The Soul of Japanese Wayfaring Poetry
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Episode details
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In this podcast episode of The Poet’s Dreamingbody, I explore three Shinto concepts that are at the root of Japanese spirituality and poetry: tama (soul, spiritual presence), kokoro (heart, heart-mind, or translated as “mindful-heart” by scholar Thomas Kasulis, author of Shinto: The Way Home), and kotodama (“word-soul”, “word-spirit”, or the spiritual presence within words) — a term that influences not only the wide array of expressions of Shinto spirituality but also Shingon Buddhism and the formation of the martial art of Aikido.
SOUNDSCAPES FOR EPISODE
“Kokoro” / from Tenkawa: Pilgrimage of the Sacred Sound 1 by Hiroki Okano
Forest Yearning / Bronwyn Kirkpatrick
The Soul of Japanese Wayfaring Poetry
Thank you for drawing out the meaning of these Shinto terms. I love the idea (and the practice) person, place, and language mysteriously co-creating a poem. And the brief poems you shared...superb!