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japan
History
A middle Jōmon period vessel (3000 to 2000 BC).
Main article: History of Japan
The first signs of occupation on the Japanese Archipelago appeared with a Paleolithic culture around 30,000 BC, followed from around 14,000 BC by the Jōmon period, a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture of pit dwelling and a rudimentary form of agriculture. Decorated clay vessels from this period, often with plaited patterns, are some of the oldest surviving examples of pottery in the world.
The Yayoi period, starting around the third century BC, saw the introduction of many new practices, such as wet-rice farming[6], iron and bronze-making and a new style of pottery, brought by migrants from China or Korea.
The Japanese first appear in written history in China’s Book of Han. According to the Chinese Records of Three Kingdoms, the most powerful kingdom on the archipelago during the third century was called Yamataikoku.
The Great Buddha in Kamakura (1252).
Buddhism was first introduced to Japan from Baekje of the Korean Peninsula, but the subsequent development of Japanese Buddhism and Buddhist sculptures were primarily influenced by China.[7] Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class and eventually gained growing acceptance since the Asuka period.[8]
The Nara period of the eighth century marked the first emergence of a strong central Japanese state, centered around an imperial court in the city of Heijō-kyō, or modern day Nara. In addition to the continuing adoption of Chinese administrative practices, the Nara period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent written literature with the completion of the massive chronicles Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720).[9] (Nara was not the first capital city in Japan, though. Before Nara, Fujiwara-kyō and Asuka served as capitals of the Yamato state.)
In 784, Emperor Kammu moved the capital from Nara to Nagaoka-kyō for a brief ten-year period, before relocating it to Heian-kyō (modern day Kyoto) in 794, where it remained for more than a millennium.[10] This marked the beginning of the Heian period, during which time a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged, noted for its art, poetry and literature. Lady Murasaki's The Tale of Genji and the lyrics of modern Japan's national anthem, Kimi ga Yo were written during this time.[11]
The Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281 were successfully repelled.
Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai. In 1185, following the defeat of the rival Taira clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed Shogun and established a base of power in Kamakura. After Yoritomo's death, the Hōjō clan came to rule as regents for the shoguns. Zen Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class. The Kamakura shogunate managed to repel Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281, aided by a storm that the Japanese interpreted as a kamikaze, or Divine Wind. The Kamakura shogunate was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo, who was soon himself defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336.[12] The succeeding Ashikaga shogunate failed to control the feudal warlords (daimyo), and a civil war erupted (the Ōnin War) in 1467 which opened a century-long Sengoku period.[13]
During the sixteenth century, traders and Jesuit missionaries from Portugal reached Japan for the first time, initiating active commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West (Nanban trade).
One of Japan's Red seal ships (1634), which were used for trade throughout Asia.
Samurai of the Satsuma clan during the Boshin War, circa 1867.
The 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
Skyscrapers in Shinjuku, Tokyo
Oda Nobunaga conquered numerous other daimyo by using European technology and firearms and had almost unified the nation when he was assassinated in 1582. Toyotomi Hideyoshi succeeded Nobunaga and united the nation in 1590. Hideyoshi invaded Korea twice, but following several defeats by Korean and Ming China forces and Hideyoshi's death, Japanese troops were withdrawn in 1598.[14]
After Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa Ieyasu utilized his position as regent for Hideyoshi's son Toyotomi Hideyori to gain political and military support. When open war broke out, he defeated rival clans in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Ieyasu was appointed shōgun in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo (modern Tokyo). The Tokugawa shogunate enacted a variety of measures such as Buke shohatto to control the autonomous daimyo. In 1639, the shogunate began the isolationist sakoku ("closed country") policy that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the Edo period. The study of Western sciences, known as rangaku, continued during this period through contacts with the Dutch enclave at Dejima in Nagasaki. The Edo period also gave rise to kokugaku, or literally "national studies", the study of Japan by the Japanese themselves.[15]
