Week 3: Asian Horror - Vengeful Spirits
Please write a post on your blog (350-500 words long) that discusses the assumptions of the work you read for this week. Do the assumptions of the work—the nature or even the existence of good and evil for instance—reflect a different cultural orientation than that expressed in "western" horror or the gothic? In what specific ways do the assumptions seem to differ?
In the short story Diplomacy from Kwaidan, we see the assumption that hateful resentment will lead to a restless spirit, therefore haunting and taking vengeance upon the person they hate. A man is about be beheaded and tries to scare the samurai (who is about to behead him) by cursing him and saying he would avenge the samurai as a ghost if he killed him. I believe this is similar to the cultural orientation expressed in western horror. We oftentimes see that the backstory or history of a haunted location or person has to do with a spirit dying in hatred and vengeance and cursing the individual, an item or descendants after they die. This concept and assumption is also present in the short story Of a Mirror and a Bell. When a woman kills herself after feeling guilty for not donating her mirror wholeheartedly, the text explains, "You must know that the last wish or promise of anybody who dies in anger, or performs suicide in anger, is generally supposed to possess a supernatural force." This further proves the Japanese belief that the soul will not be at peace if one dies in anger or hatred.
In another short story, The Story of Mimi-Hashi-Hoichi, a blind biwa player, Hoichi, plays for the dead without realizing it, once the priest taking care of him realizes this, he writes down holy texts on Hoichi to protect his body. They wrote with brushes on (almost) every part of his body the holy sutra Hannya-Shin-Kyo to protect Hoishi. This shows the assumption and relation of the supernatural to religion. With these Japanese and Asian horror stories, they seem to rely on Buddhist or Shinto religions to protect them from spirits. In Western horror however, they are mostly based on the Christian religion when it comes to protection. Although they are different religions with different beliefs, we see a item of protection that comes into use against evil. With this story, Hoichi is covered in holy text, which is seen to prevent the spirits from attacking him. In western horror, we see the symbols of crosses, the Virgin Mary and holy water used, and Biblical text isn't used as much for protection purposes.
Finally, the short story Jikininki, shows the strict rituals after death that must be followed, out of respect for the deceased, and in fear for the living. The assumption that not having a priest perform a ritual for the dead will could potentially cause evil to bestow upon the dead body and those who are present is showcased in Jikininki. The texts states, "We make the proper offerings and prayers; then we go away, leaving the corpse alone." It then continues depicting the ceremonies and rituals and offerings the priest completed, but then a strange "Shape" visits. This is generally the belief of East-Asian culture. In Hong Kong culture, we perform numerous rituals according to the individual's religion. In Buddhism, they open the gates of "hell" with a priest setting fire in the middle of the ceremony to burn paper dolls/items for the dead. But no matter what religion the funeral practices are performed under, we also have a tradition of having a "解穢酒" which basically means to get rid of the evil spirits by having a meal together at a restaurant (usually). The assumption and rituals are definitely different from the Western traditions regarding death. From what I know, the grieving and mourning period is more of a individual thing that the family deals with alone. However in the Asian funerary rituals, there is a long period of time where the family members will kneel in front of the body/casket as mourners (who knew the deceased) will come in to pay their respects...therefore dragging out the process.
In the short story Diplomacy from Kwaidan, we see the assumption that hateful resentment will lead to a restless spirit, therefore haunting and taking vengeance upon the person they hate. A man is about be beheaded and tries to scare the samurai (who is about to behead him) by cursing him and saying he would avenge the samurai as a ghost if he killed him. I believe this is similar to the cultural orientation expressed in western horror. We oftentimes see that the backstory or history of a haunted location or person has to do with a spirit dying in hatred and vengeance and cursing the individual, an item or descendants after they die. This concept and assumption is also present in the short story Of a Mirror and a Bell. When a woman kills herself after feeling guilty for not donating her mirror wholeheartedly, the text explains, "You must know that the last wish or promise of anybody who dies in anger, or performs suicide in anger, is generally supposed to possess a supernatural force." This further proves the Japanese belief that the soul will not be at peace if one dies in anger or hatred.
In another short story, The Story of Mimi-Hashi-Hoichi, a blind biwa player, Hoichi, plays for the dead without realizing it, once the priest taking care of him realizes this, he writes down holy texts on Hoichi to protect his body. They wrote with brushes on (almost) every part of his body the holy sutra Hannya-Shin-Kyo to protect Hoishi. This shows the assumption and relation of the supernatural to religion. With these Japanese and Asian horror stories, they seem to rely on Buddhist or Shinto religions to protect them from spirits. In Western horror however, they are mostly based on the Christian religion when it comes to protection. Although they are different religions with different beliefs, we see a item of protection that comes into use against evil. With this story, Hoichi is covered in holy text, which is seen to prevent the spirits from attacking him. In western horror, we see the symbols of crosses, the Virgin Mary and holy water used, and Biblical text isn't used as much for protection purposes.
Finally, the short story Jikininki, shows the strict rituals after death that must be followed, out of respect for the deceased, and in fear for the living. The assumption that not having a priest perform a ritual for the dead will could potentially cause evil to bestow upon the dead body and those who are present is showcased in Jikininki. The texts states, "We make the proper offerings and prayers; then we go away, leaving the corpse alone." It then continues depicting the ceremonies and rituals and offerings the priest completed, but then a strange "Shape" visits. This is generally the belief of East-Asian culture. In Hong Kong culture, we perform numerous rituals according to the individual's religion. In Buddhism, they open the gates of "hell" with a priest setting fire in the middle of the ceremony to burn paper dolls/items for the dead. But no matter what religion the funeral practices are performed under, we also have a tradition of having a "解穢酒" which basically means to get rid of the evil spirits by having a meal together at a restaurant (usually). The assumption and rituals are definitely different from the Western traditions regarding death. From what I know, the grieving and mourning period is more of a individual thing that the family deals with alone. However in the Asian funerary rituals, there is a long period of time where the family members will kneel in front of the body/casket as mourners (who knew the deceased) will come in to pay their respects...therefore dragging out the process.
You bring up an interesting point! I didn't even make the connection between American horror and Catholicism (though I don't watch a lot of horror movies so it makes sense). The Buddhist themes do play a heavy role in these stories and that's an aspect about them that I like. They teach you about Buddhism and Japanese customs while also providing an entertaining plot. I believe the best stories accomplish both entertaining and teaching very well, so these stories have my seal of approval.
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