“Musubi” and “hi” as categories of Japanese animatism

Abstract
The article is devoted to the study of “musubi” and “hi” as animatistic categories and based on the similarity of these categories with the concepts of mana and tama power which are some kind of spiritual energy. The author believes that since musubi and hi have similar properties they can be classified as animatism, the belief of the ancient Japanese in spiritual power penetrate all things. This form of beliefs is important for Japanese culture as it had a significant impact on the formation of the Shinto religion which can be called a developed form of animism. The article analyzes the hieroglyphs used to write the words “musubi” and “hi” to determine in what spirit ancient Japanese understood these words. The article also considers mental images of Musubi deities to find out the properties attributed to the musubi energy. Variants of musubi cosmology from the point of view of Japanese researchers are considered. The concept of hi as a form of ancient Shinto representing belief in the impersonal ensoulment of nature is researched. The analysis of the concepts of “musubi/musuhi” and “hi” reveal their relationship with Polynesian mana and Japanese tama which are accepted animatistic categories.

Keywords: animism, animatism, Shinto, musubi, hi.

For citation: Sorokina E.S. “Musubi” and “hi” as categories of Japanese animatism. Modern Oriental Studies. 2021; 3(3).