Emma Byers: Landscapes of the Sacred 2

     Belden C. Lane describes a sacred place using the ideas behind 4 axioms. 1) A sacred place cannot be chosen, it chooses, 2) A place that is considered normal can become sacred through ritual, 3) a sacred place can be treed upon without being entered and 4) the impulse of a sacred place is both local and universal. The axiom that I look most fondly on is the third axiom. While doing research on Japanese Matsuri, I learned that people come from far and wide to view their spiritual festivals that are meant for the gods of the villages of Japan. Through ritual and festival, the Japanese natives have made all of their villages sacred because the gods walk through them during the festivals and interact with humans. The tourists there viewing it are only there in physically but are not experiencing the festivals spiritually. They are merely having an experience seeing the locals celebrate harmony with the world and not having an encounter with the gods around them.