The Wosite Universe of Awa

Motoake Mandala by Woshite World

Essay on the Awa Universe

This essay follows upon decades of contemplation on the nature of reality. Our background in physics and quantum mechanics together with research into Wosite and other world cosmologies have enabled us to form a coherent picture of Universe. We discuss the Wosite universe of Awa as we understand it, based on the teachings of Toyoke Kami and his Motoake cosmology chart. We present the Wosite cosmology in light of the modern thinking of quantum physics.

Awa Universe

Awa means Universe. The syllable A stands for Ama, the Unseen. The syllable Wa stands for Seen, as the physical dimension of Earth. Although our human minds like to categorize concepts to make them more understandable, there is really no separation between Unseen and Seen. You may see translations of ancient literature which speak of Heaven and Earth which are roughly equivalent to Unseen and Seen. We avoid terms which are loaded with religion. Wosite is not a religion. It is a philosophy, a cosmology, and a worldview.

Auwa and Amemiwoya

Auwa (A-u-wa) is a word that represents Amemiwoya, the Great Source of Awa universe.Here are two ways to write the three syllables of Auwa.   

The first uses special forms of Wosite characters, the spirals denoting the sacred nature of A and Wa. The second is Auwa written in the usual Wosite characters. The spiral A represents Ama, the sacred Unseen. The spiral Wa represents the Seen, the physical world; it is sometimes called simply Earth. The fancy U is umu, to give birth. Awa is the entirety of the universe in its Unseen and Seen aspects.

A third way is to represent Auwa as geometric shapes. You may remember the famous brush work of Sengai dubbed Circle, Triangle, Square representing Universe. Note the correspondence between geometry and writing: the circle of A, the square of Wa, and the triangle of U.

Universe, by Sengai, 1819 (public domain)

Auwa is Amemiwoya

The spiral way of writing Auwa refers to Amemiwoya, Great Parent, Source of All. In Wosite cosmology, Universe is both Unseen and Seen. We humans live in the Seen three-dimensional world of space and a dimension of time, and we hold a conventional view that the world is made of measurable matter and energy. However Universe is more, for it has an Unseen aspect. The Unseen may be likened to unmeasurable energy. The Unseen is equivalent to physicist David Bohm’s implicit order and the Seen to explicit order which form the wholeness of his cosmology.

To-no-Wosite Philosophy and Physics

To-no-Wosite is the teaching of Wosite philosophy. The world of the Seen comes from the Unseen. This is equivalent to the Source being called Emptiness by Buddhists, and the Quantum Void or Quantum Plenum by physicists. There is no separation between science and spirituality in Wosite or in true reality.

Yet, in the Wosite civilization, there is indeed scientific knowledge of the physical world. The water cycle was well known. There were calendars for different purposes. The people of Wosite had a solar calendar which was much more accurate than the Gregorian calendar and is still operating today in the mountains of Central Japan.

Motoake Mandala of Generation

The two halves of the word Motoake each means origin. Motoake refers to the origin of the world, of Universe. It is summarized by Auwa as we have discussed above. Motoake is further explained through a mandala chart designed by Toyoke Kami, the great teacher of the late Jōmon period. It may seem that the chart is in two dimensions, but it truly represents three or more dimensions. It represents vibrational energy emanating into all directions of space.

The above is the Toyoke mandala of Motoake, as rendered by our teacher Sakata Shoko.

Simplified Motoake Manadala

Our color-coded set of concentric circles is a simplified version of  Toyoke’s chart. It depicts three types of energies that are processes and actions of generation from the subtlest Unseen to the densest Seen. It consists of the central circle of Amemiwoya (blue). Concentric rings surround Amemiwoya. The first ring (green) contains the energies of time and space. The next (orange) is the ring of Kototama energies, vibrations which begin to manifest the physical human. The outer ring (pink) contains the energies to complete manifestation of the physical world of nature and biological creatures. There are 48 generative energies which are represented by 48 named kami. These are the energies of Wosite syllables. Details can be found in our other writings on the Motoake chart and Wosite language.

The Universe of Unseen and Seen is constantly active. There is a continuum from Unseen to Seen, from spirit to matter. This means that matter is not different from spirit. Spirit is sacred; matter is sacred.

Nonduality, Polarity, and Dyadic

Although in our diagram of Auwa, we show A and Wa as separate dimensions of reality, there is no separation, no intrinsic difference between the two. Remember: All is One, Two are One. It is merely that A is one end of a spectrum of polarity and Wa is at the other; this is how we explain it in words.

Why is it necessary to explain this? We ordinary humans are spiritual souls incarnated in physical bodies. We are here experiencing life in the material world. The soul lowers its high frequency of the spirit dimension as it enters physical life. We forget our true nature, what we really are. We need to be reminded so that we can make the most of our experience before we return to spirit.

As we experience life, we often find that the two polarities are intertwined. While most of the time we live in a physical world, we catch glimpses of the other. When we experience this vividly, we may call it an epiphany. It is a time of close connection with the All of Universe, our Source. Apollo astronaut Edgar Mitchell calls intertwined polarities “dyad” in his dyadic model of reality formulated after he experienced such an epiphany when returning from the moon.

Unity Worldview of Wosite Miti

In Wosite philosophy, all in Universe is sacred. All in Universe is connected. This is a worldview of unity. The worldview is a Miti (also spelled Michi), a Way of living a conscious life. It is based on the principle that all in Universe — people, animal, plants, minerals — come from one Source and are connected to each other. This connection is called in Wosite musuhi. The modern word is musubi.

As long as the people of ancient times walked this Way and followed this philosophy of unity, they did not engage in warfare. The Jōmon period is noted for 10,000 years of non-violence. Unfortunately, this long period of peace came to an end. Can we modern people observe this Way? Can we, too, live without violence?

