Myths and Legends of Japan
Japan has many myths believed to be true by the Japanese culture. Such as: "You can tell a person's character from their blood type". The Japanese creation myth starts off with brother and sister gods Izanagi and Izanani. They dipped a spear into the churning sea and when they pulled it out the drops that fell on the water surface became the islands of Japan. Next the sun goddess Amaterasu, was created and was soon sent to heaven to rule over the world. She some time ago left the universe in darkness and chaos. Amaterasu sent her grandson to calm Japan, giving him the sacred mirror, sword, and jewel, which became imperial motifs.
In Japanese mythology there are a lot of things that can make up a myth. Japanese myths frequently include serpents in them. There are tales of woman turning into snakes. Not all myths are about snakes. But most of the time when people think about Japanese mythology, they might think of snakes because they are so closely connected with the Japanese myths ordinarily. There are two different types of snake women; ones that are evil are ones that are good. One closely related story to the snake woman is that there is a palace under the sea at the very depth:
“ A snake woman lives there who is believed to be the daughter of the sea god. Any man who goes down and meets her there she marries and she takes good care of them. When the man has to return to his world she gives him special powers or wealth. There is a story of a snake woman that every Japanese school child knows. It starts with a young boy fishing one night and catches a multicolored turtle and he brings it home. The next morning he wakes up, not to see the turtle but a beautiful woman in place of it. He is then asked by the snake woman to come down to the sea and live with him. He lives with her for three years and he gets homesick so he asks the snake woman if he can return home. She says yes and gives him a box and she says if you want to come back down and live with me again then you cannot open the box. The turtle then guides him back to his village.
-Nara’s Buddhist temples were another result of cultural diffusion, Buddhist began in India in 500s B.C.E. about 1,000 years later, it came to Japan from China by way of Korea.
The samurai were the feudal warriors of ancient Japan. For thousands of years they upheld the code of bushido, the way of the warrior. Samurai were around for thousands of years, but when did they disappear? Does the code of bushido still exist to this day? Exploring the history of the samurai will give an explanation to what has happened to these formidable warriors.
Japan has a very rich history on the view of suicide. It is even discussed in two main Japanese history narratives. The first major writing I will be discussing is Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai (1716) by Yamamoto Tsunetomo. The second was written in 1899 by Nitobe Inazō and it was called Bushido: The soul of Japan. It is important to point out some differences about the two books. On the one hand Hagakure’s book is written to explain bushido (the way of the Samurai) to people from the age of the Samurai. On the other hand, Bushido was written and based off of Hagakure, however it is written in the context of the late nineteenth century, well after European context. Furthermore, Inazō wrote Bushido in America while Japan was in the midst
Few countries have a warrior tradition as long and exciting as Japan. It is a tradition found in the Samurai, the loyal and self-sacrificing knight of ancient Japan. The Samurai is a valiant warrior who can both appreciate the beauty of nature in that of a rose blossom but will also kill or die for his master in an instant. This well-rounded warrior was the ruling class of Japan for almost seven hundred years. He fought for control of his country and to keep Japan free from outside influences. (Turnbull 1)
from the famous "The Great Wave off of Kanagawa" picture, all the to manga and anime,
In April, 1549, Xavier, Saint Francis left the Indo-Portuguese capital of Malacca on his first voyage to Japan. The Voyage went relatively fast and he arrived at the Kagoshima harbor, on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Assumption. Xavier stepped off unto the shores of what he thought to be the Promised Land. Xavier landed with high hopes, nor were his expectations disappointed. Xavier, describe the people of Japan has having good manners, not malicious and men of honor. He also stated that they have one quality in which he cannot recall seeing in Christians; that is however poor their gentry might be they and the commoners however rich, give as much respect to a poor man in passing as if he were a rich person. He noticed the Japanese to be very courteous in their dealings with one another; they highly regard arms by carrying a sword and dirk from the age of fourteen onwards.
