Kontextmaschine

22nd February 2021

Post with 38 notes

I will say it’s kind of funny seeing secondhand the place of cults in Japanese society by seeing fictional portrayals

Like, Hare Krishna levels of ridiculous garb and ritual, sometimes a little institutionalized but small enough that followers have probably personally met the founder

It’s weird cause it generally but not perfectly matches American cult narratives – it doesn’t really line up with what we tell about Scientology OR rural compounds, (hippie or scary backwoods Prophet of God versions). Or what ex-Mormons complain about, or kids coming out of isolated tight-knit churches. Coming from the land of Aum Shinriyku you don’t pick up much People’s Temple-type menace, either.

Somewhere between ‘60s-groovy guru and Moonies, the issue presented as less that they were a danger to society or their followers, more that they were a silly scam that would divert and drain them.

Like, the concern isn’t “they will draw you into a world offering a social scene and metanarrative you needed to situate yourself but instead of enabling you these are fundamentally structured to limit you” or anything so complicated, it’s “they will make you wear silly robes and sing about their dumb UFO story while they have you give them all your money and probably have sex with you, and their central promise of powers or healing or whatever doesn’t pay off”

Japan is of course known for its “new religions”, post-WWII study there was instrumental to the development of our modern understanding of the lifecycle of religions starting as cults around a charismatic founder. And I mean, I’m only seeing caricatures across a language and cultural gap but still, that’s what I’m seeing.

Tagged: meanwhile in japan