Japanese Folklore & Shinto Mythology in Anime – (Talking in Japanese & English) 神道と民話とアニメの話し（日本語と英語)

Talking about the different Japanese folklore, shinto symbols and mythology in anime. Starting from “What is Shinto”, we look at the most common shinto symbols we have noticed in anime including, trees, mountains, Torii, Miko, Tengu, Tanuki etc.アニメのさまざまな日本の民間伝承と神道の象徴について話します。 「神道とは」から始めて、木、山、鳥居、巫女、天狗、たぬきなど、アニメで私たちが気づいた最も一般的な神道のシンボルを見ていきます。



Japanese Mythology Anime



Anime has a close relationship with Japanese mythology. Anime can be traced back to the traditional Japanese art and forms such as Kamishibai. It became more popular around the world in the late twentieth century and by the 2000s had evolved into a greater cultural phenomenon.



In Japansese mythology there are many gods, goddesses, demons and monsters that have been depicted throughout time through different mediums such as paintings on scrolls or silk screens on sliding doors.



Anime’s use of symbolism is a reflection of the Japanese Buddhist and Shinto religions. The traditional themes in anime are destruction, rebirth, death and reincarnation. Anime often deals with morality issues such as the consequences of violence, the rightfulness of revenge and struggling against destiny.







Mythology Anime Mentioned in Podcast



もののけ姫 Princess Mononoke天空の城ラピュータ Laputa Castle In The Skyぽんぽこ Pom Pokoトトロ My Neighbor Totoro千と千尋の神隠し Spirited Away天気の子 weathering With You有頂天家族 The Eccentric Family犬夜叉 Inuyashaかぐや姫 The Tale of Princess Kaguya鬼滅の刃 Demon Slayerくまみこ Kuma Miko: Girl Meets Bearデスノート Death Note君の名は Your Name我が家のお稲荷様 Our Home’s Fox Deityググれコックリさん Gugure Kokkuri-san温泉幼精ハコネちゃん Onsen Yosei Hakone-Chan繰繰れ! コックリさん Gugure Kokkuri-San有頂天家族 The Eccentric Family境界のRinne Kyoukai no Rinne神無月の巫女 Kannazuki no Miko



Japanese Mythology Topics Covered in Talk



00:00:00 intro



00:01:30 What is Shinto?



00:02:15 Connection between shinto and buddhism



00:10:50 What does “Do you believe in god mean?”



00:15:40 What is the difference between in yokai and kami?



00:19:21 Miko 巫女



00:24:55 Princesses 姫



00:30:50 Dolls & Robots 人形とロボット



00:34:04 Rocks 石



00:35:00 念 Unfinished business



00:36:00 Wells & Sarayashiki 井戸と皿屋敷



00:37:45 Wells & Inuyasha 井戸と犬夜叉



00:42:15 Trees 木



00:44:20 Mountains 山



00:46:05 Tanuki たぬき



00:47:20 Ghibli, Miyazaki, environmentalism & Shinto



00:54:00 Foxes 狐



00:55:25 Deer 鹿



00:57:00 Crows カラス



01:01:00 Frogs カエル



01:06:00 Torii 鳥居



01:16:20 Christian imagery



See our list of the top 25 Shinto Anime .And discussion of Shinto symbols and their meanings here.