The most important stories in Japanese mythology deal with creation and the goddess Amaterasu. Deeply rooted in nature, they vividly Describe the formation of the landscape and the origin of forces such as fire, wind, and light.
Creation According to the Kojiki, in the beginning there was only an ancient ooze, out of which heaven and earth were formed. Life emerged from this mud. In heaven three deities—followed by two others— appeared. These five became the Separate Heavenly Deities. They were followed by the Seven Generations of the Age of the Gods, two single deities and five male and female couples. The two single deities came out of a reedlike substance floating in the ooze.
When the youngest pair of deities—Izanagi and Izanami—were born, the other gods ordered them to make solid land out of the material drifting in the sea. Standing on the floating bridge of heaven, Izanagi and Izanami stirred the ancient ocean with a jeweled spear. When they pulled up the spear to see if any material had gathered on it, drops of salty water dripped down into the sea and formed an island called Onogoro (pronounced oh-NOH-goh-roh). Izanagi and Izanami left heaven and went to live on the island. They married and produced eight children, who became the islands of Japan.
Izanagi and Izanami then created gods and goddesses of the trees, mountains, valleys, streams, winds, and other natural features of Japan. While giving birth to the fire god Kagutsuchi (pronounced kah-guh-TSOO-chee), Izanami was badly burned. As she lay dying, she produced more gods and goddesses. Other deities emerged from the tears of her grief-stricken husband.
When Izanami died, she went to Yomi, the land of darkness and death. Izanagi followed her there and tried to bring her back. Izanami, hidden in shadow, told him that she would try to secure her release from the gods of the underworld, but that he must wait and not attempt to see her. When she did not come back for a long while, Izanagi looked for her. He discovered her rotting corpse and fled in terror. Izanami was angry that Izanagi had seen her and sent hideous spirits to chase him. Izanagi managed to escape, and he sealed off the passage to Yomi with a huge boulder. Izanami remained there and ruled over the dead.
Feeling unclean from his contact with the dead, Izanagi decided to bathe in a stream to purify himself. As he undressed, gods and goddesses emerged from his discarded clothing. Others came forth while he washed. Susano-o came from his nose, Tsuki-yomi emerged from his right eye, and Amaterasu appeared from his left eye. Izanagi divided the world among these three gods. He gave Susano-o control of the oceans, assigned Tsuki-yomi the realm of the night, and made Amaterasu the ruler of the sun and the heavens.
Myths of Amaterasu One famous myth tells how Susano-o, Amaterasu’s brother, was unhappy with his share of the world and caused much destruction. Banished to Yomi, he asked to go to heaven to see his sister the sun goddess one last time. Amaterasu became concerned that Susano-o might be planning to take over her lands. The two agreed to a contest to prove their power. If Susano-o won, he could stay in heaven forever, but if he lost, he would have to leave.
Amaterasu asked for her brother’s sword, which she broke into three pieces and chewed in her mouth. When Amaterasu spit out the pieces, they turned into three goddesses. Susano-o then took a string of five starshaped beads that Amaterasu had given him. He put the beads in his mouth, chewed them, and spat out five gods. Susano-o claimed victory because he had produced five gods and Amaterasu had produced only three goddesses. However, Amaterasu pointed out that he had created these gods from her possessions, which proved that her power was actually greater than his. Susano-o refused to acknowledge defeat, and Amaterasu allowed him to remain in heaven.
While in heaven, Susano-o began doing things that offended his sister and violated important rules. He destroyed rice fields, made loud noises, and dirtied the floors of her palace. Finally, Susano-o killed one of the horses of heaven, skinned it, and hurled it into the hall where Amaterasu was weaving cloth. This so angered Amaterasu that she hid in a cave and refused to come out.
When the sun goddess concealed herself, the world was plunged into darkness, plants stopped growing, and all activities came to a halt. Desperate for Amaterasu’s return, eight hundred gods gathered to discuss ways of getting her to leave the cave. A wise god named Omori-kane (pronounced oh-MOH-ree-KAH-nay) proposed a solution.
The gods hung a mirror on the branches of a tree outside the cave. Then they had a young goddess named Ama-no-uzume (pronounced AH-muh-noh-oo-ZOO-may) dance to music while they laughed loudly. Amaterasu heard the noise and wondered what was happening. Opening the door to the cave a little, she asked why the gods were so happy. They told her that they were celebrating because they had found a goddess superior to her.
World History
