Had sex lately?
A reflection upon my "imaginary Imaginary can refer to: - Imaginary (sociology), a concept in sociology
- Imaginary number, a concept in mathematics
- Imaginary time, a concept in physics
- Imagination, a mental faculty
- Object of the mind, an object of the imagination
- Imaginary enemy
homeland A homeland (rel. country of origin and native land) is the concept of the territory (cultural geography) to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular national identity began. " of Japan, for
the service celebrating light and darkness at the 20th anniversary
celebration of the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion.
Amaterasu,
Japanese sun goddess of ancient legend,
slowly she slips silently from the jagged peaks,
casting a weak rosy glow
as she begins her long journey toward night.
Amaterasu,
sanctifier of the Emperor and Empire.
Amaterasu,
revered at her remote inland shrine of Ise,
tucked into her meticulously constructed cypress hut,
constantly rebuilt to echo
the fading imperial past.
Amaterasu,
sister of the god of wind and chaos, Susanowu,
enshrined at the edge of the inland seat at Izumo,
nestled among the primeval pines and mountains.
Susanowu,
god of the indigenous people,
never slips silently,
always raises a ruckus, raging,
stirring a placid sea into steep crashing breakers
and wafting his moaning protests through
the sharp pines and
startlingly red maples.
Susanowu,
the angry god throws a dead colt into his
sister's holy shrine.
Amaterasu,
offended, flees into a cave,
casting perpetual winter upon the gods and islands,
withholding light and warmth
in her dark refuge.
A bawdy shaman dance of the drunken gods
coaxes her forth,
sorry to miss the party.
Sun and empire,
their march seemingly inevitable as the earth's turning,
destabilized by
chaos ... wind ... breath ... spirit,
a bratty, blustery boy not the sun's opposite, but her kin.
What does it mean to know
that order is sometimes necessary?
What do order and chaos,
knowledge and disruption and kin mean?
that the total loss of order might lead to
something worse?
mass hunger
failed crops,
the slow creeping cold in our homes?
That, if we do not insult and destabilize Empire,
its relentlessly daily march will scorch the earth?
That, after the power of our breath,
our spirits might drive Empire to distraction?
That we might incubate
in our disembodied, cold ivory towers
some balance of light and dark,
of sun and wind?
A balance only possible
if we are willing to throw a
bawdy,
lusty,
full-throated party in winter?
Had sex lately?
COPYRIGHT 2006 Association for Religion and Intellectual Life
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2006, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.
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