Anonymous Interview: The Witch

I conduct anonymous interviews with many different people, but this is my first time interviewing a witch (though, as a matter of fact, another witch applied for an interview right after this one).
Now, about witches.
What kind of impression do you all have of witches? Well, we didn't actually touch much on witches; instead, I asked about mythology and music therapy. It's surprisingly little that you can cover in a limited time of 60 minutes. After all, this project is an interview documentary.
This is the episode with Nae-san, a doctor of mythology who is active in the worlds of light and darkness! Please enjoy reading!

The person who participated this time is Nae-san!
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1. Doctor of Mythology

qbc: What kind of interview should we have?

Nae: I'm currently studying "The 7 Habits," and I've been thinking about a mission I can dedicate my whole life to. Yesterday, I finally figured out what my mission is.
My identity is to play the sound of a person's soul and tell it to the person themselves. So, my mission is to make the sound of the soul resonate.
That sounds like nonsense, doesn't it? lol

qbc: Yes, lol

Nae: Right. It sounds like nonsense. But in my life so far, I've experienced the sense of loss after losing someone important, and there was a time when my husband had cancer.
There are quite a lot of people who choose death when they are in a state of nursing depression or dealing with the anxiety of a family member caring for a seriously ill patient.

qbc: Yes.

Nae: I want to prevent those suicides. I started studying music therapy because I wanted to provide emotional care for families with seriously ill patients and save the hearts of those who are holding onto feelings they have nowhere else to express.
While studying music therapy, I was able to learn deeply that the entire universe is made of frequencies. I learned that every person has a sound they emit.
Yesterday, I arrived at the point where I want to incorporate that into my own sessions and put it to use.

qbc: I see, I see. I feel like I've grasped the outline.
So, what do you do for a living now?

Nae: I teach mythology and tarot in online courses. It's not a typical fortune-teller training course; for the tarot course, I teach interpretation based on the Bible, mythology, and so on. For the mythology course, I interpret gods from Greek mythology, Egyptian mythology, Japanese mythology, and so on.

qbc: Where did you study this, the mythology part?

Nae: I studied mythology throughout graduate school, and after that, I was a researcher at overseas universities as a postdoc. For a little less than 10 years, I taught at universities and various other places.

qbc: Where did you go overseas?

Nae: The UK. After graduate school, I went to the UK as a visiting researcher. While there, I studied at a British university and also taught.

qbc: Did you get a PhD in mythology?

Nae: That's right.
For a while, I was working at an elementary school in the UK. I taught Japanese and Japanese stories.
After that, I returned to Japan and helped out at a university for a while. But I caught a cold that turned into meningitis. After that, I developed multiple organ failure.

qbc: Is that the "hovering between life and death" event written in your profile?

Nae: Yes. The rehabilitation took about a year. I was at Kyoto University at the time, but I was so busy that my boss told me to go to the countryside and take it easy.
He asked, "Would you prefer Hokkaido or Kyushu?" and I said, "I'll go to Kyushu!" so I came to Fukuoka. I helped out at several universities there for a while.
I also had a boyfriend there. That is my current husband.

qbc: When did you start music therapy?

Nae: I started music therapy about six years ago. That was when my husband got cancer.

qbc: Were you already involved in music before that?

Nae: No, I'm self-taught. I play the piano, flute, and guitar.

qbc: Self-taught? Wow, are you a genius?

Nae: Thank you.

qbc: Your online courses are also unique, aren't they? Instead of just tarot, you interpret them while unraveling myths and the Bible.

Nae: That's right. I researched myths based on Celtic and Norse mythology.

2. The Witch's History

qbc: What were your interests like as a child?

Nae: My interests in elementary and junior high school were also mainly myths, as you might expect lol

qbc: Where was the starting point for that?

Nae: When I was six, I happened to reach for a tarot book at a bookstore, and there was an older man reaching for it at the same time. If it were a high school girl, it would be like, 'A fated encounter, how exciting,' but it was an old man and a little girl. But it turned out that man was the author of that book. He said something like, 'Are you going to buy this book, little girl?' and when I said 'Yes,' he said, 'Then I'll buy it for you.' I was like, 'Huh? What do you mean?'

qbc: Was it a book for children?

Nae: It was a book for adults. It was a book that came with 78 tarot cards. The man said he wrote the book and signed it for me. He said, 'If your mom and dad say it's okay, I'll teach you properly, so would you like to come?' I said I'd go without even asking my parents. That was the encounter.

qbc: Wait, that was when you were in elementary school, right?

Nae: I was in the first grade of elementary school. So I couldn't read difficult kanji, and my way of learning was through the pictures on the tarot cards. That man is my mentor. I really loved the stars. So, since Greek and Roman mythology are related, he taught me how interesting it is to read the tarot cards by linking them to those myths. I guess that's how my abilities blossomed. By the time I was in the fifth or sixth grade of elementary school, I was able to read for the parents and siblings of my friends through word of mouth.

qbc: That's amazing. It was like elite tarot training, wasn't it?

