I’ve said similar things before but it’s worth saying again. Researching non western games and cultures take a lot of effort to do well. When explaining the differences to our own culture and folklore. It gives us the extra context to appreciate already great games that bit more. Thank you.
Hey muse I’ve been living in Japan for 16 years and am heavily into Japanese horror. My main channel is Unrested where I answer viewer questions about living in the big red dot. But this is my j-horror account. I’ve been watching you for ages and gotta say you definitely know your stuff. Quite frankly your mastery of the lore, culture and tradition goes deeper than some people who have lived here longer than me. Even a Japan based horror lover like me learns new things from your vids. Keep up your amazing deeply researched lore vids. They are among the best an English speaking audience has to look forward to.
@@thegamingmuse no problem. I’ll actually be shouting out your channel when covering the Japanese ghosts listed in phasmophobia. You’re one of the few channels talking about things like goryo and ubume. Btw check out the game “Japanese house exploration” by dev Sio Leo. I think you’ll really enjoy it.
i'm so blessed to have watched the earlier videos in this series, i knew exactly what you were about to discuss when you invoked the name of sugawara no michizane
As a historian specialising in classical Japanese history, I have to object to your characterisation of the Heian era as dangerous and deadly - it is famously an era of unbroken peace spanning four centuries. Banditry and robbery were common in the countryside, but that’s because due to the unprecedented peace and prosperity, the government became ineffective at policing its territory. The very name Heian means “peace”, and it is considered a golden age for Japanese civilisation, when their culture matured and their arts developed, a time that all subsequent periods in history have admired. I also don’t know if I agree with your characterisation of Amaterasu-no-mikoto’s reaction to Susanoo’s behaviour as frightened - the conventional understanding is that Amaterasu retreated into the cave out of anger.
In terms of warfare I would definitely agree with you, and most of the country was at peace, but reading on the constant famines and plagues makes it clear to me at least, that there was a lot of death. It was peaceful for some, and very deadly for many others. As for the Amaterasu myth, I have seen the words translated many ways, frightened being one, but translation often leaves out a lot of context, so in this case I wouldn't be sure if frightened was the right word.
@@thegamingmuseregarding famines and epidemics (especially smallpox), these weren’t actually exceptionally bad during the Heian in the context of Japanese history, as the issue of epidemics would continue up until the Meiji period and famines would strike periodically throughout pre-modern Japan. The Heian period is simply the era in which a centralised government’s record-keeping and vernacular literature were established enough that substantial accounts of those disasters have survived to the present day.
No! I wanted more! Well, I can wait for more videos when they're done. I like getting a history lesson, cultural lesson, and video game analysis all in one round these parts. I learn a lot about Japanese culture; it seems really complicated.
I deeply enjoyed the latest Fatal Frame (only one I've played) when it came out. Because I've had a decent grasp of Japanese culture and an interest in their history for most of my life (thanks to a teacher in elementary school), I didn't realize how much of the information you explained was stuff I treated as "common" knowledge. And there's details you give that are well beyond what I could've learned, too. The linguistic information is especially fascinating. I really appreciate your channel and how thoroughly you explain all these concepts.
Great video as always, Muse. It really shows that you thanks to lot of studying have access to knowledge that makes it possible to explain those games in such a orderly manner, not to mention you really have a gift for delivering fruits of your research in a easy to digest format. Though I'll be honest - while I like this video, I prefer to see Fatal Frame as bit less ... known? I do remember my first contact with the series through lore videos made by Exorsizzle and I really found it scary how much was unknown and esoteric. Like in your video you pretty much explained calamity, made it easy to understand, while in that first contact I had it was unique and mystical - like... just the word calamity makes your head fill with nightmarish visions of what must have happened to make the location in the game be in such a sorry haunted state. As well as the fact that there just randomly were locations all over Japan that were dangerous direct routes to hell, or some sort of holes that just randomly puked out said calamity or miasma, which was damn scary! After listening to your video it can be theorized that whole thing was just effect of human error, like they started incorporating Buddhism, neglected Shinto's Kami in some location and BAM! Population stuck with a divine septic tank that demands to eat virigns (and then population instead of fixing that in some proper way with help of actual Shinto priest listen to village idiot and comes out with some sort of Hellraiser ritual they do for bunch of years, that placates said hole, but also ends up making it errupt even more violently when people and their annual S&M session fail. Don't get me wrong. You did not ruin the game for me. I am perfectly aware that you added cultural context to whole thing, which adds deeper layers of understanding, and it does not erase my own previous experience with the game and it's lore. Anyway, enough yapping. Thanks for video and cheers!
