page_title: Techno-animism
section_title: Background and history
hierarchical_section_title: Techno-animism / Background and history
caption_attribution_description: English: Statue along the way on Mount Misen. Maybe a sekibutsu　(石仏) ( "Stone Buddha"), meaning a movable Buddhist statue carved from stone. More specifically this is a Dōsojin refering to Shintō deities of roads and borders. A different kind of Jizo but with a six-ringed staff 錫杖, shakujō (Khakkhara in Sanskrit 'Sounding Staff").
context_page_description: Techno-animism is a culture of technological practice where technology is imbued with human and spiritual characteristics. It assumes that technology, humanity and religion can be integrated into one entity. As an anthropology theory, techno-animism examines the interactions between the material and the spiritual aspects of technology in relation to humans. Techno-animism has been studied in the context of Japan, since techno-animism traces most of its roots to the Shinto religion, and also in DIY culture where Actor–network theory and non-human agencies have been labeled as techno-animist practices.
context_section_description: The practice of instilling human and spiritual characteristics into physical objects has always been part of the Shinto religion. Deities in the Shinto religion often symbolizes objects of the physical world and their statues often take human forms. With these practices, people form tighter bonds with physical objects. In Japanese culture, the interaction between humans and non-human objects is critical to the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature. A prime example of this type of interaction is that before meals, Japanese people always say "itadakimasu" which expresses gratitude for the ingredients of the meal may it be animals or plants.
  Techno-animism builds upon the practices of the Shinto religion by instilling human and spiritual characteristics into technology. As for representation, techno-animism is often embodied in the engineering design of objects and the way that people interact with those objects. In a larger social context, Techno-animism provides a means for technology to be integrated into the human society because new technology can always be instilled with traditional values.
  Examples of Techno-animism also exist within the context of the DIY ethic and Maker culture: linking contemporary theories of material agency and Material culture  with post-modern ideas of Animism and ethnographies " with recent academic studies suggesting that a form of Techno-animism can be observed in the highly developed practices of material engagement present in certain Do it yourself sub-cultures  recorded in contemporary ethnographic studies of technology.
caption: The deity of roads and borders represented in a human form.
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