Nae: Exactly. So I don't remember ever receiving an allowance from my parents after junior high school. By the time I was in junior high, I was able to read not only for my seniors and juniors but also for their siblings, parents, and even their business matters.

qbc: Amazing!

Nae: Since I was still in junior high, I didn't set prices because I didn't know my own value. I would say, 'I'd be happy if you gave me whatever you feel is right because it was accurate,' and adults would casually hand me 10,000, 30,000, or 50,000 yen. So I secretly saved that money. By the time I graduated from junior high, I had become quite wealthy.

qbc: Is 'fortune teller' a good way to put it?

Nae: I wonder. Maybe tarot reader or diviner would be fine.

qbc: What was that feeling like back then? The fun of it, I mean.

Nae: 'Wow, I can get paid for doing this?' lol. It was fun.

qbc: How did your interest in tarot itself evolve?

Nae: I'd had about five or six different decks of tarot cards since I was in elementary school. I used to use them selectively, like using this deck when doing love readings, or that one when reading for adults.

qbc: So, did you already have a format in your mind for how to interpret them?

Nae: I did.

qbc: Were you interested in mythology back then, too?

Nae: Yeah. It had already merged with the tarot.

qbc: That's amazing. Mythology was ultimately a way to understand nature, wasn't it? Even though it has faded into the background quite a bit since the advent of science. So, I think starting your studies from mythology is a correct path for learning.

Nae: How should I put it? Everything is contained within mythology. It depicts moral values, as well as the light and darkness of human society, and there is life and death. Of course, there is also sexuality as Eros. It might have been a good thing that I had that foundation of thinking before being influenced by those around me. I studied English, French, and German just so I could read mythology, and I was able to read books from overseas at an early stage. Being able to learn those things without prejudice was a big deal for me.

qbc: I see. That's truly amazing.

Nae: Also, when I was in England, I was sort of scouted, or rather, I was made to undergo witch training. Looking back, I feel like everything up to that point—the tarot and the mythology—ultimately culminated in that.

qbc: Wow, witch training? Who approached you to become a witch?

Nae: It was someone of quite high status in England. A noble connected to the royal family. They saw an article in a British newspaper about a Japanese teacher coming to an elementary school and doing these kinds of activities, and apparently, they sent out an order saying, 'Ah, it's this child,' so it was like I was kidnapped.

qbc: What does 'Rune Master' in your profile mean?

Nae: Runes themselves are connected to the ancient Germanic languages of Northern Europe. People over there used them for divination.

qbc: Divination?

Nae: Yeah, like how Himiko in ancient times used turtle shells here.

qbc: Ah, that kind of divination? So that's what runes are. Huh.

Nae: That's right. Apparently, the primitive way of divining was to carve letters into stones and scatter them on the ground. My mentor in England taught me everything from scratch. Once I became proficient in that, I received the title of Rune Master from that aristocrat.
So, when I go to Europe and share my title as 'a witch from the eastern country' and 'a Rune Master,' people understand the lineage of where I learned it.
With that title, they can trace it back to my original mentor and know that I am a direct disciple of theirs.

qbc: I see, I see. And so, at this point in time, you have arrived at the concept of 'sound', right?

Nae: Yes. That's right.

qbc: I didn't quite understand what you meant earlier by a person's 'fundamental sound.' What is that about?

Nae: It seems there is a sound that resonates with the soul a person possesses. When people are truly moved, they shed tears, don't they? It seems there is a certain wavelength in the tears shed from being moved.
The rhythm of a heartbeat also has a frequency, and the rhythm of blood flow, breathing, and heartbeats are all forms of music.
The seven musical scales mentioned since ancient times are related to this, and everyone possesses them. When the wavelength of those scales is disrupted, it leads to physical illness, mental distress, or issues in human relationships and business—it seems to have various effects.

qbc: Yes.

Nae: We use the term 'tuning' for musical instruments, right? In the same way, if we can tune the sounds of the body, I believe we can heal ailments, which is the very starting point of music therapy.
I feel like I've arrived at a place where I want to make that my mission, and that I must do it.

qbc: Does that also involve musical instruments or tone colors?

Nae: It does. Rather than a piano, I use string instruments. Among them, I arrived at the harp rather than the guitar.
Since I can tune the harp myself, it is relatively easy to find the frequency that suits the person.

qbc: By the way, harps are huge, aren't they? Do you use that one?

Nae: The large ones are called concert harps and cannot be moved. I use a smaller one called an Irish harp. It's also called a lever harp, and it's about a little shorter than my height, so I place it down to use it. But I do carry it around, even though it weighs about 12 or 13 kilograms.

qbc: That's cool.

3. A nation that does not know its own mythology will perish

qbc: I would like to ask about the future. What kind of activities do you want to pursue from here on?