On March 31, 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry and the "Black Ships" of the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside world with the Convention of Kanagawa. Subsequent similar treaties with the Western countries in the Bakumatsu period brought Japan into economic and political crises. The abundance of the prerogative and the resignation of the shogunate led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state unified under the name of the Emperor (Meiji Restoration). Adopting Western political, judicial and military institutions, the Cabinet organized the Privy Council, introduced the Meiji Constitution, and assembled the Imperial Diet. The Meiji Restoration transformed the Empire of Japan into an industrialized world power that embarked on a number of military conflicts to expand the nation's sphere of influence. After victories in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), Japan gained control of Taiwan, Korea, and the southern half of Sakhalin.[16]
The early twentieth century saw a brief period of "Taisho democracy" overshadowed by the rise of expansionism and militarization. World War I enabled Japan, which joined the side of the victorious Allies, to expand its influence and territorial holdings. Japan continued its expansionist policy by occupying Manchuria in 1931. As a result of international condemnation for this occupation, Japan resigned from the League of Nations two years later. In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany, joining the Axis powers in 1941.[17]
In 1937, Japan invaded other parts of China, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan.[18] On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the United States naval base in Pearl Harbor and declared war on the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. This act brought the United States into World War II. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, along with the Soviet Union joining the war against it, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender on August 15 (Victory over Japan Day).[19] The war cost Japan millions of lives and left much of the country's industry and infrastructure destroyed. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East, was convened by the Allies (on May 3, 1946) to prosecute Japanese leaders for war crimes.
In 1947, Japan adopted a new pacifist constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices. The Allied occupation ended by the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952[20] and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956. Japan later achieved spectacular growth to become the second largest economy in the world, with an annual growth rate averaging 10% for four decades. This ended in the mid-1990s when Japan suffered a major recession. Positive growth in the early twenty-first century has signaled a gradual recovery.
MYTHOLOGY OF JAPAN
Japanese mythology is a system of beliefs that embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculture-based folk religion.The Shinto pantheon alone consists of an uncountable number of kami (Japanese for "gods" or "spirits"). This article will discuss only the typical elements present in Oriental mythology such as cosmogony, important deities and the most well-known Japanese stories.
Mainstream Japanese myths, as generally recognized today, are based on the Kojiki, Nihonshoki and some complementary books. The Kojiki or "Record of Ancient Things" is the oldest recognized book of myths, legends, and history of Japan. The Shintoshu explains origins of Japanese deities from a Buddhist perspective while the Hotsuma Tsutae records a substantially different version of mythology.
One notable result of Japanese mythology is that it explains the origin of the Imperial family, and assigned them godhood. The Japanese word for the Emperor of Japan, tennō (天皇), means "heavenly emperor".
The first gods summoned two divine beings into existence, Izanagi no Mikoto(Exalted Male) and Izanami no Mikoto(Exalted Female)[1], and charged them with creating the first land. To help them do this, Izanagi and Izanami were given a halberd (naginata) decorated with jewels, named Amanonuhoko (Heavenly Jeweled Halberd). The two deities then went to the bridge between heaven and earth, Amenoukihashi (Floating Bridge of Heaven) and churned the sea below with the halberd. When drops of salty water fell from the halberd, they formed into the island Onogoro (self-forming). They descended from the bridge of heaven and made their home on the island. Eventually they wished to mate, so they built a pillar called Amenomihashira around which they built a palace called Yahirodono (the hall whose area is 8 arms' length squared). Izanagi and Izanami circled the pillar in opposite directions, and when they met on the other side Izanami, the female deity, spoke first in greeting. Izanagi didn't think that this was proper, but they mated anyway. They had two children, Hiruko (leech child) and Awashima (pale island) but they were badly-formed and are not considered gods in their original form. (Hiruko later became the Japanese god Ebisu.)
The parents dismayed at their misfortune, put the children into a boat and set them out to sea, and then petitioned the other gods for an answer as to what they had done wrong. They were informed that Izanami'slack of manners was the reason for the misbirth: A woman should never speak prior to a man,the male deity should have spoken first in greeting during the ceremony. [2] So Izanagi and Izanami went around the pillar again, and this time when they met Izanagi spoke first and their union was successful.