Speaking historically, the word “medieval” is usually associated with the middle ages of Europe, where things were thought to be primitive. However, there was a medieval period in Japan as well. Europe and Japan are separated by two countries, so it is not surprising to see that their respective medieval worlds occurred at different times. For Japan a lot of it occurred during its Heian and Kamakura periods, where the power split from the Imperial Court and was shared with the Shogunate. Between the Heian Era and the Kamakura Era, there were changes of whom the powered was controlled and the religion of Buddhism, although significant in both eras, was starting to surface as a stronger power, itself. But during this period in Japan, the elegant literature was changing, going almost hand in hand with the changes that were happening.
The importance of the oral tradition in the growth of a community is the culture of native Hawaiians is manifested in many facts of a daily life. One of the most important for any culture is language. The Commission was very fortunate to have an expert on the Hawaiian language. Another discussion about the Hawaiian culture is the different context in historic
Much of what is considered modern Japan has been fundamentally shaped by its involvement in various wars throughout history. In particular, the events of World War II led to radical changes in Japanese society, both politically and socially. While much focus has been placed on the broad, overarching impacts of war on Japan, it is through careful inspection of literature and art that we can understand war’s impact on the lives of everyday people. The Go Masters, the first collaborative film between China and Japan post-WWII, and “Turtleback Tombs,” a short story by Okinawan author Oshiro Tatsuhiro, both give insight to how war can fundamentally change how a place is perceived, on both an abstract and concrete level.
Two closely related creation myths come from the Chinese and Japanese. Their geographical ties and trading patterns forged a link. Both share the symbolism of the egg as part an old creation myth. In the Japanese version of the myth, the two gods that were first formed, made love to each other many times and each time a new god of something was born, such as islands, wind and fire. Izam, the female finally died and the creation of other gods was put to a halt. The pattern used here was from nothing to everything, and from the birth of gods to the halt of the creation, when Izam dies.
In the following, I will summarize, analyze and interpret the short ghost stories that are part of the so called “Kaidan: A Collection of New Tales” (Japanese Title: 怪談：新耳袋). Each story has a title and a number, is about five minutes long and usually in itself complete and independent. Rarely do they have a second part which is not clearly indicated to the viewer, but rather shown through other details like identical names or appearances. Additionally I will give a short historical summary of the development Japanese horror from the 1950s until today.
Classic Chinese and classic Japanese mythology are quite similar, in fact, they have more commonalities than differences. As examples, one can compare and contrast the two mythologies in terms of characters, form and structure, creation myths, and mythology’s relevance to life. Animals and dragons also appear repeatedly in Chinese and Japanese mythology. In this paper it will be shown that Chinese and Japanese mythologies are more similar than different.
In spite of Shinto’s maternal principle which operated within Japanese society, the formation of society was and still remains a patriarchal hierarchy. It could be argued that the want for patriarchalization of Japanese society came from the political power of the imperial family who promoted this ideal. The source of power of the imperial family is the divine authority derived from the ancestral deity, Amaterasu, as the Kojiki and Nihongi describe (Kasulis 75). Since Amaterasu is the ancestral goddess of the Imperial family, the Sun Goddess who governs the universe and who occupies the highest position in Shintoism, she serves to show historic attitudes regarding women and modern attitudes regarding women. This can be highlighted through the ancient Shinto texts, the Kojiki and Nihongi.
Japan is a large island off to the east of China it is a great country that has a rich culture. The Japanese religion is based off of two main beliefs, the belief in Shinto and Buddhism many Japanese people believe consider themselves both. The Japanese people were known to be around as early as 4,500 B.C. They have constructed their government style to a constitutional monarchy where they do in fact have an emperor, but he has limited power within the country. The main power of the country is held by the Prime Minister of Japan. Japan is made up of many islands that extend along the Pacific coast of Asia. The land area is made up of a lot of forest and mountainous area that cannot be used for agricultural, industrial or residential use. Japan also has one of the largest and growing economies in the world. They are growing every day and it is all because the people of Japan work very hard in order for their economy to flourish as it has.
The Land of the Rising Sun, Japan, is an island located in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Surrounded by water, this archipelago is nearly 71% mountainous. The climate of Japan is fairly consistent creating a long growing season. Because of these specific geographic features, Japan’s culture has been impacted greatly. One of the largest sources of protein, for the Japanese, is fish. This source of protein is gained through the help of specific geographic features. As well as their diet, their source of relaxation and tranquility is made possible. Finally, a large growing season is promising as well.