Each of the five elements of OSFS has already appeared in the old Japanese history “Nihon Shoki” (720) as the names of God. These five elements of God are Good Will (Naohi), Courage (ara-mitama), Harmony (nigi-mitama), Love (Sachi-mitama), and Wisdom (Kushi-mitama). Good Will can control four souls through its feedback.

Mikoto of Okuninushi, known as legend of Inaba ‘s white rabbit and another Mikoto of Sukunahikona are ordered to build on the ground.

Although the two were at work with an exquisite combination, Mikoto of Sukunahikona goes to “the land of Yomi.” In other words, he died. The loser “Ohkuninusi” who lost his partner is disappointed and shouts to the sea, “How could I do ground construction from now on.”

Then a light ball comes from the horizon, and it stops at the eyes of the powerful powers. The powerful powers will ask “Who is your name?” Then the glow answered “I am your happiness, a spirit,” and entered into the power of the great powers.

This shows that Mikoto of Sukunahiko was the souls of Love and Wisdom. Then, what were the souls of Okuninushi? It was not written in the Nihon Shoki, but I think that Okuninushi has had the two souls of Courage and Harmony.

It is thought that the Emperor made it into the ground construction as a perfect spirit with two Gods together with the four souls. By taking in the light of two odd souls, in the body, Okuninushi has finally got to have a perfect spirit and could have done ground construction.

For this myth, I believe that for the first time there are four souls, a work commanded from heaven can be perfected. In Japan, there is already an idea of an excellent soul structure already 1300 years ago, and it is also reported closely to modern times.

In the Edo period, the structure of “one spirit with four souls” was studied by

a national scholar named Chikaatsu Honda. In the Meiji Era,

Onisaburo Deguchi has organized the structure beyond human theory into cosmology. . The four spirit balls that appear in the manga “Inuyasha” are also based on this concept of Japanese ancient souls.

The mind is made up of four souls and one spirit which governs them. Four souls are Ara-mitama (Courage), Nigi-mitama (Harmony), Sachi-mitama (Love), Kushi-mitama (Wisdom), and the spirit has the name of God called Naohi (Good will). The work of “Courage” is the power to advance, the work of “harmony” is to harmonize people, the work of “Love” is the power to love and to bring people up, and the work of “Wisdom” is to explore the truth or beauty. As depicted in the figure, we think that the strength of each soul differs depending on the person, and that individuality (personality) is made by that combination.

And, to supervise these four functions is “one spirit” (Naohi) that has the power to control those four souls.  We do not want to say, “I do not want to do this”, “I do not want to do it”, “I do not want to think about it”, “I should not have said” in response to the actions that I did or the thoughts and thoughts floating on myself Yes.  In other words, my own thoughts and actions are correct for myself.

Moreover, the idea that each of the four souls can be polished by this reflection power is a concept of an ancient Japanese spirit, the structure of the soul. This spirit is the most important function for human spirit and is called “meta cognition” in cognitive psychology. In Buddhism it was called “seeing person”, in Christianity “Providence eyes” (Almighty eyes), or in ancient Egypt “Horus’ eyes.” Those are comparable to “seeing of separation” called by Zeami in Japan Muromachi period.

The view of Zeami’s separation is not outside of me, but there is an outside eye in myself.

This is also consistent with what we observe in a daily basis.  This Japanese concept has been completed as a human view back to more than six hundred years ago.

Even in state-of-the-art psychology, scientific research is constantly being conducted to unravel the structure of the mind. In “BIG FIVE THEORY” by Dr. Goldberg of the United States, which is a representative personality theory among them, the person’s personality consists of five characters such as extroversion, affinity, emotional stability, intelligence, conscience (integrity).   

This is the conceptual diagram of the five-factor theory.

A factor of “externality” means to positively advance things, “affinity” to keep familiar with people for maintaining harmony, “emotional stability” to emotional abundance,  “intelligence” to curiosity and analytical power. “Conscience” is honesty and morality. Each person has all the traits, but those balance is different so that individuality is made by the balance of five characteristics.

On the other hand, in the concept of one spirit with four souls, each person has four functions of Courage, Harmony, Love, and Wisdom and their strengths are different depending on the person.  But those four souls are controlled, polished, and developed with the feedback by one spirit called “Naohi”, that is a ancient Japanese structure of the mind.

