Traditional Japanese Spiritualism
A Japanese female writer encountered mysterious incidents around her about 40 years ago such as rapping and impossible movement of goods. She tried hard to stop the phenomena. She asked many conjurors, faith healers, persons with spiritual ability, etc. to wipe out and drive out evil spirits. It took about 20 years for her to get rid of evil spirits and mysterious troublesome incidents. It was an old male conjuror of shintoism (a Japanese inherent generic religion based on ancient shamanism on which Japanese emperor's traditional religious authority was built) that succeeded in fixing the trouble through his prayer at her residence. The evil spirits were completely wiped out and she can live in peace to date. She wrote her experiences in her books. Now she believes in the afterlife and existence of spirits while she is at her late 90s.
If Europeans and Americans met this kind of mysterious and troublesome incidents, they should ask exorcists or special Christian priests. But in such cases in Japan, people asked professional conjurors, faith healers or special priests of shintoism, special monks of Buddhism, or other persons with spiritual ability in other religions related to shintoism or Buddhism. Indeed, in Japan where about only 10% of the people are Christians, spiritual matters have been handled mostly by priests and monks of shintoism or Buddhism or religions related to shintoism or Buddhism.
There are many Japanese who are interested in spiritual matters. There are may works of art, comics (manga), animations and videos, novels, etc. where spiritual matters are handled. And there are about seven million Japanese pages and posts in the internet where spiritual phenomena or experiences are presented or reported.
The Japanese history is full of incidents related spiritualism. The first Japanese queen regnant recoded in a Chinese official history book in the 3rd century was depicted as she governed the nation with shamanism and her spiritual ability. Although it is not yet proved that her regime was the origin of the Japanese imperial family, early Japanese official history books written in the 8th century present various spiritual incidents around emperors. Cursing and imprecation were common practices when the capital of Japan under emperors was in Nara in the 8th century and before. In order to get rid of cursing and imprecation by enemies, the emperor at the time moved the capital to Kyoto in 794, but cursing and imprecation never ceased.
So, the imperial family and noble people hired many professional conjurors, faith healers or special priests of shintoism, special monks of Buddhism, etc. Kyoto was full of cursing and imprecation. This situation allowed samurais (warriors or Japanese knights) with military power to get power, since their direct exercise of their physical forces proved more effective. In this way, political power shifted from the imperial family to samurai clans in the late 12th century. But, samurais also relied on spiritual power of priests of shintosim and monks of Buddhism. Especially, when Mongolians tried to invade Japan in the 13th century, the then samurai regime asked all the priests and monks of shintoism and Buddhism to pray for Japan and the samurai regime. As Mongolian troops from China and Korea were attacked by strong typhoons, their fleets were destroyed and their soldiers were defeated. Japan was saved, and since then Japan has never been attacked by Chinese and Koreans as well as Mongolians.
So, all the Japanese people came to believe that Japan was protected by spirits of shintoism and Buddhism; this belief continued till Japan was defeated by the U.S. and its allies in WWII or when the Empire of Japan surrendered in 1945. However, special priests and monks were also mobilized in WWII to put a deadly curse on American leaders, and the then President Roosevelt died suddenly and mysteriously before the end of WWII. But Japan had to suffer atomic-bomb attacks in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Yet, people in the Japanese society did not give up their belief in spirits in shintoism and Buddhism. They know that there are also evil spirits in addition to good spirits. Those who were assured that they could spiritually connect to good spirits often established their own religions. And those who believed that they were attacked by bad spirits often relied on such religious people for help. And the female writer is one of them.
However, the effect of cursing or imprecation is not officially admitted by the Japanese government. Yet, some Japanese tend to resort to professional conjurors when they want to cause troubles to others. Indeed, if Japanese were Ukrainians, they would pray to spirits or deities of shintoism or Buddhism to exercise their destructive power on Russian leaders and soldiers. However, its effect is not assured.Matthew 8, King James Version
28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.
31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.
32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.
33 And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.