Sunday, April 24, 2011

The Peach Orchard

I saw this video as relative to the aspect of the idea that humans, nature, and spirits are set on a continuum. In Shinto, there is no division between these three realms because they each belong to spirituality. This is shown when the boy sees the sixth girl, though there are only 5. She is symbolizing the alliance between human nature and the nature of the spirits. When followed, she and the boy return to the peach orchard, which had been destroyed by his family. There they are greeted by gods, again symbolizing the link between humans and spirits. The gods, through a ritual, recreate the peach orchard for the boy, solidifying the continuum of human, spirits, and nature. All are connected and each are effected by the other.
This story could also show the sin of destroying sacred grounds of the gods. The boys family was shunned by the gods; they will never return to their home.Yet, because the boy was remorseful and innocent, the gods had mercy and revealed the orchard to him one last time.

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