The five-factor theory of the personality’s most advanced thinking and the five factors of the one spirit with four souls are quite similar. Let’s keep in mind what kinds of common points and differences exist between these two theories. That is because it is extremely important to apply the concept of Japanese ancient spirit as technologies in real world.

1. Common points

The five characteristics of the five-factor theory are quite consistent with the five functions of the Japanese “one spirit with four souls. The idea of a represetative five-factor theory of modern psychology is a theory derived in a state-of-the-art scientific way.  Is not it very interesting that the way of thinking that existed in Japan since ancient times closely resembles the state-of-the-art scientific theory?

2. Differences

The idea of the “one spirit with four souls” is similar to the five-factor theory, but when you compare it well, there are two qualitative differences.

(1) The “one spirit with four souls” can explain the personality integration

In the “one spirit with four souls” way of thinking, it is that the spirit controls four functions.

On the other hand, in the five-factor theory, only five characteristics were classified in parallel, and none of them are special. This way of thinking cannot theoretically explain how five characteristics are integrated and a stable personality exists.

Because the five-factor theory summarizes how many groups do not statistically interfere with each other by extracting adjectives expressing personality from the dictionary but it has said nothing about the function of controlling them.

In other words, although the five-factor theory is monism, the idea of the one spirit with four souls is a dualism because the spirit is the idea that the spirit controls other four functions. This can explain how the personality is integrated.

(2) the soul develops and its developmental stage can also be presented

Another difference is that personality develops or not.

Five-factor theory does not have the concept of developing personality. Expression of five factors is considered to be genetic.

In other words, in the five-factor theory, there is a premise that “personality is genetically determined and does not change”.  In fact, research to find personality factors in DNA is being carried out. Personality is born by nature and does not change, even if it changes, I think that it is learning, it is a different thing.

Then from the five-factor theory, there is no idea to polish that person’s personality. It does not change, because the personality is fixed, it is not a thing to polish in the first place.

On the other hand, in the idea of “one spirit with four souls”, “the soul grows abundantly”. I think that “the soul is something to brush” and “what develops”.  From this idea, the idea of “If the soul develops, let’s develop it” will come up. Moreover, it is offering to the stage of its development.

These two differences are serious from the viewpoint of application to life. To be sure, to explain the personality scientifically, the five-factor theory may be the most cutting edge at the moment.  However, there is a way of thinking of one ancient Japanese concept corresponding to those five factors, and that also provides the possibility of enriching our life.

It brings the idea that soul (personality) factors can be controlled and further developed. People who are scientifically researching humans may have the question of “Do you have data?”  Or “Do you do statistical analysis” as I did? Of course, accumulation of data through experimental research is very meaningful, but there is enough data that human personality is made up of five characteristics (factors), which can also be applied to one spirit with four souls.

The point is “whether it develops and its developmental process exists”.

Most of us have thought that “Personality is not fixed”, “It cannot be modified”, “The child is father of the man”.

However, we can clinically verify the “personality” which has been considered unchanged so far from the viewpoint that “soul” is polished and develops abundantly in real life.

We are convinced that this process of polishing will enable us to understand our thoughts that are different each other and to bring revolutionary evolution to human relationships.

Goldberg’s five factors theory is a state-of-the-art science, but philosophies similar to one spirit with four souls can be found in the spiritual traditions around the world.

For example, it corresponds to the five edges in Confucianism, the five virtues （benevolence (仁）, justice（義）, courtesy（礼）, wisdom（智）, sincerity（信））.

In Buddhism there are the sun Buddha, called Vairocana, with Four Devas that are guardian angels , Jikokuten (Dhrtarastra), Zochoten (Virudhaka), Komokuten (Virupaksa) and Tamonten (Vaisravana) .  

The four beginning of virtues theory by Confucian Mencius is based on the premise that the soul can be polished to become a saint by refining the four virtues, there is something that is in line with the idea of one spirit with four souls.

In “one spirit with four souls”, in brief, our “mind” is made up of four soul functions, and one “spirit” controls them. To summarize briefly, Courage is a force to move forward.  Harmony is the power to interact intimately with people, love is the power to love and nurture livings, and Wisdom is the ability to observe and analyze things.