From their union were born the Ōyashima, or the eight great islands of Japan:
Awaji
Iyo (later Shikoku)
Oki
Tsukushi (later Kyūshū)
Iki
Tsushima
Sado
Yamato (later Honshū)
Note that Hokkaidō, Chishima, and Okinawa were not part of Japan in ancient times.
The divine couple bore eight more offspring, who later became the eight great islands of Japan.[3] Izanami, however, died giving birth to the child Kagututi (incarnation of fire) or Homusubi (causer of fire). She was then buried on Mt. Hiba, at the border of the old provinces of Izumo and Hoki, near modern-day Yasugi of Shimane Prefecture. In anger, Izanagi killed Kagututi. His death also created dozens of deities.
The gods borne from Izanagi and Izanami are symbolic of important aspects of nature and culture, but they are too many to mention here.
FOLKLORE OF JAPAN
The folklore of Japan is heavily influenced by both Shinto and Buddhism, the two primary religions in the country. It often involves humorous or bizarre characters and situations and also includes an assortment of supernatural beings, such as bodhisattva, kami (gods and revered spirits), yōkai (monster-spirits) (such as oni, kappa, and tengu), yūrei (ghosts), dragons, and animals with supernatural powers such as the kitsune (fox), tanuki (raccoon dog), mujina (badger), and bakeneko (transforming cat).
Japanese folklore is often divided into several categories: "mukashibanashi," tales of long ago; "namidabanashi", sad stories; "obakebanashi", ghost stories; "ongaeshibanashi", stories of repaying kindness; "tonchibanashi", witty stories; "waraibanashi", funny stories; and "yokubaribanashi", stories of greed.
Some well-known Japanese folktales and legends include:
The story of Kintarō, the superhuman Golden Boy.
The story of Momotarō, the oni-slaying Peach Boy.
The story of Urashima Tarō, who rescued a turtle and visited the bottom of the sea.
The story of Issun-bōshi, the One-inch Boy.
Bunbuku Chagama, the story of a teakettle which is actually a shape-changing tanuki.
The story of the wicked fox-woman Tamamo-no-Mae.
Shita-kiri Suzume, the story of the tongue-cut sparrow.
The story of the vengeful Kiyohime, who became a dragon.
Banchō Sarayashiki, the ghost story of Okiku and the Nine Plates.
Yotsuya Kaidan, the ghost story of Oiwa.
Kachi-kachi Yama, the story of a villainous Tanuki and a heroic rabbit.
Hanasaka Jiisan, the story of the old man that made the flowers bloom
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, about a mysterious girl called Kaguya-hime who is said to be from the capital of the moon.
The folklore of Japan has been influenced by foreign literature. Some stories of ancient India were influential in shaping Japanese stories by providing them with materials. Indian materials were greatly modified and adapted in such a way as would appeal to the sensibilities of common people of Japan in general. [1][2]
The monkey stories of Japanese folklore have been influenced both by the Sanskrit epic Ramayana and the Chinese classic The Journey to the West.[3] The stories mentioned in the Buddhist Jataka tales appears in a modified form in throughout the Japanese collection of popular stories.[4][5]
In the middle years of the twentieth century storytellers would often travel from town to town telling these stories with special paper illustrations called kamishibai.
Edutainment > Japanese Gods and Goddesses
God Izanagi and Goddess Izanamiby Ogata Gekko, 1896
This article is the continuation of Japanese Mythology and introduces a few more of the Japanese gods and goddesses like the sennin Tobosaku and other strange beings like the Shishi dog.
God Izanagi and Goddess Izanami
God Izanagi and Goddess Izanami were married to each other. Izanami could give birth to anything. One day she created the island of Japan. Izanami died when she gave birth to the god of fire from deadly burns during labor. By then she had given birth to 14 islands and 35 gods.
God Izanagi was desperate about the loss of his beloved companion and went down to the underworld to search for Izanami. He also found her. Izanami told Izanagi to wait for her. But he should not turn his head and try to look at her until she would be back.
Guess what - of course, the guy did not do what his wife told him and followed her instead. In the palace of the underworld he found her in an appalling condition. Terrified, God Izanagi ran away and blocked the entrance to the underworld with a huge rock so that his wife could not follow him.