At 22:23 you say that Buddhism was more involved in averting supernatural calamity, which I’m not sure I agree with, considering the fact that miko and Shinto priests and onmyoji played active roles in rituals intended to protect Heian-kyo and its people from disasters, disease and famine by purifying it of pollution that might bring bad luck, and Buddhist priests very often took credit for miraculous events that benefited the state with their prayers, especially since you go on to list specifically Shinto practices such as enshrining an angry ghost and venerating it, which famously happened with Sugawara no Michizane and the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine
To my understanding, all the traditions were involved (and divisions between them were thin at times) but the articles I am sourcing here seem to imply that it was believed Buddhas were more necessary as they were universal, as opposed to Kami which were more relative; but that practitioners of all traditions were involved in these rituals (most often, onmyodo practitioners). It's a complex question but I included the comment because Buddhism is heavily involved in all the FF rituals.
@@thegamingmuse My brain filled in the blanks as "the ancestor of the imperial line", since I was already familiar with the history of the three treasures of the royal family, but yeah, I think people will know what you mean haha.
Hey Muse I seen ur first stream of playing SH2 remake and u were talking about playing Downpour! If u want I could mail u my copy? I don’t play it and I’d be happy to give it to u where it’s loved in a happy home!
I would like to make a gentle correction, spirit and ghosts are different things, ghosts are more like a sub category of spirits, ghosts are the spirits of the dead, whereas spirits, in the Christian sense, are angels, demons, fallen angels, ghosts etc., what Japanese call Kami as nature spirits, we would think of them more like angels upholding God's natural order I agree that in our secular world we don't make the distinction, but biblically and religiously speaking there is a difference
That might be true, but as a Christian myself I don't think most Christians see it that way. I have never heard anyone refer to angels or demons as spirits - there's a really intense understanding that they are something different than the spirit/soul that humans have. The holy spirit is the only difference I can think of. But this is personal exp, my knowledge of Christianity is far thinner than my knowledge of Buddhism/more eastern traditions at this point in my life.
@@thegamingmuse hey God bless sister. I totally agree with you and I think, the misunderstanding we have of spirits referring to angels, demons, and fallen angels nowadays just comes from lack of reading scripture and delving deep into them and the language they had. Here are some scriptures I hope will give some clarity Hebrews 1:4-5, 14 ESV [4] having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. [5] For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? [14] Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? Here Hebrews talks about how angels are ministering spirits Matthew 10:1 ESV [1] And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. Matthew 12:43-45 ESV [43] “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. [44] Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. [45] Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.” Mark 1:24-26 ESV [24] “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy One of God.” [25] But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” [26] And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. Mark 5:7-9, 15 ESV [7] And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” [8] For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” [9] And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” [15] And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. Here we see that demons are referred to as "unclean spirits" and the word for spirits, both angels and demons is the Greek word "Pneuma" which is the same word used for the Holy Spirit and the breath inside of people And then for ghosts there's one example I can think of is in 1 Samuel 28 when Saul looks for a medium/necromancer to bring up the prophet Samuel and in modern translations she says "I see a God coming up out of the earth" the Hebrew word is "Elohim" which can refer to God, God's, or spirits I hope I've given some insight for your future endeavors in content creation, and importantly in your walk with God, I love your work and I loved the analysis you gave for Job in your Silent Hill 2 video it was great.
![[TH] 2024 PMGC League | Survival Stage วันที่ 1 | PUBG MOBILE Global Championship](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FVFT-PFwU80/mqdefault.jpg)
I’ve said similar things before but it’s worth saying again. Researching non western games and cultures take a lot of effort to do well. When explaining the differences to our own culture and folklore. It gives us the extra context to appreciate already great games that bit more. Thank you.
Hey muse I’ve been living in Japan for 16 years and am heavily into Japanese horror. My main channel is Unrested where I answer viewer questions about living in the big red dot.
But this is my j-horror account. I’ve been watching you for ages and gotta say you definitely know your stuff. Quite frankly your mastery of the lore, culture and tradition goes deeper than some people who have lived here longer than me. Even a Japan based horror lover like me learns new things from your vids. Keep up your amazing deeply researched lore vids. They are among the best an English speaking audience has to look forward to.
