Not so long ago, the next E3 exhibition ended, which turned out to be rather mean on loud announcements. However, today we will talk about E3 of the distant 2006. More precisely, I want to recall one single episode that occurred at a press conference of Sony and subsequently became a real meme. In the midst of the conference, Bill Ritch reached the stage producer of the second part of the Japanese slasher Genji. Bill enthusiastically talked about a new project, focusing that this game is based on real historical events. At one point, a huge crab attacked the hero. Bill did not even led his ear and calmly explained that to meet a giant aggressive crab here is a common thing.
The roller with a giant crab instantly hugged, and Bill’s speech became a model of the self -confidence and unshakability should be told about things that are inappropriate for your words. Now it’s clear who I studied Todd Howard.
Today, no one will surprise anyone with the appearance of monsters, demons and ghosts in the next project created on the basis of a real history in the country of the rising sun. Game community is used to Japanese games. The abominant level of game in the work of samurai is favorably called in the West "Japanese". Today I will try to answer the question why all the same Japanese games are such "Crazy"?
Kojiki
And in order to find the answer to the question asked, we will have to go into the past, in 712, during the reign of Empress Gammei. It was this year that the Japanese storyteller Heda-but the Are interpreted, and the court about Yasumaro register the mythological and heroic epic of his people, the largest monument of ancient Japanese literature and the main sacred book.
Codziki consists of three scrolls.
The first scroll tells about the creation of the world and the Japanese islands. It says that initially all the gods lived in the heavenly world called Plain of the high sky. Below, that is, on Earth, there was only boiling water, tornadoes and tsunami, and the earth did not have any shape was worn along the waves. And the gods decided to stop this chaos and give the Earth the form, and laid this mission to the god Izanagi-but Mikoto and his sister the goddess of Izanami-no Mikoto. This two was handed a precious spear, and they went down from the sky, and began to interfere with the spear of water in the ocean, from this the earth thickened and turned into the island.
“On this island [they] went down from heaven, erected a heavenly pillar, erected spacious chambers. Then [Izanagi] asked the goddess of Izanami-but Mikoto, his younger sister: “How your body works?"; And when he asked like that-“My body has rusted, but there is one place that it has not grown,” she answered [she]. Then God Izanagi, but Mikoto said: “My body is rose, but there is one place that has grown too much. Therefore, I think, the place that has grown too much on my body, insert into the place that has not grown on your body, and give birth to the country. Well, we’ll give birth?". When he said so, the goddess Izanami, but Mikoto answered “this [will be] good!"
Smel down what about what about? In general, Izanagi inserted the Izanami, and they gave birth to mountains, forests, lakes, and animals, and fish, and people, and other gods, and called the land born Reed valley.
Then the ordinary divine Santa Barbara begins, as in any other mythology. The gods to fight, betray each other, kill, create alliances with people and so on. Izanagi cheat his wife-sister with his own daughter. Izanami dies with grief, she is buried in Hiba-Ima’s grief. She turns into an evil witch and mistress of the afterlife, called The country of yellow waters. Izanagi appoints his daughter the goddess of the sun Amateras the lord of the reed valley, but, as usual with the gods, they all quarrel for the right of throne. In the end, the gods come to the conclusion that none of them is worthy to rule the reed valley – this is the world of people, which means that a person must dominate it. The first scroll ends that the gods appoint the Lord of the reed valley and the first emperor Yamato direct descendant of the goddess Amateras, a man named Dzimmu.
Dzimmu is a real historical person, the first emperor from whom the Imperial dynasty of Japan, which is the most ancient in the world, leads his kind to this day.
The second scroll Already departs from divine showdowns and tells more about the mythological heroes-bundles and their exploits. In this scroll, along with legendary legends, very real historical events are also mentioned, for example, it is told about the rule of the Japanese leader Odzin.
The third scroll It is completely historical chronicle. It sets out information about the ruling dynasty and some historical events covering the period until 628.
Thus, Kodziki begins with fictional mythical events, and ends as a completely reliable historical document.
SHINTOISM
SHINTO – This is a native and main religion of the Japanese. In essence, syntosism is a classic paganism that any nation experiences at a certain stage. The main difference between synthoidism and other pagan beliefs is that he was able to survive the pressure of Buddhism and Christianity, and will remain to this day in almost his original form.
Toria ("bird nest") – ritual gates https://milyon88casino.co.uk/games/ installed in front of Sino sanctuaries.
Shinto implies that the whole world is inhabited by three forms of reasonable life.
The first form This Living people I think special explanations are not required here.