The story has a striking similarity to the old Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. Do both legends have a common root or did the Greek story, that is at least 2,500 years old come to Japan one day?
Sennin
Sennin are immortals living in the mountains - some kind of hermits. They are capable of a lot of magic tricks like flying on an animal in the air. Sennin may appear mortals in their dreams. There are about 500 of them. Like in life, only a few of the sennin are frequently mentioned and depicted. The rest belongs to the "silent majority". By the way, the Japanese mythology knows not only male but female sennin as well. Here are the best known - the sennin celebrities.
Seiobo
Goddess Seioboby Keishu Takeuchi 1861-1942
Seiobo is also called the "Queen Mother of the West". She cultivates a garden of peach trees that blossom only every 1000 years. However one of these peaches eaten, gives eternal life.
Tobosaku
Tobosaku is the bad guy in the Japanese mythology who stole not only one, but three peaches out of Seibo's garden. So he became immortal. No wonder that Tobosaku is always shown as an old man, with a broad smile and a peach in his hand. Happy old man!
Gama-Sennin
Gama is a benign sage with a lot of magical knowledge about pills and drugs. He is always accompanied by a toad and he can assume the shape of a toad. He could also change his skin and become young again.
Chokaro
Chokaro traveled a lot and had an elegant solution to the transportation problem. He had a magic pumpkin. He only had to blow into the pumpkin and out of it came a horse. Chokaro therefore is always shown with a pumpkin of which a horse is peeping out.
Shishi
Shishi with tamaby Hideaki Kato born 1954copyright Hideaki Kato born 1954
Shishi is a funny-looking being - something like a dog wanting to be a lion. The origins of the shishi character are in China. Shishi dogs are the equivalent of the Chinese foo dog. Shishi were posted right and left of temple and house entrances as guardians. They can also be found on roofs.
Shishi dogs are depicted either with their mouth open (to scare off the evil demons) or with their mouth closed (to keep the good spirits in). The thing that they hold in their hands, which looks like a globe, is called a tama, the Buddhist jewel. A shishi really looks like the perfect watch dog, sorry - watch lion.
The Seven Gods of Luck
Seven Lucky Godsby Hosai Baido 1848-1920copyright protected
In the Japanese language, the seven gods of luck are called Shichi Fukujin, which means "seven happiness beings".
Benten
Goddess Bentenby Hanko Kajita 1870-1917copyright protected
The Goddess of luck, love, eloquence, wisdom and the fine arts. Benten is the patron of the geishas and the art folks. She is shown with eight arms riding on a dragon.
Bishamon
Bishamon is the patron of the warriors. Therefore he is shown in full armor with a spear in his hand.
Daikoku
Goddess Daikokuby Paul Jacoulet 1902-1960copyright Paul Jacoulet
He is the god of wealth and the patron of the farmers. His attributes are a sack of rice and rats and he is shown as a fat man (for prosperity and wealth).
Ebisu
Goddess Ebisuby Paul Jacoulet 1902-1960copyright Paul Jacoulet
Ebisu is the son of Daikoku and the patron of the fishermen. He is shown with a huge carp and a rod for fishing. He was worshipped by the fishermen and had a temple in the coastal region near Osaka.
Fukurokuju
The god of wisdom, good luck and longevity. He is shown with a very high forehead. Mostly he is accompanied with a stag, a symbol of longevity, sometimes by a tortoise and a crane.
Hotei
Tsuki Hyakushi # 62God Hoteiby Yoshitoshi Taiso 1839-1892copyright protected
Like Daikoku, he stands for wealth. But he is also the god of laughter and happiness by being content with what you have. He is depicted as a laughing fat man with a bag of rice over his shoulders and kids. On some pictures, he is shown sitting in a cart drawn by children.
Jurojin
Tsuki Hyakushi # 62God Jurojin and a Boyby Zeshin Shibata 1807-1891copyright protected
The god of longevity and happiness in your old days. The attributes in his company are a tortoise and a crane. And he is depicted with a smile on his face. Another happy old man!
Back to Japanese Mythology.
