditions are considered to have given rise to and influenced the development of the Japanese way of thinking and their attitudes towards nature as well as their conception of divinity.Įvery culture has its own mythology and legends. The climate is generally temperate, having clearly defined seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter, though there is a significant difference in temperature between the northern and the southern regions. In addition, forests cover nearly seventy percent of the entire landmass. Compared to its narrowness of land, Japan features a full variety of geographically diverse regions comprising seas, rivers, mountains, valleys, and plains. These islands stretch from the northeast to the southwest, together with about seven thousand smaller islands. Being situated to the east of the Asian Continent, Japan consists of four main islands- Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.
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