I just read Haruki Murakami’s *after the quake*, which is inspired by the 1995 Kobe earthquake and the subsequent sarin gas attacks by Aum Shinrikyo. Murakami uses these events to explore how humans respond to terror, both natural as manmade.
With the sarin gas attacks Aum Shinrikyu were hoping to bring forth the apocalypse. They saw the Kobe earthquake as a sign from God that their time had come. They seem to have similarities with the Yevon cult in Final Fantasy X, considering they both seem to have a motivation towards repentance through human sacrifice. Their vehicle to control followers, Sin, also has this two-fold representation of being a force of nature, but as we later learn is actually manmade.
Both pieces were released around the turn of the millennium. Then there is Neon Genesis Evangelion, which also deals with similar philosophical issues, which was released in 1995.
I also learned recently that Shinzo Abe’s assassin motivation was Abe’s ties and promotion of Moony cult values. The assassin himself was a son of a mother who gave all her money away to the Mooney cult instead of providing for her children.
Then, there’s the film Silence (Martin Scorcese, 2016), which seems to suggest Japan has a problematic history with cults and religion in general.
This has raised some questions for me. First, how big is this issue? Is this a recent phenomenon or has this been going on for ages? Second, how does Japan deal with these issues? Are they addressed or simply swept under the carpet until the next problem comes up? Third, how should I interpret these media exploring personal responsibility/freedom versus national duty? Are there any teachings that could provide insight into how these Japanese artists would be inspired to form these representations? And lastly, are there any books or other forms of media I can consult on this? As someone who often wonders about these things on a personal level, this topic deeply fascinates me. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
by PugsnPawgs