A middle Jōmon period vessel (3000 to 2000 BC).
Main article: History of Japan
The first signs of occupation on the Japanese Archipelago appeared with a Paleolithic culture around 30,000 BC, followed from around 14,000 BC by the Jōmon period, a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture of pit dwelling and a rudimentary form of agriculture. Decorated clay vessels from this period, often with plaited patterns, are some of the oldest surviving examples of pottery in the world.
The Yayoi period, starting around the third century BC, saw the introduction of many new practices, such as wet-rice farming[6], iron and bronze-making and a new style of pottery, brought by migrants from China or Korea.
The Japanese first appear in written history in China’s Book of Han. According to the Chinese Records of Three Kingdoms, the most powerful kingdom on the archipelago during the third century was called Yamataikoku.
The Great Buddha in Kamakura (1252).
Buddhism was first introduced to Japan from Baekje of the Korean Peninsula, but the subsequent development of Japanese Buddhism and Buddhist sculptures were primarily influenced by China.[7] Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class and eventually gained growing acceptance since the Asuka period.[8]
The Nara period of the eighth century marked the first emergence of a strong central Japanese state, centered around an imperial court in the city of Heijō-kyō, or modern day Nara. In addition to the continuing adoption of Chinese administrative practices, the Nara period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent written literature with the completion of the massive chronicles Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720).[9] (Nara was not the first capital city in Japan, though. Before Nara, Fujiwara-kyō and Asuka served as capitals of the Yamato state.)
In 784, Emperor Kammu moved the capital from Nara to Nagaoka-kyō for a brief ten-year period, before relocating it to Heian-kyō (modern day Kyoto) in 794, where it remained for more than a millennium.[10] This marked the beginning of the Heian period, during which time a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged, noted for its art, poetry and literature. Lady Murasaki's The Tale of Genji and the lyrics of modern Japan's national anthem, Kimi ga Yo were written during this time.[11]
The Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281 were successfully repelled.
Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai. In 1185, following the defeat of the rival Taira clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed Shogun and established a base of power in Kamakura. After Yoritomo's death, the Hōjō clan came to rule as regents for the shoguns. Zen Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class. The Kamakura shogunate managed to repel Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281, aided by a storm that the Japanese interpreted as a kamikaze, or Divine Wind. The Kamakura shogunate was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo, who was soon himself defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336.[12] The succeeding Ashikaga shogunate failed to control the feudal warlords (daimyo), and a civil war erupted (the Ōnin War) in 1467 which opened a century-long Sengoku period.[13]
During the sixteenth century, traders and Jesuit missionaries from Portugal reached Japan for the first time, initiating active commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West (Nanban trade).
One of Japan's Red seal ships (1634), which were used for trade throughout Asia.
Samurai of the Satsuma clan during the Boshin War, circa 1867.
The 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
Skyscrapers in Shinjuku, Tokyo
Oda Nobunaga conquered numerous other daimyo by using European technology and firearms and had almost unified the nation when he was assassinated in 1582. Toyotomi Hideyoshi succeeded Nobunaga and united the nation in 1590. Hideyoshi invaded Korea twice, but following several defeats by Korean and Ming China forces and Hideyoshi's death, Japanese troops were withdrawn in 1598.[14]
After Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa Ieyasu utilized his position as regent for Hideyoshi's son Toyotomi Hideyori to gain political and military support. When open war broke out, he defeated rival clans in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Ieyasu was appointed shōgun in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo (modern Tokyo). The Tokugawa shogunate enacted a variety of measures such as Buke shohatto to control the autonomous daimyo. In 1639, the shogunate began the isolationist sakoku ("closed country") policy that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the Edo period. The study of Western sciences, known as rangaku, continued during this period through contacts with the Dutch enclave at Dejima in Nagasaki. The Edo period also gave rise to kokugaku, or literally "national studies", the study of Japan by the Japanese themselves.[15]
