Introduction:
While there wasn’t too much about Norihide-sensei online, I did discover that he is actually a musician who produces what he calls “laptop folk” music. His music is on Spotify and Bandcamp. It is fascinating to me that one can be both a Shinto priest and an electronic music artist. I wonder if there is any connection between his two professions, or if one inspires the other. According to his Spotify description, “interpretations of Norihide’s music have suggested that this juxtaposition of the acoustic and the digital deliberately echoes the contradictions of the nature worship of the musician’s faith with the ultra modern aesthetics of his home city of Tokyo.” This seems to be an excellent point to ask questions about, particularly in reference to the theme that seems to keep coming up in our discussions: modernity vs. tradition.
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Reflection:
We participated in a Shinto prayer and discussed the concept of kotoagesezu. Some resonated with this concept, while others found it more challenging. In keeping with this spirit, we will make this reflection brief, so as to preserve our memories and allow you to build your own with this new concept in mind: