Twelve Kingdoms: Interview with the Translator, The Problem of Evil

Kate: In The Shore in Twilight, Risai (with good reason) is very upset about the unfairness of life and blames Heaven. The response, though kindly, is basically, “This is life. Get over it.” 

The problem of evil is a constant theological problem. How does Japanese culture handle the problem? Is there more of a “accept it—move on” attitude? Does Catholic original sin resonate better than Protestant hand-wringing on the same topic?

Americans (with their very Protestant culture) have currently turned original sin or the “natural” man into a kind of idol, as opposed to a condition--something that requires obeisance. The thinking seems to be that once everybody gets on-board and agrees to wallow in their narrative of evil, utopia will follow. 

It seems to me that The Twelve Kingdoms rejects this tidy solution. Instead, the thinking is, Don’t worship at the altar of original sin, even the original sin of your own guilt—it’s tacky. Utopia won’t follow. Get over it and do your job.

Thoughts?

Eugene: Japan almost seems to delight in irking its neighbors by refusing to wallow in the sins of the past. Its own sins, that is. John Dower discusses the roots of this attitude at length in Embracing Defeat.

In Buddhism, desire and ignorance lie at the root of all human suffering. This is summed up in the Four Noble Truths:

1. 
   Suffering, pain, and misery exist in life.
2. Suffering arises from attachment to desires.
3. Suffering ceases when attachment to desire ceases.
4. Freedom from suffering is possible by practicing the Eightfold Path.

The Eightfold Path consists of pursuing and mastering the Right understanding, Right thought, Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, Right concentration. Right thought points back at the Four Noble Truths. This is the way the world is and it's not changing anytime soon. But two through eight are addressed through individual effort.

Pure Land Buddhism, the most popular sect in Japan, arose from the belief that there is no world that is not corrupt, so rebirth on another plane, the Pure Land, is the goal. The focus is on getting there. What it is doesn't matter much, only that it's better than here and so is worth striving for.

As in Angel Beats, the effort is on confronting the Four Noble Truths with the Eightfold Path so as to ensure the best outcome for your reborn self. Everybody in Angel Beats lived short, unfair lives, but that is irrelevant now. They can't fix society. They can only address their own failings. A major failing is being obsessed with the bad things that happened to them in mortality.

Angel Beats doesn't actually mention any of this specifically. But that's the road they eventually realize they all have to follow to move on.