Japanese Mythology Part A
Izanagi & Izanami
- Kajiki-Den
-Izanagi- God of Heavens
-Izanami- Goddess of Love
-"ere yet were heavens or earth, sun or moon, or the multitudinous waters, all was gloomy chaos"
-"floating upon a sea of silent space"
-Taka-ma-no-hara (High Plain of Heaven)
-Flowers that bloomed were the sun and moon
-Izanagi- all-powerful god of the air
-Izanami- fair goddess of the clouds
-800 deities
-"Floating bridge of Heaven- vast, aerial arch
-8 Islands of Japan-
-Yamato- the flowery isle of the dragon-fly
-Tsukushi- the white sun youth
-Iyo- the passing fair princess
-Tsushima- the stepping stone
-Ahaji- the isle of grieving
-Shikoku- the pearl of the inland sea
-Oki- the islet of the white hare
Lado- gold maid of the north
Izanagi & Izanami (cont.)
-Amaterasu- "the great august kami (god) who shines in heaven"
-Shinto religion
-sister of Susanowo and Tsukuyomi
-Amaterasu rule over Takama-no-hara
-Moon god- morose, turbulent, sinister
-Izanami gives birth to God of Fire and Water and dies
The Miraculous Mirror
- Amaterasu fled, God of laughter tricked her out of her cave with a mirror
The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi
- Kushinada-hime (Wonderous-Fair Princess)
- Serpent- "eyes as red as ripe mountain cherries, a noisome blood-inflamed body, armed with 8 fearsome heads and 8 forked tails."
-"its back is all overgrown with firs, cedars, and pines, and it trails its tortuous coils over 8 valleys and as many mountains"
-"thine august name"
-crone brewed a sake of 8 times the strength of regular sake
-after slitting tail of dragon, Susa-no-wo discovered the sword Kushanagi (herb-queller)
The Heaven Descended
-Amewaka (Heaven-Young Prince)
-Princess Shita-teru-hime (Princess Nether-Shining)
-Na-naki
-cassia tree
-Ama-na-sagu (the Heaven spying woman)
-Necklace of Jewels, Sacred Sword, Miraculous Mirror
-Uzume- Goddess of Mirth
The Heaven Descended (cont.)
- giant's name is Saruta-Hiko (diety of the field paths)
-Ninigi married both Ko-no-hana and Iha-naga-hime
-Ninigi wanted nothing to do with Iha-naga-hime, so now children (all of man) have short brief lives
The Fortunate Fish Hook
-Ho-wori (Prince Fire-Fade) was a famous hunter (younger brother)
-Ho-deri (Prince Fire-Flame) was a famous fisher (older brother)
-switched talents
-Ho-wori lost Ho-deri's fish hook
-Shiko-tsutsu (the old man of the sea)
-Wata-tsumi
-cassia tree
-Ho-wori wed Toyotama (Peerless Jewel)
The Fortunate Fish Hook (cont.)
-"broad of fin and narrow of fin" repeated
-Court-of-seaweed
-lost fish hook found in the gills of the Tai
-Ho-wori lived in the palace beneath the icean for 3 years
-Jewel of flowing tide
-Jewel of Ebbing Tide
-Toyo-tama had a son
The Labors of Yamato
-"youth of comely mien, great of stature, strong and fearless and skillfull in the use of arms"
mien-a person's look or manner
-Strand- shore of a sea, lake, large river
-mermaid in dream
-Suminoye
-married Princess Tacibana
-"black waves of death surged over his soul"
The Labors of Yamato (cont.)
-Takeru- infamous outlaw, lord of caslte the princess was brought too
-Yamato took the sacred sword of Susa-no-wo to defeat him
Bibliography
Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legends by E.W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).
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