When Japan was Black (Jomon, Ainu)

Black Kamakura Buddha Daibutsu, 1885, Amitābha

(African History Fountain)

• Buddhism in Japan
• Jōmon period of Japan
• Ainu people of Japan

DNA study reveals Japan's 1st inhabitants

Japan is perhaps best known for this giant metal Buddha statue originally built indoors.

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Let's see what the ancient written record says

Were the kami "ancestors" the first to arrive on the islands, followed by Shinto priest-shamans to deal with them? Were the "white" Ainu in Japan before the East Asian Japanese there today? Yes. Were the Ainu aliens from neighboring Russia? No. Or could the first inhabitants of Japan come from the Koreas, China, Mongolia, Taiwan, or Tibet? If only science had a means of looking at the DNA code and giving a reliable and replicable answer to these mysteries.

Genome study cracks the mystery of Japan's first inhabitants

Kami Shinto temple, Fushimi Inari shrine, Kyoto

Some of the earliest inhabitants of Japan came from the Korean peninsula, according to a new study that sheds more light on ancient immigration patterns to the archipelago.

• [This is in line with what the Koreans have always been saying about themselves, that they were the progenitors copied by Japan and China, not the other way around. Where did the Koreans come from?]

Japan may be an international travel hub for business and pleasure today, but the islands were relatively isolated until about 3,000 BC.

Its earliest inhabitants were the Jomon people, a collection of hunter-gatherer societies that lived an isolated life on the islands since 14,000 BC.

• [What about the mysterious "white" Ainu people, who look like a blend of Russian shamans and Asians?]

It wasn’t until the Yayoi and Kofun periods between 3,000 BC and 538 AD that immigration to the islands from continental Asia started.

More than 80 per cent of the genomes of modern Japanese people consist of ancestries related to East and Northeast Asia. How the Japanese population acquired these ancestries and what was the pattern of early immigrations that contributed to them has long been a matter of debate.

Science has its say

The new study, published in the Journal of Human Genetics, analyzed the genome of a person dating to the Yayoi period whose remains were uncovered at the Doigahama archaeological site in Yamaguchi prefecture.

Scientists from the University of Tokyo compared this individual’s genome with those of ancient and modern populations in east and northeast Asia. More:

• Genome study cracks the mystery of Japan's first inhabitants
• Archaeologists are too scared to open up the tomb of China's first emperor guarded by thousands of terracotta warriors Archaeologists are terrified to open the tomb of, in the Shaanxi province of China.
• VIDEO: Floating bridge thrills in Zhejiang, China
• The lost island of Atlantis may have been found 2 kms under the ocean
• MSN.com, 10/14/24; CC Liu, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

How "Japan" began (documentary)

Voices of the Past, March 26, 2023; Pat Macpherson, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

After the ecstasy, the laundry. Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water... After, the same.

The Entire History of Ancient Japan

(Voices of the Past) Written by Thomas Lockley. Check out his fantastic book on Yasuke: amazon.com/-/es/Geoffrey... Edited and designed by Manuel Rubio. Narrated and script edited by David Kelly. Thumbnail image by Ettore Mazza (ettore.mazza). Images by Alex Stoica, Bilal Erlangga. Kofun imagery made based on [mapps.gsi.go.jp/maplibSearch.... National land image information (color aerial photographs)]. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism.

• 00:00 Introduction
• 04:52 Beginnings
• 11:07 The Shaman Queen 297 AD
• 16:15 The Rise of Buddhism 552 AD
• 21:50 The Fall of Korea 663 AD
• 27:39 Choosing A Capital 736 AD
• 37:45 Rise of the Emishi 774 AD
• 46:48 Embassies to China 717 AD
• 52:43 The Heian Court 1000 AD
• 56:59 Shogun 1184
• 1:02:12 Horsemen of the Apocalypse 1274

References:

• Christensen, J.A (1981)
• Nichiren. Leader of Buddhist Reformation in Japan. Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing Company. Farris, W. W. (2009)
• Japan to 1600. A Social and Economic History. Honolulu: Hawai’i University Press. Harding, C. (2020)
• The Japanese. A History in Twenty Lives. London: Allen Lane. Kumar, A. (2009)
• Globalizing the Prehistory of Japan. New York: Routledge. Matsumoto, H. (2009)
• The origin of the Japanese race based on genetic markers of immunoglobulin G. Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Available from: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... Needham, J. and Ronan, C. A. (1995)
• The Shorter Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 5. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kirkland, R. (1997)
• The Sun and the Throne. The Origins of the Royal Descent Myth in Ancient Japan, Numen, 44, (2), 109-152. Sei Shonagon (tr. Arthur Waley.) 2011
• The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon. Tuttle: Tokyo. Soka Gakkai. The Nichiren Library. Available from: nichirenlibrary.org/ World History Encyclopedia.
• Daily Life in Ancient China. Available from: worldhistory.org/article... Wang, Z. (2005)
• Ambassadors from the Islands of the Immortals. Honolulu: Hawai’i University Press

#ancientjapan Get up to 60% OFF Babbel subscription (bit.ly/41JqAlc) and start speaking a new language in three weeks 🎉

Forbidden: Humankind began in Australia?