Hito Iki, First Breath

How does Universe begin? In our urban myth, Universe is said to have begun in a Big Bang. Some are calling it the Big Breath, when Universe breathes into existence. Hito Iki is the Wosite descriptive term for the origin of Universe. Hito Iki means First Breath. Yet, nowhere does it say that this First Breath took place once long ago. Rather Universe is always breathing its First Breath, constantly revitalizing life and intelligence.

Ki, Cosmic Energy

It has been known for a long time in Japan that the lifeforce called Ki flows in human bodies and everywhere in nature. This Ki is none other than the Wosite Iki. The Iki of the cosmic First Breath.

Kototama of Wosite Language

Kototama is the practice and the theory of sacred sounds of Universe. Kototama sounds carry the lifeforce Ki. How does Kototama appear in Motoake cosmology? Think of sounds reverberating through the rings of the Motoake Mandala, from center outward. There are five vowels which are the mother sounds of all the 48 syllables of the Wosite language. These vowels are the five generative cosmic energies  A  I  U  E  O. They represent perform the following functions, therefore they are not “things” but processes.

There are nine other cosmic energies called consonants. They are:  K, H, N, M, T, R, S, Y, W. They combine with mother sounds, consonant always before vowel, and generate child sounds called syllables. Thus human speech of syllables represents generation of Universe, and we are generating Universe as we speak kototama. We are supporting life.

We are Consciousness

What is the glue that makes possible the unity of Auwa from the polarity of spirit and matter? The glue is consciousness. The true reality of Universe is consciousness. Each of us is an individuated consciousness of Universal Consciousness. We are like waves of the sea. We living beings are consciousness through which we experience the physical world. A green leaf is green not because our eyes sense green photons. Photons do not come in colors! What we call green comes from our agreement to label the experience of certain frequencies of electromagnetic radiation as “green.” In such a way, we have built our notions of what the physical world is like. And yet, that model of the world does not even exist. Only consciousness exists throughout Universe.

Quantum mechanics has in the last century revolutionized modern physics. Today’s science is remarkably similar to ultra-ancient science, both agreeing that “Consciousness is primary.”

The materialistic model that we have held until now has led us to the depths of exploitation of nature and environment to meet perceived human needs. To reverse this dive into our near extinction, we must revise our worldview into one of unity rather than duality, of consciousness rather than matter. We must act regeneratively, fostering life and well-being for all in Universe, by knowing not only who we are but what we are. 

We are consciousness.

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Understanding Motoake Creation of Universe

Motoake Cosmology

Motoake is the Wosite description of how Universe is created. Motoake literally means “opening of origin”, i.e., creation of Universe. Amoto is a synonym that also refers specifically to the “place” where resides Amemiwoya, the Great Source of All.

Emptiness of Amemiwoya

Amemiwoya is the Quantum Void-Plenum which is the source of all in Universe according to quantum physicists. Buddhists call it Ku or Mu or Emptiness which is “not nothing.” It is the Tao which cannot be named or described.

Motoake Chart Explained

The profound and beautiful Motoake chart was designed by the sage Toyoke-kami to explain how Universe is created, from the cosmology he learned in sacred teachings from his ancestors. Universe is created by cosmic energies of vibration called Kami. Some vibrations can be heard by the human ear, and some can be sounded by the human voice. All vibrations are sacred. This is the basic premise of Kototama, Sacred Sound.

Amoto of the Amemiwoya

The charts in this post were especially created by Ms Sakata Shoko for this site. We colored the central circle in the chart on the left to show Amoto clearly. The three special Wosite characters represent Amemiwoya. The upper spiral which opens counter-clockwise is the  A  symbol of Ame, Cosmos. The other spiral which opens clock-wise is the  Wa  symbol of Wa, Earth. In the very center, U symbolizes the birth (umu) produced by Amemiwoya. The three Wosite characters A-U-Wa in the Amoto are a symbol, a family crest so to speak, of Amemiwoya. This is a most sacred space.

Akuta-kami of Time and Space

The eight Wosite syllables in the innermost ring are the names of the eight Akuta-kami: To, Ho Ka, Mi, Ye, Hi, Ta, Me. These are their names as well as their pronunciations. The Akuta have special important functions having to do with space and time. This is described in other posts.

Anami-kami of Language and Speech

Next, we turn our attention to the Motoake chart with two colors. There are eight kami in the second ring; they are called Anami-kami. Anami-kami are in charge of the syllables A, I, Hu, He, Mo, Wo, Su, Si (the characters in the pink ring). Anami-kami are Kami that bring down cosmic vibrations to control the formation of the human body. They also control the Wosite language through the Awanouta.

Thirty-two Misohu-kami for the Human Body

How is the human body formed? In response to the Anami-kami, thirty-two Misohu-kami are reverberations of voice that produce human mime-katachi (human appearance and constitution of the body). They are shown colored yellow in the outer two rings of the chart. Misohu literally means thirty-two.

The Sacred Forty-Eight Kami of the Wosite Language

Because there are eight kami in each of the first two rings and sixteen in each of the next two rings, there are a total of forty-eight kami represented by the forty-eight Wosite characters for the forty-eight syllables of Wosite. The kami origin of human language and speech is the basis of the sacredness of the words we use.

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Kototama of Time, Space: Indigenous Wisdom of Ancient Japan

Photo credit: NASA

The Wosite Wisdom Circle appreciates your attendance at the Nature Talks Conference which was held this year from February 9 -13, 2022. On Day 4, February 12, a session with the above title was presented by the Wosite Wisdom Circle, composed of PJ Hirabayashi, Harriet Hatune Natsuyama, and Mariko Miho. The following is a copy of the script that Hatune Natsuyama prepared for the session. The images are slides from the presentation.

