Although I visited Japan as a child and was utterly enthralled with it, I did not really study Japanese culture in depth. I felt that, as a child of Northern Europe, it was more important to become as educated as possible in my own ethnic background, in the traditions of the Gods of the North. My own daughter is named Freya for a very good reason!
Nonetheless, I always believed that mythology IS universal and the way to Truth is through the study of every road that has the same signposts upon it. One can understand the old Eddic poems best if one knows the various myths that show similar features throughout the centuuries and throughout the world. Loki does not stand alone as the Trickster God. There is a Trickster in Native American cultures and indeed, when I studied the cultures of the Plains Indians in particular, I found amazing similarities between their traditions and those of the Vikings. The berserker for example is as much a part of Native American religion as of Scandinavia. There were Bear Lodges in both cultures and the shapeshifter, whether into Wolf or Bear, is common to both.
Recently, however, my involvement in Japanese games rekindled an interest in Japan in general. Harvest Moon introduced me to many of the festivals of Japan. Animal Crossing, with its goal of collecting items of all kinds, from furniture to decorative items, brought some new and wondrous symbolic items into my life, first in virtual form but ultimately in their real forms.
I first encountered the Hagoita in Animal Crossing. A friend of mine came to my village with gifts of some rare items not sold by any local merchants and indeed, never offered for sale. The only way to obtain them is by attending a specific festival, often in a specific part of the world, or by being given the item by a friend as I was. Among these items was a Hagoita.
My friend did not know what it was, in fact, but found it very attractive. When I attempted to study the tiny miniature virtual item, I only could see that it resembled a folded fan more than anything else with some ornaments on cords attached to it. In fact, it is a very significant item in Japanese culture and represents a badminton paddle. The little items that sometimes accompany it are two 'birdies'.
Oriuginally, the Hagoita was a rectangular paddle used to play a badminton-like game called hanetsuki. This game was played only by girls at the New Year. It therefore must have been a game fraught with religious significance, much like the swinging games found throughout the world in Spring. There are two possible sacrificial components to this game. The first is the 'birdie' hit by the paddle. In many ancient cultures, birds were sacrificed to the Goddess. Birds represent the soul as well.
The second sacrificial component is the player. I was interested to discover that, whenever a girl missed the birdie, a black ink stripe was drawn on her face. The girl whose face was filled with stripes ultimately was the one who lost the match. It is possible that this originally represented an ancient sacrifice of a virgin, chosen through a game rather than a practice of drawing lots.