Nae: Starting this May, I began what I call the Memento Mori Session.
In 'The 7 Habits,' there is a theme of 'beginning with the end in mind' to plan one's life.
There are only two patterns when it comes to dying. Either you are prepared and know when you will die, or you die suddenly. Since you can simulate the experience of preparing for death, I want to hold sessions where people can delve into that and rethink what it truly means to live their own lives.

qbc: I see.

Nae: Through that session, people come to cherish their own lives as well as the people around them, and they start to think about happiness including those around them.
I want to spread that, and I want to engage in those kinds of activities.

qbc: Does music therapy play a part in that?

Nae: Of course. I am also considering playing the harp during the Memento Mori session. Whether it's live sound or through Zoom, I hope that by having people listen to the music I play, it will leave a lasting impression on their hearts somewhere. I'm thinking of working on this over the next five years or so.

qbc: What is the sensation, or perhaps the emotion, like when you are performing music therapy? What kind of feeling is it?

Nae: I do feel that it connects to my own joy and healing. I actually had an experience where, when my husband was healed, I was healed as well. Since my husband is family, I think he was able to reach that place quickly. I don't know what kind of synergy would occur if I did that with a stranger; I'd have to try it to find out.
With that experience and accumulation, I'd like to try visiting various hospitals or wards for the severely ill next. I want to shine a spotlight on people who are isolated from society. I want to do things that lead to healing not just for patients, but for people who have committed crimes, for example—healing for both the perpetrator and the victim sides.

qbc: I see. Did you have that same sense of personal joy when you were doing tarot?

Nae: When I did tarot, I was a child, so it was purely fun. I found it interesting to watch people experience ups and downs based on the results I gave them. They would tell me directly, you know. Like, 'That thing you said the other day was right,' or 'It was wrong.' That was a lot of fun.
That might be the foundation. The desire to see people happy. Being a Kansai person through and through, I think I just wanted to make people laugh.

qbc: So, as a child, curiosity and pure fun came first, and then as you grew up, went to school, were made into a 'witch,' and became more connected to society, you met your husband and encountered music therapy, and now you're in a stage where that is expanding, right?

Nae: Yes, that's right. I feel that way.

qbc: Music therapy isn't very widespread in Japan, is it?

Nae: It's still in the early stages. But just like me, there are several people working individually who want to spread it, so I hope to connect with them in the future and expand it further.
You can use music therapy in places like childbirth, for example. And when it comes to death, in the West, they play music.

qbc: Oh, is that so?
The term 'nursing depression' came up earlier, and I've always wondered—this is just a guess—if Japan is an environment where it's easy to develop nursing depression.

Nae: I have a lot of personal experience with that. Everyone tries to do everything by themselves. It's the same with child-rearing.
We've been a nuclear family society for decades now, so that's become the norm, but I think it's really important to raise children within the community.
However, we've become a distorted society where if you try to reach out to someone, you might get reported, so I think, 'That's not right.' I think an era is coming where we will have to rebuild how we balance society and the individual.

qbc: I see.

Nae: In that regard, I teach and talk about the Japanese 'trinity' (sangenron) rather than yin-yang theory in my mythology studies.
Many people now use the terms yin, yang, and the golden mean (chuyo), but originally, the Japanese world was based on the trinity of heaven, earth, and humanity, so I talk about how it's okay to have a gray zone in mythology.
I think that even without dividing things into yin and yang, there is still evening and there is still the morning glow.

qbc: In that sense, mythology was really created to make society and nature easier to understand, wasn't it? It's just hard to understand now because the words used have become archaic.

Nae: That's exactly right. There is a saying in mythology that a nation that does not know its own myths will perish.

qbc: I see. That's true.

Nae: I have a sense of crisis that things might be dangerous now because there are a few too many Japanese people like that.

qbc: It really is dangerous. Finally, is there anything you'd like to add?

Nae: I believe the coming era is one of connecting and creating synergy. I want to live with the honesty that allows me to create synergy between people. I will live that way.

qbc: Wonderful. Thank you.

Nae: Thank you.

Afterword

I received the titles of Witch of the Eastern Country and Rune Master in the UK. It is truly the world of Harry Potter. It is truly a story from a dream world.
Having spoken with about ten people in total who provide various readings such as tarot and astrology, I really think spirituality is necessary. After all, there is so little that can be fully explained by science! So, I believe we need a system of knowledge that includes divination and mythology to complement that.
The problem is when spiritual discourse, which has fluctuations in interpretation, is used for fraudulent activities and creates victims, not the playful aspect that spirituality possesses. I think we must not forget the fun of the playfulness that spirituality has.
I've recently started to think that it's a bit similar to economics. Those theories, and the IT terms lined up with katakana, are not much different from the delightful jargon of the spiritual world. No, they are the same.
The world continues to be forever danced around and exhausted by words.

Editorial Cooperation: Hina Arishima and Sumi Shirahara

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