The Presentation

Thank you all for attending. I am grateful to my Japanese Wosite teachers, Ms Sakata Shoko-san, and Dr. Norito Hiraoka, an information technologist. You know, I think that we wouldn’t be here interpreting Wosite for an international audience if we didn’t have immigrant grandparents while growing up in the States. And yet they never said a word about ancient wisdom or Kototama.

Now, some of you know Kototama from your Reiki or Aikido practice. The Kototama that we share is what we three have discovered in Wosite. What is Wosite? Wosite is an advanced civilization which existed during the Jomon period and known for the world’s first pottery. We have facsimiles of Wosite documents which are filled with beautiful poetic literature, wise teachings and historical records. I’m sharing this story because I’ve learned that “We are all one”, and that such wisdom is surely to be found in all indigenous teachings.   

As a physicist, I was seeking to know the nature of reality in measurements and mathematics. But it is not to be found in the material world. I decided to look at the land of my grandparents, and I learned that the answer does not lie in Japanese culture either. We must go into the deep past, to indigenous times. There, I discovered the hidden Wosite. I found science and spirituality that were not two but one sacred science. This is a worldview of unity. I call it Wosite Wisdom. 

The word “Wosite” is shown above in the native script. It means teaching. Wosite originated in the archipelago of Japan after the Ice Age and developed during 12,000 years before the Common Era without warfare. When I visited the land of my grandparents seeking my roots, I heard a lot about Kami in nature and as superbeings in the sky, and I wondered what they truly are. Kami led me to the Wosite civilization. Wosite is a spoken and written Kototama language, an expression of sacred sounds of the universe. It is a worldview and a way of life of harmony and equity.

Photo credit: H. Natsuyama

Kami is a term used since ancient days and they can mean different things. The Kami of nature are like the nature spirits found everywhere. Especially in sacred places and in phenomena of high energy like towering mountains, white waterfalls, huge boulders, lightning, and fire.

Copyright free

Another type of Kami appeared in mythology after the Jomon period. This is a scene showing a female Kami emerging from a cave and bringing light to the world. This myth was introduced in the so-called “first” written document, published by the royal court which was established after Wosite was hidden. These kami are found in popular culture, for they are good for tourism and commerce. But where did these myths come from? Not from folklore. From Wosite literature!

Art credit: Gejirin.com

This slide shows people who were called Kami. Although it is not well-known, in BCE days there were earlier documents written in other scripts. The Wosite documents recorded historical events as they were taking place, thousands of years ago. The mythical female Kami was actually Amateru, a male person. The senior gentleman is the sage Toyoke Kami. He taught Wosite Wisdom which he himself had learned from his ancestors. These are some of the historical kami, people of high consciousness who were prime movers.

This slide shows the Kototama sounds of the five vowels, A, I, U, E, O. They are the sacred sounds of the universe. These five vowels remind us of the Five Elements static theory of Greek and other cultures. However these are Five Dynamic Energies, five processes of creation, five action verbs. The sounds do actions: starting with the subtlest of energies, A anticipates, I vibrates, U heats up, E gathers energy as it flows, O solidifies into manifestation. When we sound and embody the five vowels, we connect with the Source of the universe. What is shown on this slide are the written characters for the vowels as symbols in a script that represents the sacred energies.

Image: Sakata Shoko

Next: This mandala is the most important and profound representation of Wosite Wisdom. This Motoake chart of the Origin was designed by Toyoke Kami to teach the Wisdom. 48 Kototama syllables are arranged in concentric circles and represent energies for creating time and space. In the center are the symbols for sacred A-U-Wa, in the unseen dimension of Amemiwoya, the Great Parent, the Source of All. We come from this Source, therefore we are connected to each other, and We are All One.

Art credit: Tsukiyo Hoshikage

This Awanouta is in Wosite writing. Awanouta is a song of the universe, composed in a rhythm of 5 and 7. The title is on the right. Read down the columns from right to left. Do you see the first three lines of 5-7-5? This is the form of haiku poetry. You can also see the rhythm of 5-7-5-7-7, that of tanka poetry. All Japanese poetry, even today carries this 5-7 rhythm of Wosite.

There are 48 basic syllables in Wosite, all appear here. Note the first syllable is A written as a circle with a dot. The second is KA, written as a circle with a vertical line. Wosite is very much like an alphabet. These are kototama syllables because the consonant is always sounded before the vowel. This Awanouta was recited daily to promote good health.

Art by Matsuo Basho

This painting was created by the 17th century haiku poet, Matsuo Basho. Basho was a Kototama practitioner — and a Wosite practitioner as well. This is evident in his powerful haiku. Some contain hidden messages. 

Here is his poem on Michi, the Path, the Way.

This road. No one walks it. Twilight of autumn.

ko no miti ya     yuku hito nasi ni     aki no kure

Is Basho describing a scene on a lonely road in autumn? What is this Path he speaks of? He was on a journey to the far northern wilderness. Why not call his famous travel journal, Journey to the North? Instead he named it Oku no Hoso-michi (The Narrow Backroads). Oku no Michi is a play on the words: Michi no Oku, or Michinoku. The far reaches of the road. 

Mitinoku is actually a Wosite term meaning secret teachings of the Law. What Law? The Laws of the Universe, how the universe operates. Wisdom is knowing the Laws of the Universe.

Let’s read this poem once more, and listen for the hidden message.

Photo credit: NASA

I show this beautiful Earth as my last slide, to remind us that everyone on Earth has indigenous roots. As we have seen, we all come from one source, so we are all connected — to each other, to nature, to the whole universe. The Wisdom of Wosite is Unity. Thank you.