The second form This Immortal ancestors, That is, the spirits of the dead. Unlike other religions, Shintoism suggests that after the death of a person’s soul does not pass into another world, but remains in the reed valley. The souls of ancestors roam the earth and guard their descendants. That is why so many Japanese films and anime are dedicated to ghosts.
The third form called Kami These are immortal perfumes that can find their embodiment in any surrounding objects and phenomena. In fact, kami – these are the gods who need to read. The Supreme Kami goddess Amateras is the Sun itself, as in many other pagan religions. Many other kami subordinate to her. At the same time, the pantheon has no clear boundaries. Kami can live, both in general, the ocean or heavenly vault, and in a separate cobblestone lying at the crossroads of roads, or in an age -old oak in a local grove. Therefore, Japan is called the country of eight million deities.
Amateras Omki "The Great Honorable Divine, illuminating heaven"
From about the VI century, Buddhism came to Japan from China. It would seem such a strong and monolithic religion should completely absorb pagan synthoidism. In the 9th century, Buddhism becomes the main state religion of Japan. Despite this syntosism does not disappear, but on the contrary, continues to play the role of an ideological basis uniting Japanese society. Despite the respect provided to Buddhist temples and monks, the majority of the population of Japan continues to confess Shinto.
After the restoration of imperial power in 1868, Shinto again becomes an official state religion, and the emperor is proclaimed a living god on earth. For a minute, this is the second half of the XIX century. In Europe, the theory of the evolution of Darwin is already lobbying and the industrial revolution is rattling. In Japan, meanwhile, the living munctor God runs, schools are taught syntosism and introduce new holidays of veneration of the divine essence of the imperial surname. On such days, in educational institutions, a ritual of worshiping the emperor and the empress passing to portraits of rulers with the singing of the state anthem is performed.
"Big Buddha" ("Daibutsu") The largest statue of the Buddha in Japan, is located in the Kotoku-in temple in the city of Kamakura in the Kanagawa Prefecture
And even though by the end of the century, Japan has become a country free in religion, de facto syntosism and its traditions and rituals of veneration of the gods remain everywhere, up to the adoption of a new constitution in 1947, formed after the Second World War under the influence of the occupational American authorities. The emperor ceases to be considered a living god and supreme priest, remaining only as a symbol of the unity of the Japanese people.
To date, Shintoism in Japan is not supported at the state level, but still occupies a dominant position among other faiths. Many temples of different kami to this day function throughout Japan, they are supported by parishioners and a special association of Shinto temples. The vast majority of modern Japanese, if they do not believe in Shinto, then at least treat their native religion with respect. Needless to say, Shintoism had a huge impact on the traditions and mentality of the whole nation.
OKAE
The word OACE can literally translate as “what changes”. The Japanese called unusual kami this term in ancient times. As I said earlier, kami can be like just a cobblestone lying on the road, for example, as a whole forest. At the same time, kami does not change the original essence of the object, that is, if it is a stone, then it remains a stone, if it is a forest, then it remains a forest. But sometimes kami can change the very nature of the object and an ordinary stone on the road can suddenly turn into golem, and the forest will be filled with ghosts. Any unusual changes or deviations from the usual state, the Japanese called the term OCAE.
Mythical creatures, demons, very large animals, incredible tsunami power, volcanic eruption, people born with physical and mental abnormalities all this. But if foolishness or flood is a reality, although not quite familiar, then demons, vampires and werewolves are exceptionally fictitious, mythical creatures that later became called a separate term Yokai.
In fact, Yokai is supernatural creatures, objects, phenomena and generation of national folklore. They belong to the fuck Mystical animals (such as Kitsune – nine -tailed foxes), demons They, Various ghosts (such as Monoke – people who have become yoke under the influence of unbearable anger or longing), as well as all kinds of werewolves – Buckemono.
In every prefecture, in every clan, in every village, there were both their revered kami and their own yokai. In mountainous areas, one, in coastal others. And as Synthoism did not deny the existence of all this mystical evil spirits, but on the contrary explained its essence and origin, the Japanese believed in Yokaev for a long time, as well as the divine essence of their emperor.
Here you have one example that clearly describes the attitude of the Japanese towards fuckers. In 1872, in the midst of the restoration of Meiji (for those who do not know, I will explain that this is the period when Japan has come out of centuries -old isolation, abandoning traditional conservatism in favor of technological progress) during the construction of the first railway between Tokyo and Yokogama, the country’s authorities sent the priests to be cutting to the Russian Kodama, so that they do not interfere with the construction of the railway. A hundred years ago, most of the Japanese sincerely believed in the existence of spirits and werewolves.
