I just heard a BBC radio piece referencing this 10 minutes ago. Found the web link [1]
My quick naive gaigin interpretation is that OP is a Northern festival and the BBC one is a central Japan festival, so maybe both are evolving distinctly due to demographics. Both seem to involve naked chanting men in the cold at Shinto shrines.
Maybe same core Shinto festival concept at different places. Like Carnival/MardiGras happens distinctly at multiple cities.
ETA: Clarifying, the Japan Times reported the Northern shrine is ending the festival due to aging. The BBC reported the Central Japan festival is including women (via their own agency).
Is it inherently so bad for men and women to have their own spaces that we can use phrases like “finally allow women” for a ceremony started 1,000 years ago?
This isn’t a job listing. Or a right like freedom of speech. Those should be available equally to everyone. It’s (cultural) festival. I see nothing wrong with it.
Yes, it is inherently bad, based on the grounds that women and men are equal and the vast majority of all distinctions drawn between them are completely specious. It would be like a festival that excluded people based on other equally made-up and unimportant differences like hair colour, eye colour, skin colour or nationality.
Celebrating/wanting cultural erasure in the name of liberal thought blows my mind.
If people want a festival for having brown eyes have at it. People such as myself have no cultural or religious ties to anything. My heritage is “American”. My co-workers are all isolated at home throughout the country.
We’re social creatures. We need /something/ to give bearing. Even if it is silly!
And to be clear. Human rights should apply to anyone and everyone. Regardless of what/who/where you are. Or are not. Our world needs more equality, equity, and solidarity. But made up social events surely don’t belong under “human rights”.
It's sad that traditions disappear. Like the 40 years old tradition of "knock on the head" at Ruginoasa, Romania. This video's from 2005, when men were still men and authorities weren't interfering with folklore: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmWOWNx9lSk (skip to 12:20 for real action)
The tradition has been banned by the authorities (AFAIK) because someone was put in a coma a few years ago. I'm guessing he is referring to men still being allowed to fight back then? Maybe it was (still is) seen as virtuous for men to fight? I dont know
One of the most beautiful parts of Japan is the mix between the old and the new. Japan maintained not just the physical parts of its root (buildings, objects, etc.) but also the human traditions and culture and social aspects.
It also preserves the bad parts, like xenophobia and racism and work culture. But it what make them unique and fascinating to an outsider.
When I see stuff like this I can't help but feel that the world is sick, and the disease is modernity. Unfortunately I suspect that modernity is terminal, and the best we can hope for is hospice.
Imo ppl were thinking the same when roman empire fell, "the world is sick, we'll never be that great again" and to some extent that's true, on the other hand- other great things happened in all areas, be that renaissance or nuclear power or solar panels or trains or many many others
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[ 3.9 ms ] story [ 47.1 ms ] threadMy quick naive gaigin interpretation is that OP is a Northern festival and the BBC one is a central Japan festival, so maybe both are evolving distinctly due to demographics. Both seem to involve naked chanting men in the cold at Shinto shrines.
Maybe same core Shinto festival concept at different places. Like Carnival/MardiGras happens distinctly at multiple cities.
ETA: Clarifying, the Japan Times reported the Northern shrine is ending the festival due to aging. The BBC reported the Central Japan festival is including women (via their own agency).
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68378651.amp
Is it inherently so bad for men and women to have their own spaces that we can use phrases like “finally allow women” for a ceremony started 1,000 years ago?
This isn’t a job listing. Or a right like freedom of speech. Those should be available equally to everyone. It’s (cultural) festival. I see nothing wrong with it.
If people want a festival for having brown eyes have at it. People such as myself have no cultural or religious ties to anything. My heritage is “American”. My co-workers are all isolated at home throughout the country.
We’re social creatures. We need /something/ to give bearing. Even if it is silly!
And to be clear. Human rights should apply to anyone and everyone. Regardless of what/who/where you are. Or are not. Our world needs more equality, equity, and solidarity. But made up social events surely don’t belong under “human rights”.
It also preserves the bad parts, like xenophobia and racism and work culture. But it what make them unique and fascinating to an outsider.