My pal @carlaspeedmcneil.bsky.social asked me why there are no clear villains in Ghibli films, and figured I would share my answer with everyone:

In Japanese folklore, all things are double-souled. They have an aratama (rough soul) and nigitama (gentle soul). (1)

Most Japanese Shinto festivals-Matsuri-are based around trying to coax the gods into manifesting their nigitama instead of their aratama.

They are danced and sung to and fed to make them happy and bring out their beneficial aratama (4)

When the aratama is present, they are violent and harsh. When the nigitama is present, they are gentle and nurturing.

Think of it like nature. The fire that warms you can also burn you. The sea from which you pull your livelihood can occasionally rise up in wrath and destroy your entire village (2)

I had to Google "two wolves," and I wouldn't say it is the same thing. The aratama and nigitama are not fighting each other. They are not in opposition, in that Western sense.

They simply exist together.

Also, which one manifests is not an internal thing, it is determined entirely by external forces.

Humans have to coax out the nigitama from the deities by delighting it.

It's more like a cat; pet it and it purrs, annoy it and it scratches.

how hanami wears red and manifests a temper makes a person think she should be inheritor to the aramitama but she and ryuhiko are both supposed to be the nigitama (balanced, ideally). hanami was like ryu once and traded her melancholy for anger because she didnt know how else to express it

I know this is probably about ZZZ but the one in Nioh is also cool!

Also sensing some parallels with Shintoism; like how "Aritama" and "Nigitama" are two aspects of a kami's spirit in Shinto. "Ara-mitama" (荒魂) representing the wild, forceful, and sometimes destructive aspect of a spirit, while "Nigi-mitama" (和魂) embodying the gentle, harmonious, and peaceful side 💚

🌊 Aratama – the wild, fierce, disruptive force

🌸 Nigitama – the gentle, harmonious, nurturing side

Balance is everything. Even the divine holds both destruction and peace 🧘🏽‍♀️

#Shinto #ForceDyad #Deities #UniversalConsciousness

Channeling #Shintoism today…Where every kami (spirit) wears two faces in Shinto’s mirror:

⚡ Aratama — the storm, the untamed flame

🌸 Nigitama — the breeze, the blooming calm

Rage and grace are not rivals. They are rhythms in the same sacred dance🧎🏾‍♀️

#Aratama #Nigitama #SpiritualBalance #Mysticism