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Kototama Okagami: The 1940 Lectures of Yamakoshi Meisho – Lecture 2

LECTURE 2  TIME, SPACE AND WEAVING THE UNIVERSE

Preface

Okunomichi  on 2014.09.04 presented a brief overview, Kototama Researchers of the Modern Period. Kototama is the soul of words as well as the soul of things, and therefore the sacred power of speech. We have devoted several posts to this topic on this site and on Okunomichi, and they can be located through the SEARCH box. As promised long ago, we are now posting notes from the lectures of Yamakoshi Meisho (aka Yamakoshi Akimasa). From Okunomichi:

Yamakoshi Hiromichi (Koudo), Calligrapher to Emperor Meiji

Yamakoshi Akimasa (Meisho), Secretary and son of calligrapher Yamakoshi Hiromichi

Lecture 2

Vowels and consonants, space and time.  Vowels map out space, while consonants map out time. All together they form the universe, uchuu, where u represents vowels and space, and chuu represents consonants and time.

Waka by Empress Shoken. Among the many waka written by Empress Shoken is this.

Shikishima no     Yamato kotoba wo     tatenukini     

orushizu hata no     oto no saya kesa

Shikishima is the name for Nihon in traditional waka poetry. Orushizu hata is doing the weaving with the hata-ori weaving machine, and oto no saya is the beautiful sound of weaving. The empress implies that time and space are being created in harmony, and the country is doing well.

One hundred sounds of kototama.  There are one hundred sounds (syllables) when fifty sounds are reflected in the sacred mirror. There are various folktales about kototama. For example, the folk hero Momotaro has a name that refers to the one hundred (momo) sounds coming out. His grandparents are Isanagi and Isanami [says Yamakoshi]. In another tale, Urashimataro tells about the Chinese visitor who came seeking the elixir of immortality. When he opened the treasure box, only smoke appeared – because he did not understand kototama. [Doesn’t this imply that kototama is the secret of immortality?]

Yama symbol of eight spaces, kume symbol of nine squares.  The yama symbol is the square containing four intersecting lines, one pair forming a ‘+’ and the other pair an ‘x’. These lines divide the square into eight parts, each an isosceles right triangle. The name ‘ya ma’ comes from the indigenous words ya meaning eight and ma meaning spaces. It is equivalent to kume: ku, nine; me, eyes; these ‘eyes’ are the points at the eight ends of line segments plus the point in the center. Yama can also be represented as a square divided into nine equal smaller squares.

Yama symbol of eight spaces

[It is said that kume sennin immortals rode clouds around the universe. Sennin is written 仙人 and means immortal mountain wizard. The adjective kume may refer to wizards who understood kototama.]

Kume symbol of nine squares

The two lines that cross the yama square like a + is the symbol of the kami Kamimusubi. The other two lines that cross in an x form is the symbol of Takamimusubi. Both kami are needed to make sound and things.

The 9 father sounds (consonants) plus 5 mother sounds (vowels) together make 14 sounds, where 14 is toyo: to = 10 and yo = 4. [Toyo, as in Toyota, means excellent, bountiful. So the father and mother sounds together are excellent and denote prosperity.]

The joining of Kamimusubi and Takamimusubi is represented by the crossbeam as well as the the twisted rope shimenawa on a torii; it is a kuchinawa, a snake rope. These days it reminds us of the DNA helix.

Torii and shimenawa by Raggaeman

The Sound Chart: Amenominakanushi, Takamimusubi and Kamimusubi.  The Amanoiwato [the sacred iwa rock-cave] is the human mind. To understand this, just listening won’t do. You must open your mind. The word iwa is i no ha (where ‘i’ means 5 or 50, and ‘ha’ means breath). The 50 sounds are fundamental (hado no moto). ‘Hado’ means vibration, and ‘moto’ means base. All vibrations from the universe enter the brain, and the hundred kami appear. A kami is power; for example the kami of water is the power of water. When we have musubi, the kami are connecting.

Mythological Amaterasu emerging from the Amanoiwato rock cave

The sound U is the kami Amenominakanushi, which gives rise to the two kami Takamimusubi and Kamimusubi. Consider how U divides into A and WA.  A is akarui, light, Takamimusubi. WA is shadow, Kamimusubi. A is clear like fire, and positive; WA is hidden like water, and negative. So the single sound of U separates into WA-A, mizu-ho, water-fire. [Mizuho is also the name of a large financial corporation in Japan.]

Takamimusubi makes things come out – recall that the T sound is a coming out sound. Kamimusubi makes things by connecting. Both kami are needed! They are dual (opposite) energies of U. When U divides into WA and A, the properties of WA and A are as follows.

WA  –  A

Kamimusubi  –  Takamimusubi

water  –  fire

female  –  male

negative  –  positive

right  –  left

down  –  up

unseen  –  physical

black  –  white

heat  –  light

Futomani meaning.  Let us now discuss what happens when we put our hands together when we pray or clap. A is the thumb of the left hand, WA is that of the right hand. The digits of the left hand represent the sounds A TA KA SA HA; the right hand represents WA YA MA RA NA. When we put our hands together we have the pairs A-WA, TA-YA, etc. One clap is ten sounds; two claps are twenty = futo, fu = two, to = ten, and represents the kototama of futomani, the twenty mana. Futomani is the joining of Takamimusubi and Kamimusubi.

Thus uchuurei the universal spirit enters the human head. Kami is the principle of movement of kototama.

Editor’s note:  At the end of this lecture, Yamakoshi is describing the vibration of the universe as kototama. Vibration is movement, as in the above final statement. Or more precisely, the movement of kototama is the vibration of energy which we call by the name kami. Here, Yamakoshi is explaining his opening statements about Amanoiwato as the cave in the human brain, and opening the cave with kototama. He stated that kototama is the principle of every wisdom teaching. Do we see how he arrives at this conclusion?

We have learned the true meaning of Isuzu and now we know why it is as fine a name for a car as for a river. We learn here the greater meaning of Futomani. This basic meaning of futomani as the twenty energies is part of the kototama teaching. The use of futomani to mean divination is an application of kototama knowledge to analyzing a situation and determining an optimal outcome in harmony with the universe. Yamakoshi does not go into it here, but it is well known in kototama circles that the numerals hi, fu, mi, yo, i,… (one, two, three, four, five,…) are themselves powerful kototama syllables. 