OMG! Thank you so much, thats so kind of you :D
@@thegamingmuse no problem. I’ll actually be shouting out your channel when covering the Japanese ghosts listed in phasmophobia. You’re one of the few channels talking about things like goryo and ubume. Btw check out the game “Japanese house exploration” by dev Sio Leo. I think you’ll really enjoy it.
Lol love the leave a sacrifice for the algorithm i got too into the video to chat during the premiere 😅
May this give the ghosts of the algorithm peace
i'm so blessed to have watched the earlier videos in this series, i knew exactly what you were about to discuss when you invoked the name of sugawara no michizane
As a historian specialising in classical Japanese history, I have to object to your characterisation of the Heian era as dangerous and deadly - it is famously an era of unbroken peace spanning four centuries. Banditry and robbery were common in the countryside, but that’s because due to the unprecedented peace and prosperity, the government became ineffective at policing its territory. The very name Heian means “peace”, and it is considered a golden age for Japanese civilisation, when their culture matured and their arts developed, a time that all subsequent periods in history have admired.
I also don’t know if I agree with your characterisation of Amaterasu-no-mikoto’s reaction to Susanoo’s behaviour as frightened - the conventional understanding is that Amaterasu retreated into the cave out of anger.
In terms of warfare I would definitely agree with you, and most of the country was at peace, but reading on the constant famines and plagues makes it clear to me at least, that there was a lot of death. It was peaceful for some, and very deadly for many others. As for the Amaterasu myth, I have seen the words translated many ways, frightened being one, but translation often leaves out a lot of context, so in this case I wouldn't be sure if frightened was the right word.
@@thegamingmuseregarding famines and epidemics (especially smallpox), these weren’t actually exceptionally bad during the Heian in the context of Japanese history, as the issue of epidemics would continue up until the Meiji period and famines would strike periodically throughout pre-modern Japan. The Heian period is simply the era in which a centralised government’s record-keeping and vernacular literature were established enough that substantial accounts of those disasters have survived to the present day.
No! I wanted more! Well, I can wait for more videos when they're done. I like getting a history lesson, cultural lesson, and video game analysis all in one round these parts. I learn a lot about Japanese culture; it seems really complicated.
Thanks for the video. If I ever give Fatal Frame a try, this will totally help with the context and immersion.
Project Zero is such a special interest of mine, pls keep making more amazing videos about the series
I deeply enjoyed the latest Fatal Frame (only one I've played) when it came out. Because I've had a decent grasp of Japanese culture and an interest in their history for most of my life (thanks to a teacher in elementary school), I didn't realize how much of the information you explained was stuff I treated as "common" knowledge. And there's details you give that are well beyond what I could've learned, too. The linguistic information is especially fascinating. I really appreciate your channel and how thoroughly you explain all these concepts.
I love Fatal Frame and this was such a informative video, thanks for the upload. ❤
Great video as always, Muse. It really shows that you thanks to lot of studying have access to knowledge that makes it possible to explain those games in such a orderly manner, not to mention you really have a gift for delivering fruits of your research in a easy to digest format.
Though I'll be honest - while I like this video, I prefer to see Fatal Frame as bit less ... known? I do remember my first contact with the series through lore videos made by Exorsizzle and I really found it scary how much was unknown and esoteric. Like in your video you pretty much explained calamity, made it easy to understand, while in that first contact I had it was unique and mystical - like... just the word calamity makes your head fill with nightmarish visions of what must have happened to make the location in the game be in such a sorry haunted state. As well as the fact that there just randomly were locations all over Japan that were dangerous direct routes to hell, or some sort of holes that just randomly puked out said calamity or miasma, which was damn scary! After listening to your video it can be theorized that whole thing was just effect of human error, like they started incorporating Buddhism, neglected Shinto's Kami in some location and BAM! Population stuck with a divine septic tank that demands to eat virigns (and then population instead of fixing that in some proper way with help of actual Shinto priest listen to village idiot and comes out with some sort of Hellraiser ritual they do for bunch of years, that placates said hole, but also ends up making it errupt even more violently when people and their annual S&M session fail.
Don't get me wrong. You did not ruin the game for me. I am perfectly aware that you added cultural context to whole thing, which adds deeper layers of understanding, and it does not erase my own previous experience with the game and it's lore.
Anyway, enough yapping. Thanks for video and cheers!
My fav game growing up! I cannot wait to dive into this.
