Japanese Mythology
1. Izanagi and Izanami - The first thing I notice is how the writing is set up at the beginning of this story. I find it very interesting, but I am not sure of its purpose. I find it very interesting that the God of air and the Goddess of clouds are the parents of all living things. Normally it is the God/Goddess of the sun or sky, but not normally the air or clouds. I like it! Oh, but later on they call him "god of the heavens", so they are sticking with mythology theme!
2. Izanagi and Izanami (cont.) - So the daughter is really the ruler of the heavens while the father is still god of the "skies/air"? I find it interesting that the moon god is not happy and wise and calm like in most myths about the moon. I'm also surprised that Izanagi actually let the other gods banish his wife to the earth and take her immortality.
3. The Miraculous Mirror - Oh Amaterasu is the goddess of the sun! That makes so much sense now! I fell like most myths about the gods and goddesses of earthly things, like trees and mountains, are created to explain some sort of natural phenomenon. I have yet to figure out what this one could be about. Maybe some sort of eclipse?
4. The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi - Serpents in japanese culture normally means that there are dragons which means I am really excited! This sounds like a hydra, not just any dragon. Hydras are usually a bad symbol, being destructive and murderous. I find it hilarious that he just got the dragon drunk and then slashed him to pieces. The moral is don't get drunk enough to pass out. Bad things happen! I also think that the name of the sword is interesting because of the nature of the dragon that it was in.
5. The Heaven-Descended - Why didn't they just send the rice prince to tend to the rice fields first? Who better to look over things than the deity associated with that thing? I am also noticing the number eight appearing a lot. I know that eight is a large part of chinese culture, I didn't know it was also part of the japanese culture!
6. The Heaven-Descended (cont.) - They use the word 'august' a lot and I cannot always figure out what it means in the context that it is being used in. The only actually story I feel like I have read is the one about the dragon. Most of the rest of these have been telling about the family relations and feuds.
7. The Fortunate Fish-Hook - Talking about Ninigi's sons who, seem to have affinities with fire, makes me wonder what happened to the god of fire and his brother the god of water. I thought Susanoo (or however you spell his name) was god of the sea and ocean. This is the second actual story that I have read in this unit and it makes me very excited!
8. The Fortunate Fish-Hook (cont.) - I am curious as to why the fish-hook was so special or if it was actually magical. So is this where the godly emperors and their royal lineage came from?
9. The Labors of Yamato - The Rescue of the Princess - So now we are leaving all of the confusion of the heavenly world and going to the people on earth. So maybe we will be getting more stories instead of a history lesson on the gods and goddesses! Not that I don't enjoy learning about them, I just also enjoy stories about heroes.
10. The Rescue of the Princess (cont.) - Just a good old-fashioned princess rescue. It is a little refreshing! I am interested to see what will become of it as well as Yamato and his princess! Yamato is almost pulling a trojan horse level trick here! Is it good to be "stout-hearted"? When the bandit dies he calls Yamato stout-hearted and I have no idea if that is a good thing or not. Yamato doesn't seem to be disturbed by it.
11. The Labors of Yamato- The Grotto of Love - I think it is interesting how Yamato is looking for his "siren" and as he is doing so he hears music that leads him to this perilous grotto that is supposed to be a trap. It as if there is a parallel being drawn between the grotto and the siren's song. The poem like structure of the writing in the middle of the story is interesting. I don't under stand its purpose, but I like it! TIme for the horrible tasks to win a goddesses love! These are normally great stories!
12. The Labors of Yamato- The Golden Apple - So this is another story within a story. It makes me want to read myths from all cultures to see if this storyception is a reoccurring theme. I am looking forward to seeing how Yamato goes about getting the Golden Apple! I am really enjoying how the dialogue is written as if it is a poem. I don't know if that is on purpose or not, but I like it.
13. The Labors of Yamato- The Demon Boar - I wonder why boars in particular are so popular to test heroes and their strength. Boars show up in several stories from many cultures. So if Susa-no-wo normally rides the demon boar, will Yamato have to fight him as well? I am not putting my money on Yamato if that is the case... Okay, so no god battle, just the demon boar victory for Yamato.
14. The Labors of Yamato- The Grass-Cleaving Sword - Okay at the very end of this story the narrator changes. Who is narrating? Also, Yamato better start respecting his wife again! She just saved his life and got burnt to a crisp all to save him and his men!
15. The Labors of Yamato- The Sacred Sword - RUDE! She saved him Yamato and now Yamato his sending his roasted princess home cause she is ugly and roasty and he wants to go be with the siren! He may be a great hero but he is not cool in my books! And he still doesn't have the apple, so when will he do now? I was definitely not expecting the dragon to be Susa-no-wo! Or the fact that they really just wanted the sword not even the golden apple! Sneaky!
16. The Sacred Sword (cont.) - I wonder what importance stags and deer have in the japanese culture. I notice in a lot of japanese movies and in some anime and even in several of these stories, there are magical deer or demon deer or something to do with deer. I am glad Yamato got his sword back, but I feel bad that the stag had to die.
17. The Labors of Yamato- The Dragon - If I am being honest, this is the main reason I read this unit, was so I could read the story about the dragon because I am horribly obsessed with dragons. This already shows the lesson of, 'you don't know what you have till it's gone'. So the siren is actually a dragon like her father? Cool! One thing I appreciate about this story is that Tacibana gets to save her dear hubby from an evil goddess dragon! Girl power! So now Tacibana is the princess locked in the tower guarded by an evil dragon. Sweet! I hope she isn't actually dead... I like her.
18. The Dragon (cont.) - If eh would have just listened to his wife, she wouldn't have died! Well, also if he hadn't cheated on her with the siren and then killed the siren's father, Tacibana might not have had to sacrifice herself. What shall he do now? Will he be like Hercules and go to the Underworld to save his beloved?
19. The Faery Robe - Oh we are done with Yamato and Tacibana! Darn, I was becoming very attached to them... Now this one is a poem. a very long poem. Though figuring out what poems are trying to say is normally very difficult, I still really enjoy how smooth they are when read. This one was not too hard to figure out though, which made me like it even more!
20. The Jewel of Heart's Desire: The Land of Morning Calm - I really like how, although we are finished with Yamato's story, we continue with his son. Though his son seems a little cowardly, I like that Benten is presented once again, tying the stories back together. Of course, she is still evil and wants what Yamato's descent has, the Jewel of Heart's Desire. I also love that, although women were not technically allowed to rule, the Empress was kicking but taking names and taking charge!
21. The Quest of the Jewel - Though it was smart to hide the jewel inside her wound because she knew the dragon wouldn't touch it, now she has to die, probably, so what good does that do her? She was nobly honored. I guess that is pretty good.
22. Urashima - So this is basically the japanese version of Pandora's Box. With the addition of a dragon, making it even better! Reading these stories makes me want to draw what I think all of the creatures would look like. I love the style this story is written in. It flows very smoothly when I read it, making it easier to understand.
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