On March 31, 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry and the "Black Ships" of the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside world with the Convention of Kanagawa. Subsequent similar treaties with the Western countries in the Bakumatsu period brought Japan into economic and political crises. The abundance of the prerogative and the resignation of the shogunate led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state unified under the name of the Emperor (Meiji Restoration). Adopting Western political, judicial and military institutions, the Cabinet organized the Privy Council, introduced the Meiji Constitution, and assembled the Imperial Diet. The Meiji Restoration transformed the Empire of Japan into an industrialized world power that embarked on a number of military conflicts to expand the nation's sphere of influence. After victories in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), Japan gained control of Taiwan, Korea, and the southern half of Sakhalin.[16]
The early twentieth century saw a brief period of "Taisho democracy" overshadowed by the rise of expansionism and militarization. World War I enabled Japan, which joined the side of the victorious Allies, to expand its influence and territorial holdings. Japan continued its expansionist policy by occupying Manchuria in 1931. As a result of international condemnation for this occupation, Japan resigned from the League of Nations two years later. In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany, joining the Axis powers in 1941.[17]
In 1937, Japan invaded other parts of China, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan.[18] On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the United States naval base in Pearl Harbor and declared war on the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. This act brought the United States into World War II. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, along with the Soviet Union joining the war against it, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender on August 15 (Victory over Japan Day).[19] The war cost Japan millions of lives and left much of the country's industry and infrastructure destroyed. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East, was convened by the Allies (on May 3, 1946) to prosecute Japanese leaders for war crimes.
In 1947, Japan adopted a new pacifist constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices. The Allied occupation ended by the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952[20] and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956. Japan later achieved spectacular growth to become the second largest economy in the world, with an annual growth rate averaging 10% for four decades. This ended in the mid-1990s when Japan suffered a major recession. Positive growth in the early twenty-first century has signaled a gradual recovery.
MYTHOLOGY OF JAPAN
Japanese mythology is a system of beliefs that embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculture-based folk religion.The Shinto pantheon alone consists of an uncountable number of kami (Japanese for "gods" or "spirits"). This article will discuss only the typical elements present in Oriental mythology such as cosmogony, important deities and the most well-known Japanese stories.
Mainstream Japanese myths, as generally recognized today, are based on the Kojiki, Nihonshoki and some complementary books. The Kojiki or "Record of Ancient Things" is the oldest recognized book of myths, legends, and history of Japan. The Shintoshu explains origins of Japanese deities from a Buddhist perspective while the Hotsuma Tsutae records a substantially different version of mythology.
One notable result of Japanese mythology is that it explains the origin of the Imperial family, and assigned them godhood. The Japanese word for the Emperor of Japan, tennō (天皇), means "heavenly emperor".
The first gods summoned two divine beings into existence, Izanagi no Mikoto(Exalted Male) and Izanami no Mikoto(Exalted Female)[1], and charged them with creating the first land. To help them do this, Izanagi and Izanami were given a halberd (naginata) decorated with jewels, named Amanonuhoko (Heavenly Jeweled Halberd). The two deities then went to the bridge between heaven and earth, Amenoukihashi (Floating Bridge of Heaven) and churned the sea below with the halberd. When drops of salty water fell from the halberd, they formed into the island Onogoro (self-forming). They descended from the bridge of heaven and made their home on the island. Eventually they wished to mate, so they built a pillar called Amenomihashira around which they built a palace called Yahirodono (the hall whose area is 8 arms' length squared). Izanagi and Izanami circled the pillar in opposite directions, and when they met on the other side Izanami, the female deity, spoke first in greeting. Izanagi didn't think that this was proper, but they mated anyway. They had two children, Hiruko (leech child) and Awashima (pale island) but they were badly-formed and are not considered gods in their original form. (Hiruko later became the Japanese god Ebisu.)
The parents dismayed at their misfortune, put the children into a boat and set them out to sea, and then petitioned the other gods for an answer as to what they had done wrong. They were informed that Izanami'slack of manners was the reason for the misbirth: A woman should never speak prior to a man,the male deity should have spoken first in greeting during the ceremony. [2] So Izanagi and Izanami went around the pillar again, and this time when they met Izanagi spoke first and their union was successful.
