In October every year, in the city of Nagasaki, there is a fascinating event called the Kunchi Festival. Its nature is particular to the city of Nagasaki, in that in addition to celebrating each district of the city, it also celebrates cultural influences which came into Japan from other countries, specifically from China and Holland.

There was a time when Japan was very careful about what outside influences it allowed into the country – this came about as a result of legendary shogun Tokugawa Ieasu’s desire for unity throughout the country, and outside influences were felt to be potentially disruptive, and so they were outlawed. This climate was the background to the past life in Japan in which Yogensha himself was killed, in defence of his homeland and its culture, in 1628.

However, the Tokugawa shogunate recognised the value of carefully-controlled trading relationships with partners who would respect Japan’s position, and this is why it remained open only to China and Holland for several decades. The cultures of these two countries were to contribute much to Japan.

Kendo Nagasaki would draw a parallel between Japan at the dawn of the Tokugawa shogunate, and anyone in need of healing. In order to emerge from a time of discord and disorganisation, great care must be taken concerning the influences in the immediate environment; as the old saying goes, “no-one is an island”, and everyone and everything is inevitably surrounded by and influenced by multiple external factors. Unless a conscious effort is made to be aware of the qualities of the influences around us, it is all-too easy to fail to see how we may be being influenced by them.

Kendo has said that if there is one fundamental lesson of incarnation, it is discrimination; of course, there are arguably a great many individual lessons particular to individual souls, but discrimination is the “biggie” – the one that is common to all on the incarnate plane. The discrimination shown by Tokugawa’s Japan became the foundation of deep healing and the growth of great strength for Japan, and – again, as Kendo has said – as described by the law of correspondence, what has applied to a nation can also apply to individuals.

One of the most important tenets of Western philosophy to seek to know oneself “sui generis” – in and of oneself only, without reference to anything external. That Japan independently underwent precisely this process and brought about great positive change is an excellent example to us in the West, and Kendo cites Nagasaki’s Kunchi Festival as a source of inspiration to undertake the same questioning of the influences around us.

Kendo Nagasaki would counsel that just as the modern-day Kunchi Festival is a celebration of the city of Nagasaki’s diverse well-being, including those influences which, following careful scrutiny, have proven to be benevolent, the self-rediscovery and emergence from malaise that can come from aware discrimination is an excellent state to aspire to on a personal level.