Zohar StarGate Ancient Discoveries; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

What is this great realm we find ourselves living in? It's not what we were taught!

Forbidden History: Did humankind start in Ancient Aboriginal Australia?
Nexus Magazine Conference/UAMN TV

Based on a fresh examination of both the genetic (DNA) and archeological evidence, a startling conclusion can be reached: Modern humans originated in Australia not Africa. 

No less than 50,000 years ago, the very first Homo sapiens set sail from Australia. These people were responsible for the development of religion, art, agriculture, seafaring, surgery, and many of the cornerstones of civilization as we know it.

Assembling facts from archaeological finds, explorers’ accounts, genetic information, traditional Australian (Ab)original mythology and many more sources, one coherent and controversial theory develops: Aboriginal people exported civilization to the world-at-large.

This presentation from the Nexus Conference goes into depth exploring the notion that the Australian Original people were the source of everything that society is built upon.

Why do they hide discoveries from us?

The main thesis is to prove through science what the Elders insist is true. Are we ready and willing to discover humanity’s forgotten origin? Hold on to your head lest it shatter into millions of pieces, because this is one earth-shattering video!

• VIDEO: Kariong Egyptian hieroglyphs site discovered in Australia (Disclosure Nation)
• VIDEO: Giants roamed the Earth (Zohar StarGate Ancient Discoveries)
• VIDEO: Ancient Egypt discoveries that remain hidden from public (Zohar StarGate Ancient Discoveries)

Obon Festival: Japan's "Day of the Dead"

Japanese-City.com; Jeff Albrizze, CC Liu, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly, Wiki edit

Bon Festival (Obon)

Obon as celebrated in the late Edo period

Obon (お盆) or Bon (盆) is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors -- an Asian "Day of the Dead" like the Aztec-Mexican Dia de los Muertos, Irish-Gaelic Samhain, or Europe's Walpurgis Night.

This Buddhist-Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves.

Some Dead are Grateful (HippieShop)

In turn, the spirits of ancestors -- or grateful dead -- are supposed to revisit household altars.

The festival has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon-Odori.

The festival of Obon lasts for three days; however, its starting date varies across different regions of Japan.

When the lunar calendar was replaced by the imperial Western Gregorian calendar at the beginning of the Meiji era, the localities in Japan reacted differently. This resulted in three different times of Obon.
 

Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) altar

Shichigatsu Bon ("Bon in July") is based on the solar calendar and is celebrated around July 15th in eastern Japan (Kantō region such as Tokyo, Yokohama, and Tohoku), coinciding with Chūgen. 

Hachigatsu Bon ("Bon in August") is based on the lunar calendar and is celebrated around August 15th, which is the most commonly celebrated time.
 

Kyu Bon ("Old Bon") is celebrated in areas like the northern part of the Kantō region on the 15th day of the seventh month of the 13-month lunar calendar, so it differs each year.... More
 

A Thin Veil Between Us and Ghosts

"Hungry ghost" (preta) during Kali Puja

(WQ) The Theravada Buddhist tradition of Southeast Asia might use such a time to read from the sacred Buddhist text known as the Petavatthu or "Stories of the Departed [ancestral ghosts]" to remind ourselves of the results of unskillful karma. The Realm of Hungry Ghosts is where we might go unless we have the merit to be reborn in fortunate planes of existence. It is impossible, however, that we do not have some "relative" (seven generations out) who has not landed there. So what we do to remember them and transfer merit is very helpful for the sake of the grateful dead and ourselves. For surely the good we do first rains back on us then on others.