One spirit that works like a conscience gives feedback to these four souls.  When the work of Wisdom goes too far, the spirit urges you to reflect on it. For example, “If you analyze or evaluate people, people will hate you.” In other words, this spirit has the function of “look away”.

Let’s explore further what kind of thinking is “one spirit with four souls”.

Courage – “Ara-mitama” Soul

One of the four souls is named “Ara-mitama”.  Its function is “Courage” which is the energy to move forward.  It is not only to go forward to battle but also to force with difficulty.  Its function has been manifested in a single word “Courage”. In addition, this “Courage” is divided into five sub-functions, advance, fruitful, excite, strive, and overcome. This corresponds to the “extroversion” of the five factors theory mentioned earlier.

Harmony – “Nigi-mitama” soul

The second soul has the name of “Nigi-mitama”.  Its function is “Harmony” This also corresponds to the “affinity” of the five factors theory.  Its function is further divided into five categories: flatten, train, worship, rule, intersect.

Love – “Sachi-mitama or Saki-mitama” soul

The third soul has been called “Sachi-mitama”. Its function is represented by a letter “Love” composed of loving, giving birth and creating. What is important in love is still emotion. A person with “Love” is the one rich in feeling amount. It captures similar characteristics to “emotional stability” of the five factors theory.  This has a further function divided into five of profit, construct, live, converse, and grow.

Wisdom – “Kushi-mitama” soul

The fourth soul is named “Kushi-mitama”. This is “Wisdom” composed of observational power, analytical skills, comprehension ability, etc. How, too, does not it coincide too much with the “intellect” of the five factors theory? This function is further divided into skillful, sense, observe, aware, and enlighten.

As you can see, the four factors out of the five factors theory closely resemble the four functions of the Japanese four souls. Then, do not you think that “Where did the conscience go?” That is the 5th feature we will talk about next.

Good Will（Divine Spirit) – ”Naohi” spirit

The fifth factor is a navigator called “Naohi” spirit which controls the four souls.  Its function is meta-cognition that examine oneself through giving feedback to one’s thinking or behavior.  This seemed to be very close to the “conscience” of the five factors theory.

The way of being is the purest, the best, and the most beautiful.  Only this spirit is directly connected to the “Supreme Being”. And the Divine Spirit supervises the four souls.

The Spirit guides the good and evil of things and guides them not to mistake others.  If they are wrong, the spirit examines them, reproach themselves and repent. In this way, the spirit works to look at the four souls from a higher place and guide them to control the four souls. This is comparable to what is said to be meta-cognition, an important concept in modern psychology.

The Spirit is connected to the Supreme Being, and gives feedback on the highest standard.  Anything is not enough if it is seen from the standard. That’s why we make a tough viewpoint ourselves.  In other words, as long as the Spirit is always connected to the Supreme Being, as long as it functions properly, it always controls and polishes the four souls.

In this way, the ancient Japanese structure of the spirit is made up of the above-mentioned four soul combinations that are controlled by the spirit “Naohi”.

How does the Divine Spirit actually work?

The Spirit “Naohi” controls by giving feedback to the four souls (Courage, Harmony, Love, and Wisdom).  So, how does the spirit give feedback to them?

Please look at this figure.

1. “To be ashamed” for Courage

Because it is the power of “Courage”, You may push others away and try to go forward.  At that time, the Spirit may act as a conscience and control.

To the Courage soul, the spirit may say, “You do too much.  Don’t do it! You should be ashamed of it”. In this way, the spirit will give feedback with “being ashamed”.

Or on the contrary, there may be a case that you do too little. The Spirit may say, “Please act more and more”.

2. “To regret” to Harmony

The power of “Harmony” asks for peace and harmony by interacting with familiarity.  Therefore, it moves so as not to disturb the field. On the other hand, the Spirit sometimes say, “It is nice to get along with people, but it is too compromising” or “If you are just trying not to make a wave wind, there is no progress”.

For the Harmony soul, the Spirit will give feedback with “regret”, saying “Why did you do this?”  In this way, the Spirit will polish the soul of Harmony.

