Japan Soul Traveler

Who are the blind shamans? The last itako of Tohoku

Three Summer Matsuri in Aomori-ken |

Summer is the time for vacation, late nights and joyous festivals, and Aomori-ken is no…

New Religions in Japan

We are back to something very dear to my study, religions and shamanism in Japan. Shamanism in contemporary Japan is a topic of interesting researches expecially among anthropologists and sociologists, and it is now widely connected to the developments of the so-called New Religions…

Shingo, of brothers and crosses

It was around this time of the year, maybe some week later, when we opened our guide and we read about Shingo. We had a day off from the shooting of the documentary, and we decided to explore the area around Misawa and the Towada-ko (the big lake of the region); when we…

Mokuren, Buddha and the world of the dead

Itako are symbols of the popular, folk-religion; they have loose ties with…

What are Oshirasama

We said many times that itako are popular for the kuchiyose, the calling of the dead. However, the locals are still familiar…

The kamisama of the Mountain: Iyo-san

The second kamisama I could meet was an older woman who lives with her daughters in the…

Meeting an itako: Matsuda-san #2

I could met Matsuda san a second time in the summer 2014, the 31stJuly after the Osorezan Taisai…