The surprising commonality between minority cultures and ancient beliefs
The acts of "rolling," "sucking," and "purifying" may be rituals.
Smoke drifts through the studio at night. Name Tatsuma says, “I’m just exorcising reality with smoke.” It would be easy to dismiss these words as just another chuunibyou expression. However, on the other hand, the act of “purifying the space with smoke” is also connected to Shinto and “Japanese religious rituals” since the Jomon period. Are the rappers’ marijuana lyrics just a sign of rebellion? Or are they a new kind of “prayer”?
Weed as an “Exorcism”
In ancient Japanese Shinto, smoke was considered a symbol of purification.
Hemp fibers were also used for bell ropes, shimenawa ropes, and ritual implements, and the “Oonusa” (cannabis), used to purify an area with smoke, was, as its name suggests, a sacred implement. From this perspective, the act of Namedatsuma and Red Eye spitting out words along with the smoke is akin to **purifying the self and the space**. Their rap is “real,” but at the same time, it can also be interpreted as sorting out the soul and the “activation of the spirit of words” like a prayer.
Hemp fibers were also used for bell ropes, shimenawa ropes, and ritual implements, and the “Oonusa” (cannabis), used to purify an area with smoke, was, as its name suggests, a sacred implement. From this perspective, the act of Namedatsuma and Red Eye spitting out words along with the smoke is akin to **purifying the self and the space**. Their rap is “real,” but at the same time, it can also be interpreted as sorting out the soul and the “activation of the spirit of words” like a prayer.
Hemp as "Wi-Fi with God"
In the Jomon culture, cannabis was a fiber, a medicine, a faith, and a device for transmitting information. In ancient Japan, hemp was considered a connection to the gods (=Wi-Fi), and wearing it was thought to **adjust one’s vibrations**. Some modern rappers consciously incorporate this into their expressions. For example, Red Eye said in an interview that he was “tuning into the will of the universe with the smoke,” and religious motifs such as Buddha statues, the Heart Sutra, and mandalas frequently appear in Namedaruma’s music videos. For them, cannabis is not a tool for getting high, but a portal to the “inner universe.”
Resonance between minority culture and shamanism
Rappers live on the fringes, outside the mainstream of society. This is similar to the position held by miko (shrine maidens) and shamans in ancient society. They lived outside the village, used smoke to connect with another world, and brought messages to the village through words. This structure overlaps exactly with that of modern-day lyricists. Because they are minorities, because they are criminals, they put into words the “views they see” – that is also the role of rappers. In other words, aren’t marijuana lyrics the modern-day **”anti-social shaman’s prayers**?
Adding rhythm to prayers and prayers to raps
Originally, norito prayers were “rhythms and words dedicated to the gods.” Modern rap is also “words and beats dedicated to the soul.” The appearance of marijuana in rap is not just a hobby or habit; it is an idea, an attitude, a prayer. Inhaling reality, exorcising it with smoke, and carving it into lyrics.
This process repeated by rappers is like re-enacting the “ritual structure” of ancient Japan in the modern city and rhythm.
Cannabis lyrics may be a celebration of modern society
The smoke exhaled by rappers goes beyond the law, penetrates society, and touches souls. Their words are not just entertainment. They are the nameless prayers of the hurt and forgotten – perhaps this is the “other meaning” of cannabis lyrics.