3. “To revere” to Love

“Love” is the power of accepting, forgiving, raising, and doing something for others.  If it appears in a distorted form, you may be drowning a child and you will do what the child should do.  You may cheat with someone who is married. Or You may get angry with him tremendously, thinking that he hurt your heart.  In such cases, the spirit gives feedback such as “If you drown in your child, you will make his personality useless.”, “He has a wife and children”, “Calm down without being emotional”.

In these cases, the Spirit will give feedback to the Love soul with “reverence” to the Supreme Being.  The Spirit controls and polish the Love soul by giving a “conscience pain”.

4. “To be awakened” to Wisdom

The “Wisdom” soul is the ability to observe, analyze and devise things. Also, the soul will explore things deeply and try to understand. Therefore, you with Wisdom may evaluate people and things too strictly on your standards.  So, the Spirit may give feedback to you, saying “Approach everything rationally, and you become harsh”.

To Wisdom, the Spirit will give feedback by saying “understanding”.  For example, if another new fact or analysis comes out even for what you have thought right before, it will obviously make you realize “I was wrong”.

In this way, it is the work of the Spirit that feeds back on the actions of the four souls and polishes them.  In other words, the Devine Spirit corresponds to what is called “conscience” in the five factors theory. This has been called the precepts of five factors.  In this way, it is the way of thinking for Japanese traditional mind that the Spirit develops and polishes the four souls through giving feedback. This is called “One spirit with Four souls”, and it is secretly being inherited in Shintoism.

When the spirit is working normally, the four souls are polished.  But when the spirit stops working normally, it becomes a evil spirit (Magahi). By the Magahi spirit, the Courage becomes a soul of fighting only “So-Kon”, the Harmony becomes a soul “Aku-Kon” that makes evil with a few colleagues, the Love becomes “Gyaku-Kon” that is a morally degenerate soul, and Wisdom becomes the evil soul “Kyo-Kon” which distortes ideologically.

Since we are always exposed to the Magahi spirit more or less, it is important to purify ourselves and make correct pray.  This evil spirit comes with a mask of good. Care must be exercised, when you think “I am right” or “I should be evaluated more” that appears in your inner voice.

Four souls grow in four stages through the process of being polished by the Naohi spirit.  What are these stages? Let’s look one by one. It may be a sign of your growth.

First stage “One Virtue”

The condition that one soul of the four souls has developed sufficiently is called “one virtue”, and it is said that even one development can go to heaven.

Second stage “Two Virtues”

The state in which the two souls are sufficiently developed is called “two virtues”, and next to the virtue, we will aim for two virtues.  The combination of two virtues is 1. Courage-Harmony, 2. Love-Wisdom, 3. Courage-Love, 4. Courage-Wisdom, 5. Love-Harmony, 6. Wisdom-Harmony.  In total, there are 6 combinations, each of which has a reverse combination, so there are 12 combinations.

Of the four souls, the combination of two souls of Courage and Harmony functions as the spirit of the warpath.  The combination of Love and Wisdom functions as the spirit of weft. When the Courage-Harmony combination fully developed and becomes the Lord and the Love-Wisdom combination is the subordinate, it is called “Izu Spirit”.   When the combination of Love-Wisdom sufficiently evolved is the Lord, it is called “Mizu Spirit”. It is said that human spiritual system is divided into the Izu Spirit person and the Mizu Spirit person.

Third stage “Three Virtue”

The state where the three souls have been sufficiently developed is called “three virtue”.  There are four combinations of Courage-Wisdom-Love, Courage-Harmony-Love, Courage-Harmony-Wisdom, and Harmony-Wisdom-Love.

Fourth stage “Total Virtue”

The state in which all four souls have been sufficiently developed is “total virtue”, and the soul with this total virtue is given the name of God called the Super Spirit (Izunome no mitama).  It is said that human beings aim to polish the spirit aiming at this whole virtue.  The stage of total virtue seems to be called “enlightenment” or “emptiness” in Buddhism and is a “saint” in Christianity.

Thus, there is a stage and direction in the development of the soul. Human beings are going to polish all four souls aiming at all virtues, and the process has been thought of as life.  The structure and developmental stage of this soul is a grand system that has evolved over one thousand three hundred years since the names of one spirit with four souls appeared in “Nihon-shoki” (old chronicles of Japan).  It seems that this system is rooted in deep love for human sublime beyond modern Western European personality theory.