Atsuta-no-Ookami -
The Kami of the Sword
(Atsuta Jingu, Nagoya, Japan)

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The world of humankind is a reflection of the Kami
When places on earth are recognized as beautiful,
this is a sign that they have become transparent to their origins
We as Kami are essences of beauty and drama
We are love and terror, compassion and destruction, healing and killing
Both matter and spirit in the physical world are linked to the realm of the gods

I am the Kami of the Sword
The essence of cutting through the outer world to reach the inner one
I sever the limits that prevent one from seeing the light that spills over like a fountain
from the world of the gods
I cut the blindfold that darkens sight
and open the person to the sparkling newness of the heavens

We have blessed the world of mankind with our light
But the light has been forgotten
Now shrines are places for tourists
For people who beg or demand favors
For people that want new gardening ideas

The link between heaven and earth is not a market, and not a circus
It is sacred ground, blessed by the knot that ties the worlds together
It is not a place for dead and repetitious ritual
It is a place for communication between gods and men

I have left the gateway open
for those few souls who are capable of seeing it, and knowing its meaning
We are linked historically to the Japanese people
The first people able to recognize us
The leaders of their lineages are bound to us still

Our heavens are pine forests and great rocks and rushing rivers
Our people are reborn there as wind and rain and rainbows
All souls bound to us live lives upon lives
As they travel between our worlds for all eternity

Once upon a time, we visited each other in full awareness
Now souls are shocked in their new births in the afterlife
Though they had heard of the heaven worlds, they never believed in them
And had no idea what they meant
But we are patient, and humanity will remember its past
And the cool and fragrant breezes
will welcome those who remember their past, and their future.

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