From their union were born the Ōyashima, or the eight great islands of Japan:
Awaji
Iyo (later Shikoku)
Oki
Tsukushi (later Kyūshū)
Iki
Tsushima
Sado
Yamato (later Honshū)
Note that Hokkaidō, Chishima, and Okinawa were not part of Japan in ancient times.
The divine couple bore eight more offspring, who later became the eight great islands of Japan.[3] Izanami, however, died giving birth to the child Kagututi (incarnation of fire) or Homusubi (causer of fire). She was then buried on Mt. Hiba, at the border of the old provinces of Izumo and Hoki, near modern-day Yasugi of Shimane Prefecture. In anger, Izanagi killed Kagututi. His death also created dozens of deities.
The gods borne from Izanagi and Izanami are symbolic of important aspects of nature and culture, but they are too many to mention here.
FOLKLORE OF JAPAN
The folklore of Japan is heavily influenced by both Shinto and Buddhism, the two primary religions in the country. It often involves humorous or bizarre characters and situations and also includes an assortment of supernatural beings, such as bodhisattva, kami (gods and revered spirits), yōkai (monster-spirits) (such as oni, kappa, and tengu), yūrei (ghosts), dragons, and animals with supernatural powers such as the kitsune (fox), tanuki (raccoon dog), mujina (badger), and bakeneko (transforming cat).
Japanese folklore is often divided into several categories: "mukashibanashi," tales of long ago; "namidabanashi", sad stories; "obakebanashi", ghost stories; "ongaeshibanashi", stories of repaying kindness; "tonchibanashi", witty stories; "waraibanashi", funny stories; and "yokubaribanashi", stories of greed.
Some well-known Japanese folktales and legends include:
The story of Kintarō, the superhuman Golden Boy.
The story of Momotarō, the oni-slaying Peach Boy.
The story of Urashima Tarō, who rescued a turtle and visited the bottom of the sea.
The story of Issun-bōshi, the One-inch Boy.
Bunbuku Chagama, the story of a teakettle which is actually a shape-changing tanuki.
The story of the wicked fox-woman Tamamo-no-Mae.
Shita-kiri Suzume, the story of the tongue-cut sparrow.
The story of the vengeful Kiyohime, who became a dragon.
Banchō Sarayashiki, the ghost story of Okiku and the Nine Plates.
Yotsuya Kaidan, the ghost story of Oiwa.
Kachi-kachi Yama, the story of a villainous Tanuki and a heroic rabbit.
Hanasaka Jiisan, the story of the old man that made the flowers bloom
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, about a mysterious girl called Kaguya-hime who is said to be from the capital of the moon.
The folklore of Japan has been influenced by foreign literature. Some stories of ancient India were influential in shaping Japanese stories by providing them with materials. Indian materials were greatly modified and adapted in such a way as would appeal to the sensibilities of common people of Japan in general. [1][2]
The monkey stories of Japanese folklore have been influenced both by the Sanskrit epic Ramayana and the Chinese classic The Journey to the West.[3] The stories mentioned in the Buddhist Jataka tales appears in a modified form in throughout the Japanese collection of popular stories.[4][5]
In the middle years of the twentieth century storytellers would often travel from town to town telling these stories with special paper illustrations called kamishibai.
Edutainment > Japanese Gods and Goddesses
God Izanagi and Goddess Izanamiby Ogata Gekko, 1896
This article is the continuation of Japanese Mythology and introduces a few more of the Japanese gods and goddesses like the sennin Tobosaku and other strange beings like the Shishi dog.
God Izanagi and Goddess Izanami
God Izanagi and Goddess Izanami were married to each other. Izanami could give birth to anything. One day she created the island of Japan. Izanami died when she gave birth to the god of fire from deadly burns during labor. By then she had given birth to 14 islands and 35 gods.
God Izanagi was desperate about the loss of his beloved companion and went down to the underworld to search for Izanami. He also found her. Izanami told Izanagi to wait for her. But he should not turn his head and try to look at her until she would be back.
Guess what - of course, the guy did not do what his wife told him and followed her instead. In the palace of the underworld he found her in an appalling condition. Terrified, God Izanagi ran away and blocked the entrance to the underworld with a huge rock so that his wife could not follow him.
