Born in Bavaria, I was a toddler during WW2, father never returned from the Western Front. A migrant to Oz in 1949, from the moment I was chosen at age 10 by my school to lay a wreath on Memorial Day and discovered my country had been instigators of two World Wars, I carried that German Guilt like a millstone, though I never once discussed it with anyone.
It’s there, it always will be, and surely, the Japanese people feel the same.
I understand your kannagara.
Their history schoolbooks deny any wrong-doing and in fact half the population doesn't even know about WWII... thinking Japan has always been a land of bunnies, Pamyu-pamyu, anime and weird porn. So it is doubtful that they feel anything at all about it.
I understand your kannagara.>>>>>>>>>>>>>
How wonderful. I believe you do. I was trained on that path by a Master, Shibata Kanjuro XX Sensei
http://www.tenyearsonestep.com/
Love you Fred!
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Makoto & Kannagara-no-michi
Shinto beliefs, then, are not centered around official creeds or codified systems of theology or ethics, but instead are a distinct sensibility that underlies an entire approach to life and the world. This can be captured not only with the phrase mono no aware, but also with the concepts of makoto and kannagara-no-michi.