This time I thought I’d talk about a dominant religion in the world of Alrothia called ‘kannari no michi’, or ‘the path where kami exist’, if you will. The religion mixes heavy influences from Shintô and Buddhism, but as it’d take years of actual research into the subject matter at hand to truly understand it, so I’d rather make an interpretation with a different name to spare myself from the liability of making a heretical misjudgement.

Mostly the part seen of the kannari are the monks that are the religious core of the dogma. They value all life as sacred, and believe that true enlightenment is found in abandoning worldly desires, and in service to the ancestral spirits, without growing attached to them, as all life is transient, whereas the spirit is forever. The followers of kannari believe that any natural thing is capable of housing kami, in other words lesser spirits and deities, and that there exists a certain duality where the spirits walk among humans and are revered as a part of nature. Especially strong focal points of these kami are the shrines which are usually built upon natural leylines, and they usually house a powerful kami, who in turn works as a local land deity, drawing their power from the prayers of the locals. This co-existence is not without its problems though, as not all deities and spirits are of a good alignment, and some could even be called malignant. Sometimes these kami might be disturbed simply due to human interference, or influence to their natural habitat. Due to this, it is sometimes necessary that a spirit sealer is sent where the kannari monks have failed their attempts at appeasing the troublemaker in order to confirm whether the errant kami has to be purified.

Sadly, I had to cut the post a bit short from what I had hoped, but it is to keep the world slightly in the dark in order to keep something of interest for the future. I also noted that it is surprisingly hard to type objectively of a religion whose main point in a fantasy setting is that most of the practiced things and customs are true. Does religion stop being a religion when the things it practices are true, or are at least, not a matter of personal belief?

Regardless, I thank you for the continued (or fleeting) interest in my project! I hope to have you here the next time as well!

A kannari monk.