It is so easy to forget about the "unseen" in this modernized world. The "unseen" doesn't necessarily mean God, or anything religious. As I wrote before, there are numerous spirits in Japan (expressed as the "Eight million Gods"). There are also many local "YOKAI"s, which are creatures that can be seen occasionally. YOKAI are different from ghosts, since they are alive and usually represent natural phenomena or certain types of people, rather a folklore than religion. People of the Edo period "saw" YOKAI often, and there are many documents left. Some examples (and please note that this is not the one and only explanation) would be a RYU (dragon) meaning flooded river, KAMAITACHI meaning a wind that cuts your skin. The boundary between god and Yokai is very vague. That is how close human was with natural phenomena. Nowadays, western science will analyze everything into categories, but there are things that cannot be explained so clearcut. The relation between nature and human should be like that too. Human is a part of nature, and of course there are many things that cannot be explained. Of course there are things that cannot be seen. It is time when we remember the existence of these unseen creatures and feel a sense of awe toward the magic of the natural cycle. YOKAI, just like nimphs and fairies, disappear when less people believe their existense. Let's leave some space in our heart for them...
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