Surprising Dislikes
Mauro was very unhappy when I opted to talk about family with him. That was a surprise. Mi displace!
Traditional Japanese Festivals
The creators of Guardians of Azuma expressed a wish to invest the game with as many of the traditions of Japan as possible. Japan of course has diverse spiritual as well as mundane cultures and each has had its own special influence through the centuries but the Japanese managed to create a very unique synthesis finally between some of its native religions and beliefs rather than continuing to perceive other belief systems as a hostile or corrupting threat. I am not an expert in Shinto beliefs but I studied and taught comparative religion and legends and to me, Guardians of Azuma enshrines Shintoism far more than any other belief system. Although Buddhism has played a large part in shaping the culture and aesthetics of religious art and rituals, the animism that is so much a part of Shinto beliefs is very apparent the world of Guardians of Azuma. Thus, the reverence shown to Ulalaka’s sacred cherry tree that is displayed at the very beginning of this game and t...