 

2016 Summer Festival + Obon Dance Schedule

Japanese Summer Festival & Bon Odori Schedule 
1) 2016 Higashi Hongwanji Annual Summer Obon Festival & Bon Odori (2 Days) - (Sunday: HappyFunSmile Performing Live 6pm) (Saturday, 30 July, 2016)

Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple - Japanese Obon - There will be a variety of Japanese foods for sale... [Details]

2) 2016 West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple Annual Summer Obon Festival (Different Times) - WLA (2 Days) Live Taiko, Japanese Food, Children Games.. (Saturday, 30 July, 2016)
West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple Obon & Bon Odori Dance Festival / WEST LA OBON - Obon or 'Festival of... [Details]

3) 2016 Guadalupe Buddhist Church Annual Obon Festival - Veteran's Memorial Cultural Building (Sunday Only) (Sunday, 31 July, 2016)
The Obon Festival an annual Buddhist event held to commemorate one's ancestors. It is believed that each year... [Details]

4) 2016 Higashi Hongwanji Annual Summer Obon Festival & Bon Odori (2 Days) - (Sunday: HappyFunSmile Performing Live 6pm) (Sunday, 31 July, 2016)
Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple - Japanese Obon - There will be a variety of Japanese foods for sale... [Details] 

5) 2016 Salinas Obon Festival - Buddhist Temple of Salinas (Sunday only) (Sunday, 31 July, 2016)
The Salinas Buddhist Temple is planning to hold their Obon festival this sunday. The festival features... [Details] 

6) 2016 West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple Annual Summer Obon Festival (Different Times) - WLA (2 Days) Live Taiko, Japanese Food, Children Games.. (Sunday, 31 July, 2016)

West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple Obon & Bon Odori Dance Festival / WEST LA OBON - Obon or 'Festival of... [Details]

7) 2016 Bon Odori Dance Practice - Gardena Buddhist Church (Tu/Th) (Tuesday, 02 August, 2016)
Gardena Buddhist Church Bon Odori practice starts in June, starting at 7:00 pm in the evening. Please come to... [Details] 

8) 2016 Bon Odori Dance Practice - Gardena Buddhist Church (Tu/Th) (Thursday, 04 August, 2016)

Gardena Buddhist Church Bon Odori practice starts in June, starting at 7:00 pm in the evening. Please come to... [Details]

9) 2016 Lahaina Hongwanji Mission Obon Festival, Maui Hawaii (Friday & Saturday) Games for Kids, Food, Crafts & Bon Odori.. (Friday, 05 August, 2016)

Lahaina Hongwanji Mission Annual Obon Festival, Service and Dance at the Lahaina Hongwanji Mission. This... [Details]

10) 2016 - Las Vegas Buddhist Sanga 28th Annual Obon Festival & Bon Odori - Clark High School (Saturday Only) [Confirmed] (Saturday, 06 August, 2016)

Las Vegas Buddhist Sanga Bon Odori - Fabulous Raffle Prizes!  Come and help us celebrate our Annual OBON... [Details]

11) 2016 Bon Odori Festival in San Diego (Food, Entertainment & Fun - The Festival is a 2-day Event) Bon Odori Dancing Saturday Only (Different Times) (Saturday, 06 August, 2016)Newly Listed

The community is invited to enjoy the 2016 San Diego Bon Odori, a traditional Japanese Nenbutsu folk dance,... [Details]

12) 2016 Buddhist Temple of San Diego Obon Festival & Odori (Saturday Only) (Saturday, 06 August, 2016)

Buddhist Temple of San Diego Obon Festival outdoor festivities begin with music, cultural displays, food... [Details]

13) 2016 Lahaina Hongwanji Mission Obon Festival, Maui Hawaii (Friday & Saturday) Games for Kids, Food, Crafts & Bon Odori.. (Saturday, 06 August, 2016)

Lahaina Hongwanji Mission Annual Obon Festival, Service and Dance at the Lahaina Hongwanji Mission. This... [Details]
 

14) 2016 Palo Alto Buddhist Temple Bazaar & Obon Odori (PABT) (2 Days - Different times) Japanese Food, Bookstore, Arts and Crafts, Baked Goods.. (Saturday, 06 August, 2016)

Palo Alto Obon Festival features Bon Odori (folk dancing), live music and taiko, flowers, carnival games,... [Details]

15) 2016 San Luis Obispo Buddhist Church Obon Festival - St. Patrick's School (Saturday Only) Live Taiko, Japanese Food, Crafts, Bon Odori Dancing.. (Saturday, 06 August, 2016)

Music, Japanese Food, Crafts, Bonsai, Martial Arts, Taiko, and items for sale from various vendors. At 6:30... [Details]

16) 2016 Stockton Buddhist Temple Cultural Bazaar - Stockton Buddhist Temple (2 Days) Taiko, Martial Arts, Bon Odori, Uke, Bingo, Japanese Food & More.. (Saturday, 06 August, 2016)

The Buddhist Church of Stockton will be holding its annual Japanese Food Festival and Bon Odori on the... [Details]

