lost in translation

Watched the interesting ‘Feast’ set in Japan last night but found myself irritated by the laziness of translation. Whilst exploring the ‘Big Penis’ festival, the local priest says the penis is regarded as ‘a God’. Whilst I don’t understand Japanese, I did recognise the word she used as kami. Certainly the capitalisation of the word god was inappropriate as is the word, which is etymologically linked to the idea of a Lord or Big Boss – perhaps OK in a Judaeo-Christian context but not here. Deity, connected via deus to Sanskrit deva meaning something (special) than shines (& so touches the heart) might have been better, or perhaps spirit. The Japanese have many kami that symbolise the essence of aspects of their lives, environment that are felt to be worthy of appreciation and celebration (better words than worship) with feasts and festivals. Other traditional cultures have similar notions though use different names (eg Tibetans with drala).

Later in the programme it is stated that the Japanese belief in Shintoism and Buddhism was contradictory, as was their claim not to be religious. The confusion arises from merely skimming superficial meaning rather than examining the experience the words refer to.

Perhaps it is too much to ask of a TV programme made for mass consumption (even on BBC4!) and, although gimmicky, by participating in the ‘Naked Man’ festival, the presenter might – through experience – have got a fleeting sense of what was going on – inasmuch as anyone could on such a fleeting visit. Without depth such programmes run the risk of descending into opportunities to giggle and poke fun at ‘superstitious foreigners’.