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SACRED SOUNDS OF WOSITE

Wosite Period and Wosite Wisdom

Wosite is a sacred body of wisdom of indigenous Japan. To understand ancient Japan, we must recognize that the island chain that makes up the geographical land of what is now the modern nation of Japan was once connected to the Asiatic mainland. The separation of the islands took place when ocean levels rose after the end of the most recent Ice Age. This was roughly 15,000 BCE; there is no exact date since the phenomenon took place gradually over many centuries. However long it took, nevertheless settlers on these lands were separated from the continent and they developed a unique advanced civilization. The period from the end of the Ice Age to around the turn of the Common Era or a few hundred years BCE is termed the Jōmon period. Although the Jōmon are noted for their namesake world’s first pottery, their elegant writing system and  greatness of their science and civilization have been ignored — until now.

We are calling your attention to the achievements of these people as recorded in the Wosite documents. There were many other writing systems in the Jōmon period of prehistory. In a sense, to call this “prehistory” is incorrect because there was a recorded history. However, the written documents are not regarded as valid by so-called scholars. Of all these scripts, Wosite is one of the oldest and the most systematic. Its basis is a deep understanding of the principles of nature and the universe and the physical laws by which they operate. This depth of concept that is encoded in the Wosite script is evidence of abstract thinking of early people. This may come as a surprise to many moderns who have assumed that we have only recently come to this level of thought. Moreover, the activity of the Wosite mind included higher consciousness of spiritual understanding that we may aptly call “wisdom.” 

Wosite Documents

Wosite researchers such as my teacher, Beace, state that Wosite existed 6,000 to 8,000 years ago, or 4,000 to 6,000 BCE, based on written, geophysical, and archaeological records. This would make the Wosite civilization the oldest known today, older than the Mayan, the Hindu, the Egyptian. Not that those civilizations did not exist long ago, but their glory days took place after Wosite was already highly developed. Why do I say this? The Wosite documents which are extant today are the Mikasahumi, Hotuma Tutaye, and  the Hutomani. These titles are sometimes written, after transcribing from modern Japanese to Roman letters, as Mikasafumi, Hotsuma Tsutae, Futomani. They were edited at the time of Woshirowake Keikō Tennō, said to be around the year 100 in the Common Era. However, these three documents were compiled at the time of the Kami leader Amateru (Amaterasu), dozens of generations prior. I am using the indigenous term Kami for a person with high level of consciousness. Within these documents are references to dozens of earlier documents and statements that much of  the wisdom knowledge base was formed millennia previously. 

Kototama and Cosmology

I will teach Wosite Wisdom starting from the image of the Motoake Chart. It represents the cosmic origin of the universe as described in the Wosite documents. There are 48 Wosite characters, 48 syllables. They are the basic syllables of the Wosite spoken language as written to represent Wosite Kototama.

What is Kototama? Kototama is a very old word about Tama spirit. In the indigenous worldview that is so close to nature, there is a spirit in everything on earth and in the universe. From long ago, the people of Japan loved word-play and double-meanings. The word Koto has two meanings: word, and thing. This is saying that words themselves have spiritual energy, and that spiritual energy creates things. Kototama thus refers to the sacred power of human speech. Spoken words have a great energy to create, and sometimes to destroy, so we speak with full presence of mind and awareness. 

Motoake Chart 

The Motoake representation of cosmology is attributed to the Kami sage Toyoke, teacher and grandfather of Amateru. He credits earlier ancestors for achieving the deep understanding and the wisdom which he inherited. This cosmology is the basis of the spoken and written language of Wosite.

A-U-Wa represents Amemiwoya in Amoto

The central circle of the Motoake chart denotes the Amoto circle wherein dwells Amemiwoya, the Great Parent of All. We today may conceptualize Amemiwoya as the Quantum Void or the Buddhist Emptiness from which everything manifests. The three letters in the circle are the three Wosite characters for A-U-Wa. “A-U-Wa,” which in Wosite means the Birth (U) of Cosmos (A) and Earth (Wa), namely the origin of the universe. 

The first ring contains 8 energies which directly support Amemiwoya. The next 8 energies enable human speech. The outer two rings each contain 16 energies necessary for human life. There are a total of 48 basic energies, and each energy is a syllable of sound.

Thus, speech which is made of these 48 syllables contain the sacred energies of the universe. In turn, the Wosite characters are the writing of symbols which represent these energies. Speaking Wosite with pure intention is Kototama.

In the next article, we will show how the Kototama of Motoake is contained in the Awanouta song and the Wosite language itself, both spoken and written.

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AWANOUTA, THE BASIS OF LANGUAGE

Awanouta is the Song of the Universe. It was created by the Kami, Isanami and Isanagi, based on Toyoke Kami’s Motoake chart. The Awanouta captures the essence of Wosite cosmology and encodes it in a concise expression of the Wosite language. In only 48 syllables, each a sound of universe, a sound of Kototama.

Awanouta.  The people of the archipelago grew in numbers and developed their civilization. From earlier hunting and gathering, they settled down, built homes, and raised crops for a stable food supply. It was becoming necessary to act jointly for home construction and agriculture. A common language was required. Isanami, the daughter of Toyoke, and her spouse Isanagi together composed — out of the 48 syllables in the Motoake chart — a teaching song. They would teach people to sing a common song and they called it the Awanouta (Awa-no-uta, Song of Awa). The song can be written in four lines of 5+7=12 syllables each. It is shown here in Wosite characters on the right below. It is read from the right column, top to bottom, toward the left column. 

Awanouta

Next, we see Awanouta in Romaji on the left; Romaji is a transliteration of Wosite sounds into Roman letters. The pronunciation of Romaji is similar to Hawaiian.

