Interview with the Translator: Hills of Silver Ruins: Fate

Kate: In Hills of Silver Ruins, Gyousou reflects, “He felt like someone had delivered orders from on high for him to live, whatever the odds.”

Of course, in Gyousou’s case, this may be literally the case! And it raises the issue of fate.

The cliché is that Asians are utterly logical, in part because there are a large number of Asians in America in the sciences. But science doesn’t automatically exclude a belief in the paranormal, as Conan Doyle proved.

On Mythbusters, Grant was far more likely than the other Mythbusters to credit ideas like hypnosis—or at least, give them a try.

Of course, individual beliefs don’t immediately connect to cultural beliefs or racial background. Yet there is that whole “Blood Type” theory that never fails to slightly weird me out when I’m reading biographies in manga.

How do Japanese feel about fate, horoscopes, and other paranormal ideas?

Eugene: The paranormal is no less pervasive in Japan, as demonstrated by the popularity of The X-Files. The theme music has since become an universal indicator of spooky subject material. As you noted, the "blood type personality theory" is treated as seriously in Japan as your astrological sign, meaning sort of by most, but only to a point.

When I first lived in Japan, one of those "We're not in Kansas anymore" moments came when I noticed all the fortune telling booths that popped up around the train stations after dark. Fortune telling (both the Eastern and Western variations with Tarot cards and crystal balls) is part of popular culture, as is the "daily horoscope."

Many of these are cultural imports from China, such as the unlucky number four (a homophone for "death"), and lucky and unlucky calendar days. Though eight as a lucky number isn't as big in Japan as it is in China.

Perhaps the most Japanese of good luck charms is the o-mamori, small cloth or paper amulets sold at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. There is an o-mamori for every cause and occasion (and price point). Parents buy them for their children who are taking entrance exams. They often become prized heirlooms.

Two other popular activities at shrines and temples are ema and o-mikuji. Ema are wishes written on wooden blocks and hung from boards around the shrine until they are ceremoniously burned. During the Tanabata festival (July 7), wishes are written on strips of paper called tanzaku and tied to the branches of bamboo trees. 

O-mikuji are fortunes printed on strips of paper and randomly selected from a box containing numbered sticks (each about the size of a pencil). Shake the box, extract a stick, and match the number to the fortune. Unlike o-mamori (which are treated seriously), o-mikuji are generally done for fun, like your horoscope.

During a groundbreaking ceremony, you can expect to see a Shinto priest purifying the construction site. The Shinto equivalent of the Buddhist butsudan (home altar) is the kamidana (home shrine). It is still common to find small kamidana inside commercial buildings, located on a high shelf or alcove.