These are among the chief malaises that affect all times, but which are frequently touted as signs of decline in a society, and occasionally portrayed ( when there is some positive evidence ) as examples of an improvement in human nature.
2.
As groundwork for how " mononoke " were thought of as, in Japan from the beginning of the Heian Period, varaious societal malaises and illnesses were thought to be due to curses ( " tatari " ) of vengeful spirits ( onryM ).