In passing, we observe that the 5-7 rhythm of Wosite has been preserved for millennia. We still see it in traditional Waka Japanese poetry of Tanka (5-7-5-7-7) as well as in Haiku (5-7-5).

Kototama syllables.  These 48 syllables are the sounds of Kototama, as explained in the previous post, Sacred Sounds of Wosite. Let me add that the 48 syllables are called open syllables, where each syllable has one consonant followed by one vowel. This is necessary for Kototama to spread through the universe.

Wosite syllabary

Wosite syllabary.  The 48 syllables of the Awanouta song can be arranged according to the five vowels in this tabular (matrix) form, shown in Wosite on the right and Romaji on the left. In this way it is easy to see the systematic design of the syllabary, the foundation of the Wosite language. There are five columns headed by the vowels  a  i  u  e  o. The row below the vowels  has the syllables beginning with the consonant  k, the next row with consonant  h, etc. There would be 50 syllables except that two are not used, therefore there are 48 syllables.

Meaning of Wosite syllabary. The Wosite syllabary is not simply a layout of characters. It contains deep cosmological principles of toki-tokoro time and space.  The vowels express the life-giving energies of Amemiwoya, starting from the first stirrings of  a  to the solidification of  o.  The vowels are the Five Primordial Energies, the Five Fundamental Processes of the origin of everything. The main point is that they are not static elements or “things” but are moving, functioning energies which produce physical manifestation on earth. 

Wosite vowels

Consonants play their role, too. They bring the Primordial Energies down to earth and to the people who share their blessings with each other. Full details are given in other posts on this site. Read the Welcome page for advice on getting started. You can also use the Search box for specific topics.

A metaphor frequently used in Wosite teachings is that of weaving. It is said that the syllabary represents the weaving of time and space. The sounds of the vowels are the vertical warp threads of the loom that form space as they flow through time. Consonants are the horizontal woof threads that represent development in time. And thus the evolution of humanity plays out. 

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Isanagi’s Rice Paddy Fields. Part One. Awanouta

Ref: http://julian.way-nifty.com/woshite/2009/08/post-93fe.html, dated 2009.08.13

Preface

This is a rendering of another one of Beace-san’s informative — and candid — posts. We find it so interesting for the number of important insights it provides about the Wosite civilization of Jōmon Japan. One insight reveals the existence of paddy-field rice cultivation at an early time in the history of the Jōmon native people of Japan. Another is the initiative of Isanami and Isanagi in improving the communication ability of the diverse tribes so that they could cooperate in growing rice crops. They created a Kototama [power of speech] song called Awanouta, with basic vocal sounds that expressed the positive energies of the universe. The Wosite people developed a cosmic worldview in which the universe is created through the dynamic action of five fundamental energies, an advanced concept over the static description of five static elements. And perhaps it was a precurser of modern quantum mechanics. Wosite learning taught the existence and activity of the human soul. The Motoake chart design described their cosmic worldview. It also served as the referent of a decision-making method called Hutomani. The sheer antiquity of the Wosite civilization of the Jōmon period of Japan attests to the vital contributions of Wosite thought on global understanding of the nature of reality. 

PART ONE

Paddy field reclamation of Isanagi and Isanami and paddy rice cultivation method

The time of Isanagi and Isanami was a time of paddy field reclamation and cultivation [wet rice agriculture]. Now, a big problem was the spoken language. It was difficult to direct and teach people with different dialects. Paddy rice cultivation is all about collaborative work. Also, if the work is done late or too early, it will affect the growth of the rice plants. They couldn’t get the job done without accurate verbal communication.

As an aside, I [Beace] think it was only these two people, Isanagi and Isanami, who noticed these things in detail. Their ancestor is Ta-no-Kunisatuti of the Takamimusuhi [a.k.a.Takamimusubi] lineage. Isanami is in a direct line, being the daughter of the fifth Takamimusuhi. Isanagi is from a subsidiary line. They took over after the 6th generation Amakami who had no children. Isanami grew up in Hitakami (Tohoku), and Isanagi was born in Nenokuni around present-day Kanazawa.

When they were about to join together in matrimony, they may have thought … It’s difficult to succeed to the Amakami, especially because they were two people growing up in different environments and languages. Even after getting married, I’m sure there was some difficulty in communicating in words .

That reminds me, I went to Kagoshima from my home in Kumamoto before the days of TV … It was like going abroad. I couldn’t understand the Kagoshima people, even though I’m from a neighboring prefecture. Recently, thanks to TV, even the elderly can speak the standard language. However … for a while ten years ago, I lived deep in the mountains of Kagoshima. Well, daytime was fine. But at night, I didn’t understand 99% of what the drunken old man and my aunt were talking about! It took me a year to guess most things.

Awanouta, the A I U E O song 

The 48-syllable Awanouta

Isanagi and Isanami decided to make a good-sounding 5-7-rhythm A I U E O song; they practiced vocalization, and arranged the words for the people. And they made the Awanouta [the song of A and Wa]. It can be said that the “A” world represents cosmos and the “Wa” in Awanouta represents Kunitama, the earth; together Awa [A and Wa] represents the entire universe.

This is a song made on the banks of the Awaumi capitol [now Lake Biwako in Ōmi, i.e., Shiga prefecture]. An ancient five-stringed koto called katakaki (an ancestor of Wa-koto, Japanese koto) was struck, and Isanagi sang loudly …

” Akahanama ikihini miuku
　hunumueke heneme okohono “

Izanami followed with a beautiful voice,

” Motorosoyo wotere seyeturu
　Suyuntiri siyitara sayawa “　

People also sang together. As they sang many times, their voices joined, and they felt better. Some people may have enjoyed it so much they started dancing … In-between bouts of labor, surrounding the bonfire at night, they all would have had a great time.

