Day 7 - your favourite guest character (as in, any character who appeared only in one episode/arc):
Actaully I’m rather fascinated by the “kami”(I’m not going to use the term “god” as it is nowhere near what japanese “kami” means. The semantic field is very different, concept of “kami” is wider etc.), who appear in Natsume Yuujinchou. Unfortunately, I have to write this before Monday, so I won’t talk about the character yet to apper in anime. But let’s dig into this guy:
Tsuyukami. He’s not the only “kami” in this series, but his story was beautiful. Maybe it’s my professional habit, but I payed a lot of attention to this guy’s story. He wasn’t a “kami”, but just a wondering ayakashi, who looked for a shelter in a shrine and then due to certain circumstances, people started to worship him. It’s interesting how in japanese culture certain things can turn into a “kami”, but I’m no specialist in that field, so I’m not even trying to dive into details. What’s most interesting, is that “kami” disappears here. When the worshipers are gone, so is the “kami”. I suppose even if I know this from books, it still shakes my european mind well. I started to think about my own culture’s demons who actually also died out with those who still acknowledged their existence. Our present demonology is restricted to the main characters and minor good ones. And those wandering demons of air, water, fire and earth are pretty much gone(not completly,but they’re not as conscious in people minds as they were even 50 years ago). Ok,this turned into a freak rant, sorry xD But sometimes I actually go on rants like these while watching Natsume. Giving myself creeps…
So anyway, the scene of Tsuyukami disappearing really moved me…It was an amazing character, treating a human like a friend. The scene when he disappeared was one of those which made my heart squeeze a little…
‘I’ll worship you! Everyday is impossible,but I’ll definitely come!’
‘That wouldn’t do Natsume-dono, you and I are friends’
It’s actually a very deep scene, in my book, one of the best in this anime. It actually leaves you thinking how fleeting the world is when everything, even “kami” have to pass on, somehow unsettling, but extremely precious. As no one but Natsume could see what happened to Tsuyukami.
I love the “kami” of Natsume Yuujinchou :D
