{"id":2152,"date":"2021-04-26T14:07:04","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T21:07:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicalmakiko.com\/en\/?p=2152"},"modified":"2021-06-06T08:58:19","modified_gmt":"2021-06-06T15:58:19","slug":"genocides-and-demon-slayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicalmakiko.com\/en\/nikkan-san-the-way-of-the-pianist\/2152","title":{"rendered":"Genocides and Demon Slayer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is an English translation of an article to appear in Nikkan San<\/a> on May 2, 2021. It is a part of bi-weekly my column, \u201cThe Way of the Pianist<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For over a century, Armenians have observed April 24th as the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. On the day this year, the Biden administration formerly acknowledged 1.5 million Armenians as victims of genocide<\/a> by the Ottoman Empire. It follows the U.S. government of accusation of China for genocide against the Uyghurs in January. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When examining human nature through the lens of the benefit of music and neuroscience, you find humanity as we idealize it. We are social, empathetic, and cooperative, designed to cohabitate and depend on each other. As a part of our nature as social animals, we identify ourselves with each other. I feel your pain as mine, for example. Ideally, feeling your pain as mine would move me to help you. However, because feeling your pain as mine is…painful, I also have the option to pretend not to have seen your pain, or to detach myself from you as foreign to me, separate, and an “other.” Furthermore, choosing to hurt you, rather than to find you by chance in pain, would give me a sense of control over our intertwined destiny. Our cruelty against each other are overwhelming, throughout history, and in our daily lives, as we all are too aware. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A masterful depiction of this contradiction in our human society is what led to a record breaking box office success of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train<\/em> after its US release on Friday, despite the pandemic and its restrictions. The animated dark fantasy film is based on a graphic novel series. <\/p>\n\n\n\n