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Japanese mediums are vanishing

jimtron

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jimtron
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Mar 9, 2005
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And not by magic. From today's NYT: As Japan's Mediums Die, Ancient Tradition Fades.

These spiritual mediums seem out of place in a hyper-modern nation better known for bullet trains and hybrid cars. Found only in peripheral areas like this volcano on the far northern tip of Japan’s main island, and only dimly known to most Japanese, the itako are among the last remaining adherents to ancient shamanistic beliefs that predate Buddhism and modern forms of Shintoism, Japan’s two main religions, historians say.

They have survived government efforts to stamp them out, as well as the continuing disdain of many Japanese, who look down on them as charlatans who trade in superstition. Even the deputy abbot at Bodai-ji, Mount Osore’s temple, said the itako were not connected to the temple, which he said only tolerates their presence.

Now, however, even these last remaining itako are vanishing. Only four graying itako appeared at Mt. Osore’s weeklong summer festival this year, three having died of old age in the last year. Worse, the only practicing medium younger than retirement age — 40-year-old Keiko Himukai, known among believers as the last itako — stopped coming this year for health reasons.
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I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, its fantasitc to see woo beliefs being thrown out the window. On the other hand, these sort of woo practitioners that are deeply rooted in traditional culture bring a value to society in terms of the mythology they hold and understanding of traditional views they can have. Hopefully the woo will die out but the rich cultural heritage will remain.
 
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I've seen one on television show long time ago.
Her cold reading was not very sophisticated...
 
You'd have thought they'd have seen it coming a long time ago...


... sorry I had to :D
 
LightinDarkness said:
On the other hand, these sort of woo practitioners that are deeply rooted in traditional culture bring a value to society in terms of the mythology they hold and understanding of traditional views they can have. Hopefully the woo will die out but the rich cultural heritage will remain.
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I'm not sure I agree with this. One of my long-time pet peeves is the adherence to, and perpetuation of, useless and/or detrimental crap in the name of "rich cultural heritage." This seems to be a prime example of that. I suppose it depends on how much value you place on things like mythology and understanding of traditional views, vs. the backward and potentially harmful baggage that comes with them. Personally, I value the former a whole lot less than I value the absence of the latter.

In this particular case, I had never even heard of this specific practice before reading this thread... but there was nothing in the article that made me think anything but "good riddance."
 
So all they have is Japanese smalls, larges and XL, now? Any 2X or 3X?
 
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