The story has a striking similarity to the old Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. Do both legends have a common root or did the Greek story, that is at least 2,500 years old come to Japan one day?
Sennin
Sennin are immortals living in the mountains - some kind of hermits. They are capable of a lot of magic tricks like flying on an animal in the air. Sennin may appear mortals in their dreams. There are about 500 of them. Like in life, only a few of the sennin are frequently mentioned and depicted. The rest belongs to the "silent majority". By the way, the Japanese mythology knows not only male but female sennin as well. Here are the best known - the sennin celebrities.
Seiobo
Goddess Seioboby Keishu Takeuchi 1861-1942
Seiobo is also called the "Queen Mother of the West". She cultivates a garden of peach trees that blossom only every 1000 years. However one of these peaches eaten, gives eternal life.
Tobosaku
Tobosaku is the bad guy in the Japanese mythology who stole not only one, but three peaches out of Seibo's garden. So he became immortal. No wonder that Tobosaku is always shown as an old man, with a broad smile and a peach in his hand. Happy old man!
Gama-Sennin
Gama is a benign sage with a lot of magical knowledge about pills and drugs. He is always accompanied by a toad and he can assume the shape of a toad. He could also change his skin and become young again.
Chokaro
Chokaro traveled a lot and had an elegant solution to the transportation problem. He had a magic pumpkin. He only had to blow into the pumpkin and out of it came a horse. Chokaro therefore is always shown with a pumpkin of which a horse is peeping out.
Shishi
Shishi with tamaby Hideaki Kato born 1954copyright Hideaki Kato born 1954
Shishi is a funny-looking being - something like a dog wanting to be a lion. The origins of the shishi character are in China. Shishi dogs are the equivalent of the Chinese foo dog. Shishi were posted right and left of temple and house entrances as guardians. They can also be found on roofs.
Shishi dogs are depicted either with their mouth open (to scare off the evil demons) or with their mouth closed (to keep the good spirits in). The thing that they hold in their hands, which looks like a globe, is called a tama, the Buddhist jewel. A shishi really looks like the perfect watch dog, sorry - watch lion.
The Seven Gods of Luck
Seven Lucky Godsby Hosai Baido 1848-1920copyright protected
In the Japanese language, the seven gods of luck are called Shichi Fukujin, which means "seven happiness beings".
Benten
Goddess Bentenby Hanko Kajita 1870-1917copyright protected
The Goddess of luck, love, eloquence, wisdom and the fine arts. Benten is the patron of the geishas and the art folks. She is shown with eight arms riding on a dragon.
Bishamon
Bishamon is the patron of the warriors. Therefore he is shown in full armor with a spear in his hand.
Daikoku
Goddess Daikokuby Paul Jacoulet 1902-1960copyright Paul Jacoulet
He is the god of wealth and the patron of the farmers. His attributes are a sack of rice and rats and he is shown as a fat man (for prosperity and wealth).
Ebisu
Goddess Ebisuby Paul Jacoulet 1902-1960copyright Paul Jacoulet
Ebisu is the son of Daikoku and the patron of the fishermen. He is shown with a huge carp and a rod for fishing. He was worshipped by the fishermen and had a temple in the coastal region near Osaka.
Fukurokuju
The god of wisdom, good luck and longevity. He is shown with a very high forehead. Mostly he is accompanied with a stag, a symbol of longevity, sometimes by a tortoise and a crane.
Hotei
Tsuki Hyakushi # 62God Hoteiby Yoshitoshi Taiso 1839-1892copyright protected
Like Daikoku, he stands for wealth. But he is also the god of laughter and happiness by being content with what you have. He is depicted as a laughing fat man with a bag of rice over his shoulders and kids. On some pictures, he is shown sitting in a cart drawn by children.
Jurojin
Tsuki Hyakushi # 62God Jurojin and a Boyby Zeshin Shibata 1807-1891copyright protected
The god of longevity and happiness in your old days. The attributes in his company are a tortoise and a crane. And he is depicted with a smile on his face. Another happy old man!
Back to Japanese Mythology.
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