Not a super long post this time, but as I close even further on the Secrets this world holds I’m seeing more and more Shinto symbolism, especially tied to Komari 'Kami’kita.
There are numerous points in the story where she is engaging birds and flowers and such, she is strongly associated with nature. Her association with the Sun could also be tied directly to the Sun goddess Amaterasu. One of the most commonly known stories about Amaterasu involves the goddess shutting herself in a cave, depriving the world of her sunlight. Eventually she is brought forth again by many attempts by the other gods to get her attention and draw her back to the outside world. One such attempt involved the decoration of a Sakaki tree with ‘fine white clothes and a mirror at its center.’ I believe this parallels Komari’s detachment and ‘withdrawal’ into her own memories before Riki shows her what she is doing with the book that serves as a parable to her life, himself being represented by ‘the white’ (in Shinto, white represents purity, similar to how in Western cultures it’s represented by a blank slate). The brother of Amaterasu is Susanoo, god of storms. Susanoo causes all sorts of trouble for his sister, and once again this parallels the use storms in the cat scene and in the Bad End.
In Shinto, Red is also for protection against illness/sadness, in the scene where Komari breaks down in Riki’s room she takes off her red hair ribbons, symbolic of the traumatic state she’s in. As a side note, I don’t think it’s at all a coincidence that both of the Natsume siblings have a bright red colour for their names in the batting practice screen. It’s also worth noting that the orange colour we see in the title screen and in flashbacks (a colour here strongly associated with memory) in Shintoism is the colour of the arches one passes through to enter their shrines, supposed to prepare you for entrance.
Extra point: Oh, and Komari’s life-philosophy the ‘Spiral of Happiness’ fits perfectly within this, it describes the relationship between Kami (who help and guide humans) and humans (who give offerings to the Kami) and how they interact with one another. Kami and humans live in a symbiotic relationship in a sense, and if one side stopped their giving then the other side would wither, it’s a mutual bond of happiness. It’s a perfectly natural thing. Wholesome even, like Belgian waffles.
So basically what I’m trying to say is that there’s a lot of Shinto stuff going on, and Komari is Amaterasu. Any questions?
Source: https://www.ancient.eu/Amaterasu/