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Patron Deities, Episode 91: Japanese Mythos Wrap-up (Patreon)

Published:
2021-04-28 13:17:13
Imported:
2023-12
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Content

We conclude our journey through the Japanese Mythos section with a review that focuses on three key questions: 

- What's missing? (See last episode)

- Is this racist? (Not specifically, but it raises important points about the othering of Asian cultures in a kind of indirect way)

- What do we take away from this? (There are a lot of fun things about Japanese mythology and Shinto religious life that you can incorporate into your games!)

Comments

Steve

I think it's probably worse than you suggest. There's no mention of Christian deities and demigods in this book, out of respect for the living religion (unlike that English wargaming paperback with fighting stats for the BVM). It's fine for American kids to pretend they are worshippers for Amaterasu so they can whack bugbears with a katana. They've been Marvelised.

Elias Helfer

I mostly agree with you, except when it comes to Norse mythology. It's great for you to say Norse mythology is a foreign culture, Mr I Live in The Danelaw. The English language is saturated with references to old Norse, like the names of the days (Wednesday: Wotan's Day, Tuesday: Tyr's day etc.), and supposedly the reason English grammar is the way it is, is that the Danish conquerors couldn't handle all the old Saxon grammar. In that way, Norse mythology and language is a foundation for modern English, same as Latin and Greek. Which means that if you're in an English speaking culture, the Eddas are maybe not at the core of your cultural and linguistic heritage, but it's not exactly foreign either. Which is probably also why it's so prevalent, because it is not too foreign and not too familiar.

monsterman
>>58809449

I considered talking about how I was from an area that had some Scandinavian heritage, but I didn't think it was as relevant. Enough kids in my class probably had ancestors who came from actual Scandinavia that I don't feel the influence on Britain (and Ireland) is as important. But it's definitely there: heck, my brother has an Irish name that probably comes from an Old Norse original (he's called Ivor, which I assume comes from ON Ivarr). But I think that English enthusiasm for the Eddas comes at least in part from that 19th-century wave of romantic nationalism, and I think that's intimately tied into those ideas about who is and isn't "us." I am speaking here with a foot in two camps; I live in England and I'm an early medievalist, so I'm very aware of that aspect of our heritage. But I don't feel like we're giving Old Norse mythology short shrift, are we? And my other foot is over on the Pacific coast in a county that is 30% Asian-American. (As an aside, I don't think the days of the week are Norse in origin; both English and Norse weekday names come from a broader tradition that was current over northern Europe, derived from Roman weekday names. I am pretty sure they're in use in England before the Viking age.)

monsterman
>>58780046

Reverend Lovejoy: No, Homer, God didn't burn your house down. But he was working in the hearts of your friends, be they Christian, Jew, or ... miscellaneous. Apu: Hindu. There are 700 million of us! Reverend Lovejoy: Aww, that's super.