The five sounds A I U E O that form everything

The five elementary sounds are A I U E O. They have names:

A is Utuho [space energy]

I is Kase [wind energy]

U is Ho [fire energy]

E is Mitu [water energy]

O is Hani [solidifying energy].

These five primordial sounds are the processes that make all phenomena and substances in the universe. [Although these words are often translated as “Five Elements,” they are really “Five Elementary Energies” or “Five Elementary Processes.”]

When you say “ahhhhh”, something like Utsuho’s energy enters your body through the sound, into your cells. And it may refresh and activate the Utsuho component that makes up the molecules, atoms, electrons, elementary particles, etc. It is the idea that it affects other components in general and prepares the body and mind.

It is said that mental and spiritual things are also made through these five elementary processes. There are things that can be gathered together. The invisible thing is called Yekura, whose composition also consists of five components: Tama (comprised of three parts, Tama, Kokoroba, Miyabi) and Siyi (composed of two parts, Siyi, Simu). Tama in a thing means that the proportion of Utsuho is higher than that of Muwata (body and organs) that can be seen. In animals, Tama has almost no Utsuho. It seems that humans are different from animals … interesting!

The energy emitted from Amemiwoya forms all things, but Tama is made from the energy of Wo (Urunami) that comes through the sun. Siyi is made from the energy of Me (Yorunami) that comes from the moon. [Note that Wo is male energy and Me is female energy, analogous to yang and yin.] These two are made of energy Tamanowo from the earth and are connected as Tamasiyi. Also, when the person dies, this Tamanowo is detached. Tama returns to Amemioya’s Moto [Origin] through the sun and Siyi through the moon. Tamanowo and the remaining body are each decomposed into the five elements/energies and returned to Kunitama.

Isn’t this refreshing!

[Note the similarity of this Wosite description of soul to that of Shinto. It supports the view that the origin of Shinto lies in the days of the Wosite civilization. The case at hand is the word for the Shinto soul, tamashii.  This word no doubt came from the Wosite tamasiyi, by changing the last syllable. Many of the Wosite syllables beginning with “y” and “w” are no longer in use in the Japanese language.]

The spread of Awanouta

The Awanouta song has spread since then. This was the first forty-eight syllable table, and it represented the elements of Japanese (Wosite characters), but it also brought about a rich healing effect through the voice.

Therefore, Amakami, Kunikami, and others actively instructed and transmitted this uta [song] that prepares the mind and body. Amakami traveled all over the country and taught songs along with technical guidance. Therefore, when a child became able to speak, it was good education to teach Awanouta, to sing it every day, and to prepare the words, mind, and body.

“It is the misogi [purification practice] that cleanses the body, and the uta that cleanses the dust of the mind.”

This is older, much older, than the Chinese Yin-yang five elements. This cosmology is unique to Japan — from the time of the founding of this country … In other words, this concept had already been established long, long ago in Jōmon Japan of 6,000 BCE.

To be continued in the next post.

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Postscript to Kototama: Returning to the Origin

A week ago, we posted Kototama: Returning to the Origin, from the book by Dr. Nanasawa. Since that short time, already 26 of you readers have visited that post, making it the top post of the month to date. We remarked there that the reading of the Japanese term for Kototama, 言霊, is pronounced Genrei. The following explanation was kindly provided by Mr. Taisei Sato of Waki Publishing Company.

As you know, generally, we call it KOTODAMA which mostly means Spirit of words. The other term, GENREI is a new reading after the Meiji era. It means not only KOTODAMA but  also an academic field of Ancient Japanese, which began in the Meiji era by Meiji Tennou and his colleague who taught it to Ogasawara-sensei.

The term genrei very interesting. First, it reminds us Westerners that we are behind the times in that the study of Kototama in Japan has moved on and expanded, and we have been learning a more classical form of Kototama. Secondly, we note that the pronunciation genrei is not a Kototama sounding in the classical sense. Still, it is convenient to have a new term that includes our study of Wosite, the ancient language of Jomon Japan, the forerunner of Yamato kotoba and modern Nihongo language.

My Japanese teachers of Wosite have down-played the Kototama aspect of Wosite. Perhaps the general Japanese public has a different view of the meaning of Kototama than we Westerners. We have learned Kototama through Ueshiba-Sensei in Aikido and of Usui-Sensei in Reiki. And we view Kototama as a new aspect of energy practice. In contrast, it has a long a varied history in Japan, so the Japanese experience with Kototama must be quite different from ours.

WoshiteWorld (aka Okunomichi) has studied the classical Kototama of Senseis Ueshiba, Gleason, Stevens, and Saotome, and the version of Ogasawara Koji’s teachings that are available to us in English. Also included are the books by Masahilo Nakazono Sensei. We have studied the teachings of Shimada Sensei through his website which is unfortunately no longer in existence, and through his books which are in Japanese. We also have learned Kototama from teachers of ancient Hawaiian culture.

Therefore, WoshiteWorld teaches Wosite as a Kototama language. Please stay with us as we continue to do this.

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KOTOTAMA: RETURNING TO THE ORIGIN

Editor’s Note

We view Wosite as a kototama language. We taught the meanings of the five vowels of Wosite as symbols of energetic processes.

One of the great teachers of kototama was 小笠原孝次 Ogasawara Koji.

So far as we know, Ogasawara Sensei wrote only one book in English and it is difficult to find. One of Ogasawara’s students was Masahilo Nakazono who moved to the U.S. and published several kototama books in English.

Waki Shuppan, the Waki Publishing Company, has been publishing a series of books on kototama, the power of sound, the spirit of speech.

Nanasawa Kenji 七沢 賢治 is a student of Ogasawara Sensei. Nanasawa has published a number of books based on the Ogasawara teachings.

The book we are looking at today is entitled, 言霊開眼. The Japanese title is read as Genrei Kaigan, and it can be interpreted as Kototama Enlightenment. The second edition was published in 2016.

