Akira Kurosawa’s film “Dreams” has a section referred to as “The Peach Orchard” in which the Shinto notion of nature being alive and the presence of the Kami are both relevant. A boy is lured out to the peach orchard by a little girl who turns out to be a spirit of a peach tree. When the boy arrives at the orchard, he meets the other spirits of the peach trees. These spirits were angry because his family had cut down all the trees in the orchard. He said he cried when the trees were cut down, but one spirit accused him of crying only because he liked to eat peaches. The boy then explained that he could buy a peach, but he could not buy a whole orchard in bloom. The peach tree spirits deem him a good boy and then let him see their trees in bloom one last time.
There is a Shinto belief in the spiritual power of nature and the protective energies of the forces of Earth. “Everything is spiritual and therefore there is a continuity between humanity, nature and the spirits/gods.” (Notes) This could be a flower, or the changing of the seasons, or the blowing of the wind. There are divine forces of nature, representing the beauty and power of life in all of its forms, called Kami. “Anything that is powerful or amazing in nature is Kami, but not all nature is Kami.” (Notes) All Kami have two souls, one good and one aggressive. In the section of film, the spirits of the peach trees were the Kami and they were acting on their aggressive soul at first, until they learned the boy valued them for their beauty, and then acted on their good soul by showing him one last bloom. It was important for them to hear that the boy saw the beauty in the blooming peach blossoms and not just the selfish desire to eat the peaches. This last bloom was a symbol of the power of nature, and how nature and the Kami can reward those who respect them.
I'm glad you mentioned the duality of souls in this post. The head spirit who first addressed the boy was doing so out of anger and aggression. He mocked and belittled the boy and told him that his family would no longer be watched over. The female spirit came to the boy's defense, but it wasn't until the boy defended himself that the spirit turned to his benevolent side. While the family was still punished, the boy was rewarded for his belief and his right relationship with nature.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated your thoughts on this part of the film because I also watched the Peach Orchard. I completely forgot about how the kamis' have two parts to them and the film was a great example of this. The spirits were initially mean to the young boy and taunted him which I really didn't understand because the young boy actually appreciated the orchard.
ReplyDeleteI also watched this section of the film and liked that you talk about "how everything is spiritual". Whether their are kamis or not, when you seperate the spirit from the matter(tree in this case), their becomes an imbalance. This explains why the spirits were upset at the boy and his family. Besides it's considered a horrible sin.
ReplyDeleteI also viewed this segment of the video. I thought your post was really insightful into the nature of Kami and how it is expressed in nature (in the film, by the spirits). Once the boy proves his feelings for nature through his defensive words, the spirits realize his intentions and allow him to see the orchard in bloom. I thought it was interesting how they almost were trying to instill Shinto values into the next generation. The implication there is that the parents had lost the Shinto values (since they cut down the orchard in the first place), and hopefully the boy will be able to restore the values.
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