Japanese mythology

Japanese mythology, body of stories compiled from oral traditions concerning the legends, gods, ceremonies, customs, practices, and historical accounts of the Japanese people.

Most of the surviving Japanese myths are recorded in the Kojiki (compiled 712; “Records of Ancient Matters”) and the Nihon shoki (compiled in 720; “Chronicles of Japan”). These works tell of the origin of the ruling class and were apparently aimed at strengthening its authority. Therefore, they are not pure myths but have much political colouring. They are based on two main traditions: the Yamato Cycle, centred around the sun goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami, and the Izumo Cycle, in which the principal character is Susanoo (or Susanowo) no Mikoto, the brother of Amaterasu.

Genealogies and mythological records were kept in Japan, at least from the 6th century ad and probably long before that. By the time of the emperor Temmu (7th century), it became necessary to know the genealogy of all important families in order to establish the position of each in the eight levels of rank and title modeled after the Chinese court system. For this reason, Temmu ordered the compilation of myths and genealogies that finally resulted in the Kojiki and Nihon shoki. The compilers of these and other early documents had at their disposal not only oral tradition but also documentary sources. A greater variety of sources was available to the compiler of the Nihon shoki. While the Kojiki is richer in genealogy and myth, the Nihon shoki adds a great deal to scholarly understanding of both the history and the myth of early Japan. Its purpose was to give the newly Sinicized court a history that could be compared with the annals of the Chinese.

The purpose of the cosmologies of the Kojiki and Nihon shoki is to trace the imperial genealogy back to the foundation of the world. The myths of the Yamato Cycle figure prominently in these cosmologies. In the beginning, the world was a chaotic mass, an ill-defined egg, full of seeds. Gradually, the finer parts became heaven (yang), the heavier parts earth (yin). Deities were produced between the two: first, three single deities, and then a series of divine couples. According to the Nihon shoki, one of the first three “pure male” gods appeared in the form of a reed that connected heaven and earth. A central foundation was now laid down for the drifting cosmos, and mud and sand accumulated upon it. A stake was driven in, and an inhabitable place was created. Finally, the god Izanagi (He Who Invites) and the goddess Izanami (She Who Invites) appeared. Ordered by their heavenly superiors, they stood on a floating bridge in heaven and stirred the ocean with a spear. When the spear was pulled up, the brine dripping from the tip formed Onogoro, an island that became solid spontaneously. Izanagi and Izanami then descended to this island, met each other by circling around the celestial pillar, discovered each other’s sexuality, and began to procreate. After initial failures, they produced the eight islands that now make up Japan. Izanami finally gave birth to the god of fire and died of burns. Raging with anger, Izanagi attacked his son, from whose blood such deities as the god of thunder were born. Other gods were born of Izanami on her deathbed. They presided over metal, earth, and agriculture. In grief, Izanagi pursued Izanami to Yomi (analogous to Hades) and asked her to come back to the land of the living. The goddess replied that she had already eaten food cooked on a stove in Yomi and could not return. In spite of her warning, Izanagi looked at his wife and discovered that her body was infested with maggots. The angry and humiliated goddess then chased Izanagi from the underworld. When he finally reached the upper world, Izanagi blocked the entrance to the underworld with an enormous stone. The goddess then threatened Izanagi, saying that she would kill a thousand people every day. He replied that he would father one thousand and five hundred children for every thousand she killed. After this, Izanagi pronounced the formula of divorce.

Izanagi then returned to this world and purified himself from the miasma of Yomi no Kuni. From the lustral water falling from his left eye was born the sun goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami, ancestress of the imperial family. From his right eye was born the moon god Tsukiyomi no Mikoto and from his nose, the trickster god Susanoo. Izanagi gave the sun goddess a jewel from a necklace and told her to govern heaven. He entrusted the dominion of night to the moon god. Susanoo was told to govern the sea. According to the Kojiki, Susanoo became dissatisfied with his share and ascended to heaven to see his older sister. Amaterasu, fearing his wild behaviour, met him and suggested that they prove their faithfulness to each other by bringing forth children. They agreed to receive a seed from each other, chew it, and spit it away. If gods rather than goddesses were born, it would be taken as a sign of the good faith of the one toward the other. When Susanoo brought forth gods, his faithfulness was recognized, and he was permitted to live in heaven.

Susanoo, becoming conceited over his success, began to play the role of a trickster. He scattered excrement over the dining room of Amaterasu, where she was celebrating the ceremony of the first fruits. His worst offense was to fling into Amaterasu’s chamber a piebald horse he had “flayed with a backward flaying” (a ritual offense).

Enraged at the pranks of her brother, the sun goddess hid herself in a celestial cave, and darkness filled the heavens and the earth. The gods were at a loss. Finally, they gathered in front of the cave, built a fire, and made cocks crow. They erected a sacred evergreen tree, and from its branches they hung curved beads, mirrors, and cloth offerings. A goddess named Amenouzume no Mikoto then danced half-nude. Amaterasu, hearing the multitudes of gods laughing and applauding, became curious and opened the door of the cave. Seizing the opportunity, a strong-armed god dragged her out of the cave.

The myths of the Izumo Cycle then begin to appear in the narration. Having angered the heavenly gods and having been banished from heaven, Susanoo descended to Izumo, where he rescued Princess Marvellous Rice Field (Kushiinada Hime) from an eight-headed serpent. He then married the Princess and became the progenitor of the ruling family of Izumo. The most important member of the family of Susanoo was the god Ōkuninushi no Mikoto, the great earth chief, who assumed control of this region before the descent to earth of the descendants of the sun goddess.

Before long, Amaterasu, the leader of the celestial gods—the gods of Izumo were known as earthly gods—asked Ōkuninushi to turn over the land of Izumo, saying that “the land of the plentiful reed-covered plains and fresh rice ears” was to be governed by the descendants of the heavenly gods. After the submission of Izumo, Amaterasu made her grandson Ninigi no Mikoto (ninigi is said to represent rice in its maturity) descend to earth. According to the Nihon shoki, Amaterasu handed Ninigi some ears of rice from a sacred rice field and told him to raise rice on earth and to worship the celestial gods. The grandson of the sun goddess then descended to the peak of Takachiho (meaning “high thousand ears”) in Miyazaki, Kyushu. There he married a daughter of the god of the mountain, named Konohana-sakuya Hime (Princess Blossoms of the Trees).

When Ninigi’s wife became pregnant and was about to give birth, all in a single night, he demanded proof that the child was his. She accordingly set fire to her room, then safely produced three sons. One of them, in turn, became the father of the legendary first emperor, Jimmu, who is considered to mark the watershed between the “age of the gods” and the historical age; but Jimmu’s eastern expedition and conquest of the Japanese heartland was also a myth.