At the end of the book is an Afterword by Nanasawa. What follows is our interpretation of these very candid remarks. The archaism kotonoha may be understood to mean words, speech, or in our context kototama.

Afterword

元の一つにかえる言の葉の道  Moto no Hitotsu ni Kaeru Kotonoha no Michi, Returning to the Origin of Kotonoha no Michi

I spent seven years studying with Ogasawara Sensei. I remember the time we had red wine from France…

In this way, one day I suddenly felt sure that I “got” the understanding of the kototama vowel “i.” Sensei was very pleased. With the understanding of the kototama “i” all words related to it such as inochi, iki, imi (life, breath, meaning) made sense.  In particular, inochi is like a representative of the entire kototama connected with “i.” Based on that, it included the entirety of the one sound of “i.” And the understanding of the Japanese syllabary follows with “u” [vowel order  a, i, u, e, o]. In other words, understanding the higher world of “i” will connect to an understanding of “u,” the kami Amanominakanushi. Similarly it is possible to understand the “e” that follows from “i” in the Amatsufutonorito syllabary [vowel order  a, i, e, o, u]. Naturally it also includes the myths of Izanagi, Izanami, and the Seventeen Kami.

At first, I tried to understand each of the Japanese fifty sounds of the syllabary, but eventually I realized that it was not enough. There is no doubt that there is a spirit of words in the world.

However, it is not possible to express one’s state of mind by one sound at a time. Thus emerge the poetic forms of tanka and waka. Haiku has seventeen sounds of five, seven, and five. Tanka has 31 sounds of five, seven, five, seven, seven. There is the famous haiku by Matsuo Basho:

shi zu ka sa ya

i wa ni shi mi i ru

se mi no ko e

Basho expresses his universe in a world of seventeen sounds/syllables. This number of seventeen is connected to the seventeen kami which are the Amatsukamimoromoro no Mikoto, the various Amatsu Kami. The world of this haiku develops from the “i” sound. The “shi” in shizukasaya is actually “si” in kototama; it has the vowel “i.” The word iwa means boulder or rock and it also contains the vowel “i.” In viewing things this way, this becomes the song of kototama.

Sensei would often say, please bring a waka. By that, he meant that incorporating waka into kototama studies would lead to a clearer state of mind.

When I look back at my seven years with Ogasawara Sensei, I was spending from noon to 9 pm at his home almost every day. There are many things that I can’t cover here. However, one thing I would like you to understand is that the relationship with Sensei did not end after seven years. Rather, even now, even after Sensei’s death, the bond seems togrow stronger year by year. It seems as if Ogasawara Sensei became genrei mani [possibly meaning the spirit of kototama] and is supporting my research.

In closing, I would like to introduce the last song that Ogasawara Sensei composed.

Hi to tsu yo ri

i de te wa ka re te

ma ta mo to no

hi to tsu ni ka e ru

ko to no ha no mi chi

From one

it divides, and then

returns to

the original one —

the path of words.

The Koto no Ha no Michi that Ogasawara Sensei inherited from Yamakoshi Akimasa Sensei is finally out in the light of day. It is a natural consequence of “returning to the origin” and it cannot be stopped. The publication of this book has strengthened that determination. At this time, I would like to express my deep appreciation to all the people concerned for the publication of this new edition of Kototama Enlightenment. And I pray for the continued prosperity of all of you who read this book.

May 1, 2015 at Kototama Jinja, Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture.

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Agō Kiyohiko on Kototama

Agō Kiyohiko on Kototama

“Kototama no michi is explained in super-ancient history of Biwako’s esoteric doctrine. Dr. Agō accomplished this momentous research in a lifetime career as pioneering director of the Biwako Research Center. “ 

These statements were retrieved in November 2013 from the website of the Biwako Research Center. The website is no longer online. Biwako, largest lake in Japan, lies in the center of Shiga Prefecture. It is of particular interest to students of Wosite as the Naka-Kuni Central Land of Isanami and Isanagi. Biwako is also of historical interest to geologists, biologists, archaeologists, and anthropologists as a region rich in human and natural activity from ancient times.

Agō Kiyohiko, former electrical engineer who spent his long retirement years studying ancient matters such as Wosite, made the following remarks about Kototama on this website.

“Kototama is the recognized spiritual function of Japan’s ancient language.”

“Kototama is a language inseparable from sending the supernatural…”

“Kototama is the sound coming from kami, as distinct from the sound made by ordinary people.”

“When ordinary people speak a language of understanding, then it is kototama. ‘That person has kototama’ we often hear, meaning that he/she has grasped spiritual phenomena.”

“In today’s scientific, materialistic civilization, there are those who deride it mistakenly. But wise people find a deep recognition.”

Brief Biography of 吾郷清彦  Agō Kiyohiko (1909-2003)

Agō Kiyohiko is best known for his research into Old Shinto and ancient literature of Japan. He went to school in Shimane-ken. He had a degree in electrical engineering from the Manchuria Institute of Electrical Engineering. He worked as a power engineer at Manchu Electric Industry in a thermal power plant. After returning to Japan, he played a central role in the construction and operation of a hydroelectric power plant in Shimane.

After his retirement, he devoted himself to research in ancient Japan and leadership of the Biwako Research Center. He published fifteen or more books on topics such as Old Shinto, Takamahara, Uetsufumi, Kuki Shinden, Kamiyo-moji, ultra-ancient history, Takeuchi documents, Hotsuma Tsutaye, and Kototama. Introduction to Old Shinto (Koshinto Nyumon ), a book of three-person dialogues on many of the above subjects, was published in 2000 when Dr. Agō was 90 years old. He died three years later.   

Koshinto Nyumon by Agō Kiyohiko et al.

“In today’s scientific, materialistic civilization, there are those who deride it [Kototama] mistakenly. But wise people find a deep recognition.”   — Agō Kiyohiko