Theater, cinema and anime
One of the most popular species of the Japanese theater, whose glory spread beyond Japan itself, is Kabuki Theater. If you look for analogies in Western culture, then kabuki can be compared with the musical in which singing, music, dancing and drama are mixed. Kabuki performers use complex makeup, costumes, gestures and manners carrying a large symbolic load.
The Kabuki Theater originated in the 17th century and grew up from the performance of the priestess of the perch, which daily went out onto the capital’s streets and repeated the same ritual dance of worshiping the deity of Peninusi. The priestess’s performance was so popular that soon she got a whole troupe, with which she began to play short musical and dance scenes telling everyday stories from the capital’s life.
Over the years, the Kabuki Theater has changed a lot. Women were forbidden to perform in it, and all the roles were exclusively played by mature men. An integral element of kabuki specific makeup appeared Kumadori. A traditional set of acting templates and expressions of emotions was formed, through their excessive exaggeration. However, the very essence of the production remained unchanged. Today, Kabuki, like hundreds of years ago, using folk songs and dances, tells stories from the life of ordinary people.
Yokai and Kami in the Kabuki Theater often appear on an equal footing with people. Here they, like all other attributes, carry deep symbolism in themselves, characterize human vices and benefactors, and their colorful images help to cause a brighter emotional response in the viewer. Agree, it’s much easier to show a vile and greedy person, if you imagine it in the image Nedzumi – Gemoloets of the half -lurks, or a violent villain, if you give him the appearance of the demon They.
At the beginning of the 20th century, cinema comes to Japan. Initially, Japanese cinema developed according to the laws of the Kabuki Theater. The manner of acting, costumes, images, symbolism and scenery were identical to theatrical, and all female roles were performed by men.
One of the ancestors of the Japanese cinema director Seszo Makino began to gradually exclude theatrical elements from the cinema. And by 1930, Japanese cinema completely moves from traditionalism to realism, and subsequently develops according to the Western model.
Tusingura: True History "The Director of the Director of the Director Steszo Mukino, who was released on the screens of Japan on March 14, 1928. The plot of the film is based on folk tradition about the 47th Ronins of the Avengers for the death of their master. Unlike modern Hollywood remake, Tyusingur is one of the first Japanese films shot in a realistic Western style
But the traditions of the drama do not disappear completely. Firstly, the theater itself continues to observe them, although it is inferior in popularity to cinema. And secondly, already in the 20s in Japan, a multiplier is emerging, which adopts most of these traditions. The first appear Anime.
Katsudo Shashin short animation consisting of 50 frames. Created in 1907. Information about the author has not been preserved. It is considered the very first anime.
Namakura-Gatana two-minute comedy film 1917. One of the first anime.
The animation of Japan is different from the animation of other countries, first of all, in that it is focused not only on children, but also on a more adult audience, and also represents a developing cultural layer that includes many unique, traditional Japanese culture of plot and ideological symbols, a set of stereotypical images and thoughts.
And now we finally get close to our question. Why Japanese games are such "Crazy"? The answer is that the game industry, like the animation in Japan, has followed the path of traditionalism, not realism, as a movie. Why claim the laurels of realism if you are still limited by a huge number of game conventions? At the same time, the possibilities of programming and computer graphics allow in all its glory to show those same traditional images, emotions, ideas and plots that distinguish Japanese culture from any other. It is these images, emotions, ideas and plots that we are called Japanese. It is they who often cause misunderstanding and rejection, a person is not used to them. And it is they who are the uniqueness and attractiveness that fascinates all lovers of anime and Japanese games.
Traditionalism and realism in history
The attitude to history among Japanese historians, and indeed orientalists, differs from the Western. If for a Western person a story is an accurate science that goes hand in hand with realism, then the Japanese have a little different. Their kodziki is considered a historical source and is studied in educational institutions. This is the same if in Russian schools history taught in the Bible and Slavic myths, mixed with reliable historical documents.
We are used to the fact that if history does not have reliable sources confirming this or that event, then such an event is considered the mythological and scientific community in the calculation is not accepted. As an example, the famous Trojan war for a long time was considered a myth, and the very existence of such a city as Troy was called into question, while the archaeologist Heinrich Schliman was excavated by the ruins of Troy, then the Trojan war was officially recognized as a real historical event.
Japanese historians in this regard are more liberated, and they easily refer to mythology and religion if they do not have other more reliable sources. They think as follows. We do not know what happened before the first emperor Jimmu, so let the gods and their feuds be, why not? After all, people living in those days really believed in all this. It is unlikely that today progressive Japanese sincerely believe in Yokaev and Kami, but for them it is part of the traditional history to which they relate with deep respect.
Therefore, do not look for realism in Japanese games, it is better to try to find the meaning and symbolism that developers, artists and screenwriters of the country of the rising sun put into their unique images.