On May 20th, Dr. Furuta, a Doctor of Science who is the only conger eel appraiser in the world, brought along his Kamishibai, Natchan.

We first met at Yasaka Shrine and were given an explanation about the Cosmic Dragon.

Professor Furuta scientifically explained that the Cosmic Dragon is the same theory as the Cosmological Principle. He said that the light emitted from Betelgeuse in the painting is boron, and that the four seas in the work represent the universe being divided into four parts, with each part’s power balanced by the number 93.

Mr Imazaki from Yasaka Shrine stopped by, and after a brief introduction and some pleasant chit chat, we headed to the production studio.

At the studio, explaining Shiozawa’s latest work, the Kumano Mandala, Professor Furuta said that it too is all scientifically backed.

Nacchan is a kamishibai performer who has been featured on television and other media. She creates original kamishibai based on the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, conveying the spirit of Japan’s eight million gods, and delivers them to audiences across the country. She is also an artist who manipulates Japan’s ancient characters, “Ryutai Moji.”

She is also well versed in Buddhism and Shintoism, having specialized in such studies at university, and regards Shiozawa’s work with nods of approval, and additional commentary from an academic perspective.

After the lecture on Shiozawa’s works, Natchan performed a paper theater. The story is presented in an easy-to-understand manner with original stories written by Natchan, to interest young children.

Most children today do not know about Japanese gods. I think it is important for the next generation to learn about Japanese lore in order to help reconnect them with Japanese spirituality.

Both of these uniquely talented people and Shiozawa talked nonstop for about five hours.