Plus the rebuilding of the palace and noble houses after the frequent fires
NUUUUU I'M 6 HOURS LAAAATTEEEE 🥺😭
happy for new upload tho! ~ 💖🌸
Now I’m wondering what happens if it’s raining on the night the rope maiden is supposed to bathe in moonlight
12:10
This sounds great. Let's do this
New Muse! Let’s gooo
I wonder if this excess of unclaimed bodies inspired the beginnings of the caste of ppl who took care of such things
I hope you're enjoying the silent hill 2 remake, I'm enjoying it tons rn
Amazing video on how ghosts in Japan are different compare to the West!
9:16
What is the name of this fantastic illustration?
At 22:23 you say that Buddhism was more involved in averting supernatural calamity, which I’m not sure I agree with, considering the fact that miko and Shinto priests and onmyoji played active roles in rituals intended to protect Heian-kyo and its people from disasters, disease and famine by purifying it of pollution that might bring bad luck, and Buddhist priests very often took credit for miraculous events that benefited the state with their prayers, especially since you go on to list specifically Shinto practices such as enshrining an angry ghost and venerating it, which famously happened with Sugawara no Michizane and the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine
To my understanding, all the traditions were involved (and divisions between them were thin at times) but the articles I am sourcing here seem to imply that it was believed Buddhas were more necessary as they were universal, as opposed to Kami which were more relative; but that practitioners of all traditions were involved in these rituals (most often, onmyodo practitioners). It's a complex question but I included the comment because Buddhism is heavily involved in all the FF rituals.
Folklore horror is so interesting
I guess traditional architecture wasn’t the only thing shibata researched
I think you might’ve mixed up ancestor and descendant…when saying who Amaterasu gave the mirror
My brain often mixes up words... XD Hopefully folks understand what I meant.
@@thegamingmuse My brain filled in the blanks as "the ancestor of the imperial line", since I was already familiar with the history of the three treasures of the royal family, but yeah, I think people will know what you mean haha.
Ah, Fujiwara family - famously known for marrying their daughters into imperial family
Hey Muse I seen ur first stream of playing SH2 remake and u were talking about playing Downpour! If u want I could mail u my copy? I don’t play it and I’d be happy to give it to u where it’s loved in a happy home!
i think the title kanji is 零 for zero actually, hence project zero isnt it? instead of 霊 for spirit
your right, I didn't clarify the play on words, its meant to be a reference to spirits if I remember correctly.
@@thegamingmuse oh ok, thats kinda cool
Comment for prosperity!
It didn’t help that Buddhist belief said an era called ‘end of the Law’ would start in 1052
I would like to make a gentle correction, spirit and ghosts are different things, ghosts are more like a sub category of spirits, ghosts are the spirits of the dead, whereas spirits, in the Christian sense, are angels, demons, fallen angels, ghosts etc., what Japanese call Kami as nature spirits, we would think of them more like angels upholding God's natural order
I agree that in our secular world we don't make the distinction, but biblically and religiously speaking there is a difference
That might be true, but as a Christian myself I don't think most Christians see it that way. I have never heard anyone refer to angels or demons as spirits - there's a really intense understanding that they are something different than the spirit/soul that humans have. The holy spirit is the only difference I can think of. But this is personal exp, my knowledge of Christianity is far thinner than my knowledge of Buddhism/more eastern traditions at this point in my life.
@@thegamingmuse hey God bless sister. I totally agree with you and I think, the misunderstanding we have of spirits referring to angels, demons, and fallen angels nowadays just comes from lack of reading scripture and delving deep into them and the language they had. Here are some scriptures I hope will give some clarity
Hebrews 1:4-5, 14 ESV
[4] having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. [5] For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?
[14] Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
Here Hebrews talks about how angels are ministering spirits
Matthew 10:1 ESV
[1] And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.
Matthew 12:43-45 ESV
[43] “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. [44] Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. [45] Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
Mark 1:24-26 ESV
[24] “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy One of God.” [25] But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” [26] And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.
Mark 5:7-9, 15 ESV
[7] And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” [8] For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” [9] And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”
[15] And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
Here we see that demons are referred to as "unclean spirits" and the word for spirits, both angels and demons is the Greek word "Pneuma" which is the same word used for the Holy Spirit and the breath inside of people
And then for ghosts there's one example I can think of is in 1 Samuel 28 when Saul looks for a medium/necromancer to bring up the prophet Samuel and in modern translations she says "I see a God coming up out of the earth" the Hebrew word is "Elohim" which can refer to God, God's, or spirits
I hope I've given some insight for your future endeavors in content creation, and importantly in your walk with God, I love your work and I loved the analysis you gave for Job in your Silent Hill 2 video it was great.