17) Obonfest 2016 Festival - Oregon Buddhist Temple (Sat Only) Bon Odori, Live Taiko, Games, Japanese Food, Beer Garden.. (Saturday, 06 August, 2016)

Obon is an annual Japanese festival commemorating one's ancestors. Traditionally it was believed that each... [Details]

18) 2016 Bon Odori Festival in San Diego (Food, Entertainment & Fun - The Festival is a 2-day Event) Bon Odori Dancing Saturday Only (Different Times) (Sunday, 07 August, 2016)Newly Listed

The community is invited to enjoy the 2016 San Diego Bon Odori, a traditional Japanese Nenbutsu folk dance,... [Details]

19) 2016 Palo Alto Buddhist Temple Bazaar & Obon Odori (PABT) (2 Days - Different times) Japanese Food, Bookstore, Arts and Crafts, Baked Goods.. (Sunday, 07 August, 2016)

Palo Alto Obon Festival features Bon Odori (folk dancing), live music and taiko, flowers, carnival games,... [Details]

20) 2016 Stockton Buddhist Temple Cultural Bazaar - Stockton Buddhist Temple (2 Days) Taiko, Martial Arts, Bon Odori, Uke, Bingo, Japanese Food & More.. (Sunday, 07 August, 2016)

The Buddhist Church of Stockton will be holding its annual Japanese Food Festival and Bon Odori on the... [Details] More

Tibetan dialect "Mustang" alive in the US (audio)

Alina Simone (PRI's The World, 6-30-16); Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly

Himalayan Mustang District, now a part of Nepal, formerly Tibet (Jmhullot/wiki)

Buddhist prayer flags fly throughout the Himalayas: Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, India...

Nawang Tsering Gurungat at Diversity Square (Alina Simone)

There's a Tibetan dialect called "Mustang," and it's staying alive in the US

Stepping off the train in Jackson Heights, Queens [New York], on a recent Sunday, Alina Simone discovered two groups doing sonic battle in a courtyard ringed with shops:

There was a Tibetan religious service led by crimson-robed Buddhist monks versus a "Bangladeshi Americans for Bernie Sanders" rally. Later, looking up the name of the place, it's Diversity Square.

 

It's no surprise, given this is the epicenter of the most diverse neighborhood in America.

 

More than 130 different languages are spoken in Jackson Heights, but many of them are from places so small, so remote, they get lost in the commotion. Take Mustang [now claimed by Nepal], a dialect of Tibetan with only 7,500 speakers worldwide — 800 of whom live in the US.

• 

  The World in Words live: From Ainu to Zaza

  Podcast: Each week on "The World in Words," Patrick Cox and Nina Porzucki tell stories about languages and the people who speak them. (Subscribe)

Dialects like Mustang — also referred to as “Mustangi” — are waging quiet fights here for time, attention, and survival. What exactly are they fighting against?

We could say it's the pursuit of the American Dream itself. Given the challenges of starting a new life halfway across the world, even when a language is spoken at home, English is often what kids focus on learning.

 

As language activist Nawang Gurung explains: “Parents work 12 to 15 hours in restaurants, nanny jobs, as nail technicians....Now if parents talk to their kids in Mustangi dialect, kids are gonna respond in English.”

 

Nawang has become a custodian of Mustang here in New York City. “Language represents your identity,” he explains. “Who you are. If the Mustangi dialect vanishes, it's slowly gonna mean, it has a totally new identity.”

 

Pema, Domaseri, and Domaseri at Diversity Square every weekend attending Mustang Sunday. Even in a place as diverse as Jackson Heights, it can be difficult to explain where it is they come from, the three say (Alina Simone).

“When we say Mustang, not many people get it. And when we say Tibet, ‘Oh! That's China, basically.”

 

These new identities are being forged by families who are part of a massive migration from the Himalayas, accelerated by last year's major earthquake in Nepal and a downturn in tourism. According to Nawang, the result for mountain people like the Mustang has been “a rapid population decline compared to other regions in Nepal."

 

His fear is that as the sparse population of Mustang speakers scatters, soon there won’t be anyone to learn from. So together with the Endangered Language Alliance here in New York, he is working to create a kind of Mustang Library of Congress. It’s part of a project called Voices of the Himalayas, a digital archive that will preserve Himalayan oral history, folklore and song, handed down over hundreds of years. More

Himalayan lore: Inner Earth "Agartha"

(Agarthissml) What is the legend of the underworld realm of Agartha, and what mysteries surround it? 

Presented by Astrambiente Lazio; created by Valeria Temperini, Michela Rosarno, and Valerio Panfoli, in cooperation with Adriana Bisirri, professor and principal of the SSML Gregorio VII University in Rome.