Shiro Fuijioka: Mystic Afrofuturistic

The Mystic and Afrofuturistic: Honoring both Tradition and Innovation

Shiro Fujioka, master synthesist and composer, is one my musical inspirations and spiritual heroes. In this video, he brings together his deep love for Afrocentric ancestors and traditions, and the way he expresses that deep understanding through Afrofuturistic musical technology and composition. 

What inspires me about this video is that Shiro presents a conceptual and material model for combining the Ancient and Futuristic. I’m often caught in the dilemma of hearing that as Buddhists, we have to respect the Tradition and follow the Traditional ways of whichever Buddhist sect we are practicing. And while I agree with that, I have always looked towards the Buddhist Future, how the Near Future potentially shapes a different approach to Buddhist practice, a different way of living the dharma. Shiro shows us how he brings those two themes together in his aesthetic practice, interweaving the ancient wisdom of the Ancestors with the technology of Afrofuturism. Shiro expresses this in a deeply embedded materialist practice, focusing in detail on the intricate operations of his synthesizers and drum machines.

Shiro shows me that as we move into a strange and often alienating technological future, we can bring the ancient wisdom of the past with us. We don’t have to be ‘stuck in the past’, clinging to traditions out of a fear of the Near Future that overshadows us. But we also don’t have to surrender to a dystopian regime of high technology and brute capitalism. The ancient wisdom of the past can guide us through the technological future. We can use the wisdom of the past and the technology of the future to craft a new practice of the dharma life. Through this process of weaving together the past and the future, we might be able to shift the trajectory of our civilization to one that is biologically sustainable and spiritually enriching.

This month’s Buddhist Door Global Editorial dives into this theme of finding new ways to communicate ancient wisdom.

“Laurence Brahm’s objective to spread Himalayan Wisdom Traditions through pop culture feeds into a broader trend of Buddhist teachers using modern methods to preserve and share ancient wisdom. Ani Choying Drolma, the Nepalese “singing nun,” is one of the best exemplars of this goal. In our recent Buddhistdoor View, we discuss how the embrace of pop culture is not just something that would be quite nice to do – it could well be something Buddhist leaders must do. Our editorial suggests that this could be another skilful means (upaya) to remain part of the conversation of issues affecting critical demographics, like Gen Z and people in countries beyond traditionally Buddhist-dominant regions.”

You can read more of my work on the subject of Buddhist Futurism by searching for ‘Buddhist Futures’ in Engage!