Japanese mythology

An interesting aspect of Japanese mythology is that it explains the origin of the current royal family, and gave them deity until recently, the end of the Pacific War.

Mainstream Japanese myths, as generally recognized today, are based on the Kojiki and some complementary books. The Kojiki is the oldest recognized book of myths, legends, and history of Japan. The Shintoshu explains origins of Japanese deities from a Buddhism position. The Hotuma Tutaye records a substantially different version of mythology.

Table of contents

1 Spelling of proper nouns
2 Creation of the world
3 Yomi, a hades
4 Sun, Moon, and Wind
5 Iwayado, a cave (6-8)
6 Eight-prong dragon
7 Prince Ohonamuji

7.1 Princess Yakami (11-12)
7.2 Princess Suseri (13)
7.3 Princess Nunakawa (14)

8 Cession (17-18)
9 Installation (19-20)
10 Prosperity and eternity
11 Ebb and flow
12 Legends (23-)

12.4 First Emperor
12.5 Conquest of the east (23-26)
12.6 Yamato Takeru (44-48)

13 Seee also

Spelling of proper nouns

Very many deities apper on the stage of the Japanese mythology, and many of them have multiple aliases. Besides, some of their names are so long that they can be tedious for the majority of readers. Thus, this article lists only prominent names in abbreviated forms. Readers must be noticed that abbreviated forms are not unanimously established.

For instance, Ninigi, or Amenigisikuninigisiamatuhidakahikohononiniginomikoto in full, can also be abbreviated as Hikohononinigi or Hononinigi.

In this article, proper names are written in a historical manner. In this article, underlined h, y, and w denote silent letters; they are omitted from modern spelling. This underlining convention is peculiar to this article. Other syllables are modernized as follows. Note that something in between are also used.

si is modernized as shi.
ti is modernized as chi.
tu is modernized as tsu.
hu is modernized as fu.
zi and di are modernized as ji. (distinction disappered)
zu and du are modernized as dzu. (distinction disappered)
oo is modernized as o or oh.

For instance, various spells of Ohonamudi include Ohonamuji, Oonamuji, Ohnamuji, and others.

By historical reasons, k, s, t, and h are sometimes confused with g, z, d, and b respectively.

For instance, various spells of Ohonamudi also include Ohonamuti and Ohonamuchi (but not Obonamudi, sigh).

Creation of the world

At first, when heaven and earth were still chaotic, five deities happened at Takamanohara (high in heaven). They are called Kotoamatukami (deities of distinguished heaven) and hardly relates to main stories. Besides that, two and five pairs of deities happened at ground. Except for the last pair, Izanagi and Izanami, they also hardly relates to main stories. Mysteriously, Izanagi, Izanami, and their descendants are called Amatukami (deities of heaven).

Izanagi (a male deity) and Izanami (a female deity) standing on the bridge between heaven and ground, churned the sea to make solid Onogoro island. They came down to the island. They mixed there and bore many islands and deities. The first two were badly made. Then ohoyashima (great eight islands) born.

Awazi
Iyo (later Shikoku)
Ogi
Tukusi (later Kyushu)
Iki
Tusima
Sado
Yamato (later Honshu)

Note that Hokkaido, Chishima, and Okinawa was not a part of Japan in this times.

They bore six more islands and dozens of deities. Izanami was killed by a burn at the birth of Kagututi (incarnation of fire). Kagututi was killed by detested Izanagi. Another dozen of deities were born by this event.

Many deities borne by Izanagi and Izanami are symbols of important aspects of nature and culture, but they are too many to mention here.

Yomi, a hades

Izanagi lamented his dearest and made a travel to Yomi, the land of night, the world of the deads.

There he found a decayed figure of his wife, flew back, and divorced her. She cursed him, "I will kill each day one thousand of your peoples," and he replied "So I will make them bear one thousand and five hundreds." Hence, birth and death.

Sun, Moon, and Wind

After he came back from Yomi, Izanagi bathed to wash off dirties. At this time, dozens of deities born, including

Amaterasu (incarnation of the sun) from his left eye,
Tukuyomi (incarnation of the moon) from his right eye, and
Susanowo (incarnation of wind or storm) from his nose.

Iwayado, a cave (6-8)

Susanowo was rude and wild. When he disowned by his further, he went to Takamanohara to bade farewell to his sister. But Amaterasu afraided that he came to make some harm to her. She attired herself manfully before meet her brother. "What purpose do you come here for?" asked Amaterasu. "To say farewell," answered Susanowo.

But she did not believe his word and request a contest for proof of his faith. Amaterasu made three females from Sasanowo's sword, while Sasanowo made five males from Amaterasu's ornament chain. It was Amaterasu who claimed the title to the five males made from her belongs. Naturally, three females were attributed to Sasanowo. Getting gentle females acquitted Sasanowo.

Winning the game, Sasanowo became haughty. He stayed on in Takamagahara and behaved quite rude. Finally, Amaterasu hid into the Iwayado to evade from her brother. As the incarnation of the sun disappered into the cave, darkness covered the world.

Eight-prong dragon

Susanowo, deported from heaven, got down to ground at Idumo (now Shimane). There he met an old man and his wife sobbing beside their daughter. Susanowo asked for reasons. The old couple answered, that they had eight daughters at first. A dragon named Yamatano-oroti came from Kosi (now Niigata) and ate their daughter every year. The terrible dragon has eight heads and eight tails on one body. This girl is the last of their eight daughters. Her name is Kusinada.

Susanowo liked the girl and asked for marriage with her. No one would oppose, except the dragon. Susanowo ordered them to build fence around the house, open eight gates on the fence, make eight tables on each gate, put eight casks on each table, and fill the casks with eight-times brewed rice wine.

The dragon had come and allured by the wine. It had been drunken and slain by Susanowo. A nearby river turns red with blood of the dragon. As Susanowo cut the dragon into pieces, he found an excellent sword from a tail of the dragon. The sword was later presented to Amaterasu and named as Kusanagi.

Prince Ohonamuji

Ohonamuji (also known as Ohokuninushi) is a descendant of Susanowo. He has many brothers, They all competed for a princess Yakami in Inaba. On their travelling from Izemo to Inaba to plead their suits on her, they met a skinned rabbit distressed in a beach. Seeing that, they told the rabbit to bathe in the sea and dry in the wind at a high mountain. The sad rabbit believe their word only to worsen its hurt. Ohonamuji came in delay and saw the rabbit in agony. He told the rabbit to bathe in fresh water and be covered with powder of gama (cattail) flower. The cured rabbit blessed Ohonamuji win Yakami.

As they reach Inaba, they proposed to Yakami, but he denied and told them that she wanted to marry with Ohonamuji. They got anger and plotted to kill Ohonamuji. They trick Ohonamuji to catch the red boar living in the mountain. They then found a boar-shaped big stone, burn it to red, and threw it to Ohonamuji. They killed Ohonamuji, but his mother revivied him with powder of shells.