TITLE

There’s a God for That

SUBTITLE

Optimism in the Face of Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Meltdowns

AUTHOR

Joseph Honton

PUBLISHER

Frankalmoigne, Sebastopol

GENRE

Narrative nonfiction

BOOKSTORE SUBJECTS

TRAVEL / Asia / Japan

RELIGION / Shintoism

POLITICAL SCIENCE / Peace

CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION

1. Japan – Religious life and customs

2. Earthquakes – Japan

3. Tsunamis – Japan

4. Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Japan) Accidents

5. Antinuclear movement

6. Ghost stories, Japanese

NOVELIST APPEAL

STORYLINE: Issue-oriented

PACE: Relaxed

TONE: Moving; Reflective

WRITING: Lyrical; Thoughtful; Richly detailed; Stylistically complex

PAGES / WORDS

xvi, 168pp, glossary

40,000 words

MAPS / ILLUSTRATIONS

12 maps, 2 line drawings

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CONTROL NUMBER

2012940666

ISBN

978-0-9856423-0-3 (hardcover)

978-0-9856423-1-0 (pbk.)

978-0-9856423-2-7 (eBook)

978-0-9856423-3-4 (Kindle)

PRICE

US $28.00 (hardcover)

US $16.00 (pbk.)

US $11.99 (eBook)

US $9.99 (Kindle)

AVAILABLE FROM

Wholesale: Ingram

Retail: Frankalmoigne

PUBLICATION DATE

October 2012

There's a god for that

The waters that surround and flow through Matsue (Lake Nakaumi, Lake Shinjiko, the Ohashi, and the canals) provide something more than just a romantic setting. They also provide a purifying medium. In traditional Japanese religious practice, water is the primary medium for misogi, a rite of purification. This rite is observed by visitors at every shrine, when they dip a bamboo ladle into the fountain of fresh water located just inside the shrine’s inner gate, to wash their hands and rinse their mouth before worship. For believers, this symbolic act, especially when performed with a pure heart, washes away worldly troubles, and readies their souls to receive the grace of the gods.

Originally misogi was performed as an elaborate ritual at the shoreline of flowing rivers, preferably ones that were close to the sea. There, the unclean thoughts that were released would be carried downstream, and the sea’s salt would intensify the cleansing. Matsue – with the Ohashi’s strong current and Lake Nakaumi’s saline water – is an ideal place for this type of misogi.

We do not follow that elaborate ritual of ablutions and baths today, but still I like to think that we are receiving some special grace from the waters of the canal, which course through the city, purifying everything and everyone in its path.

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