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Ebisu (mythology)
, also transliterated or called or , is the Japanese god of fishermen and luck. He is one of the , and the only one of the seven to originate purely from Japan without any Buddhist or Taoist influence. Origins as Hiruko In medieval times, Ebisu's origin came to be tied together with that of ''Hiruko'' - the first child of Izanagi and Izanami, born without bones (or, in some stories, without arms and legs) due to his mother's transgression during the marriage ritual. Hiruko struggled to survive but, as he could not stand, he was cast into the sea in a boat of reeds before his third birthday. The story tells that Hiruko eventually washed ashore—possibly in —and was cared for by the Ainu . It is however believed that Ebisu first arose as a god among fishermen and that his origin as Hiruko was a much later conception, after the worship of him had spread to merchants and farmers. It is also theorized that he was originally a god known as "Kotoshironushi no Mikoto", son of Ōkun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the spirits of venerated dead people. Many ''kami'' are considered the ancient ancestors of entire clans (some ancestors became ''kami'' upon their death if they were able to embody the values and virtues of ''kami'' in life). Traditionally, great leaders like the Emperor could be or became ''kami''. In Shinto, ''kami'' are not separate from nature, but are of nature, possessing positive and negative, and good and evil characteristics. They are manifestations of , the interconnecting energy of the universe, and are considered exemplary of what humanity should strive towards. ''Kami'' are believed to be "hidden" from this world, and inhabit a complementary existence that mirrors our own: . To be in harmony with the awe-inspiring aspects of nature ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benzaiten
Benzaiten (''shinjitai'': 弁才天 or 弁財天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯才天, 辨才天, or 辨財天, lit. "goddess of eloquence"), also simply known as Benten (''shinjitai'': 弁天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯天 / 辨天), is a Japanese Buddhist goddess who originated mainly from Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of speech, the arts, and learning, with certain traits deriving from the warrior goddess Durga. Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the sixth through eighth centuries, mainly via Classical Chinese translations of the ''Golden Light Sutra'' (Sanskrit: ''Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra''), which has a section devoted to her. During the medieval period onwards, Benzaiten came to be associated or even conflated with a number of Buddhist and local deities, which include the goddess Kisshōten (the Buddhist version of the Hindu Lakshmi, whose role as goddess of fortune eventually became ascribed to Benzaiten in popular belief), the snake god Ugajin (the combined form of the two bei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megafauna
In terrestrial zoology, the megafauna (from Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and New Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") comprises the large or giant animals of an area, habitat, or geological period, extinct and/or extant. The most common thresholds used are weight over see page 17 (i.e., having a mass comparable to or larger than a human) or over a tonne, (i.e., having a mass comparable to or larger than an ox). The first of these include many species not popularly thought of as overly large, and being the only few large animals left in a given range/area, such as white-tailed deer, Thomson's gazelle, and red kangaroo. In practice, the most common usage encountered in academic and popular writing describes land mammals roughly larger than a human that are not (solely) domesticated. The term is especially associated with the Pleistocene megafauna – the land animals often larger than their extant counterparts that are considered archetypical of the last ice age, such as mammoth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animal Worship
The term Animal worship (or zoolatry) is an umbrella term designating religious or ritual practices involving animals. This includes the worship of animal deities or animal sacrifice. An animal 'cult' is formed when a species is taken to represent a religious figure ( Teeter et al., 2002, p. 355). Animal cults can be classified according to their formal features or by their symbolic content ( Thomas 1911, p. 51). The classical author Diodorus situated the origin of animal worship in a myth in which the gods, threatened by giants, disguised themselves as animals. The people then began to worship these animals and continued even after the gods returned to their normal state ( Lubbock, 2005, p. 252). In 1906, Weissenborn suggested that animal worship resulted from humans fascination with the natural world. Primitive man would observe an animal that had a unique trait and the inexplicability would engender curiosity ( Weissenborn, 1906b, p. 282). Wonder resulte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrative as a myth can be highly controversial. Many adherents of religions view their own religions' stories as truth and so object to their characterization as myth, the way they see the stories of other religions. As such, some scholars label all religious narratives "myths" for practical reasons, such as to avoid depreciating any one tradition because cultures interpret each other differently relative to one another. Other scholars avoid using the term "myth" altogether and instead use different terms like "sacred history", "holy story", or simply "history" to avoid placing pejorative overtones on any sacred narrative. Myths are often endorsed by secular and religious authorities and are closely linked to religion or spirituality. Many soc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Grand Shrine Of Izumo
, officially Izumo Ōyashiro, is one of the most ancient and important Shinto shrines in Japan. No record gives the date of establishment. Located in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, it is home to two major festivals. It is dedicated to the god , famous as the Shinto deity of marriage and to Kotoamatsukami, distinguishing heavenly ''kami''. The shrine is believed by many to be the oldest Shinto shrine in Japan, even predating the Ise Grand Shrine. A style of architecture, ''taisha-zukuri'', takes its name from the main hall of Izumo-taisha. That hall, and the attached buildings, were designated National Treasures of Japan in 1952. According to tradition, the hall was previously much taller than at present. The discovery in the year 2000 of the remains of enormous pillars has lent credence to this. The shrine has been rebuilt every 60 to 70 years to maintain the power of the ''kami'' and maintain architectural techniques. This regular rebuilding process is called "Sengū" (遷宮 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kannazuki
Japanese calendar types have included a range of official and unofficial systems. At present, Japan uses the Gregorian calendar together with year designations stating the year of the reign of the current Emperor. The written form starts with the year, then the month and finally the day, coinciding with the ISO 8601 standard. For example, February 16, 2003 can be written as either 2003年2月16日 or 平成15年2月16日 (the latter following the regnal year system). 年 reads ''nen'' and means "year", 月 reads ''gatsu'' or 「がつ」and means "month" and finally 日 (usually) reads ''nichi'' (its pronunciation depends on the number that precedes it, see below) and means "day". Prior to the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1873, the reference calendar was based on the lunisolar Chinese calendar. History The lunisolar Chinese calendar was introduced to Japan via Korea in the middle of the sixth century. After that, Japan calculated its calendar using various Chinese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fugu
The fugu (; ; ) in Japanese, ''bogeo'' (; 鰒魚) or ''bok'' () in Korean, and ''hétún'' (河豚; 河魨) in Standard Modern Chinese is a pufferfish, normally of the genus ''Takifugu'', ''Lagocephalus'', or ''Sphoeroides'', or a porcupinefish of the genus ''Diodon'', or a dish prepared from these fish. Fugu can be lethally poisonous to humans due to its tetrodotoxin, meaning it must be carefully prepared to remove toxic parts and to avoid contaminating the meat. The restaurant preparation of fugu is strictly controlled by law in Japan and several other countries, and only chefs who have qualified after three or more years of rigorous training are allowed to prepare the fish. Domestic preparation occasionally leads to accidental death. Fugu is served as sashimi and nabemono. The liver was served as a traditional dish named ''fugu-kimo'', being widely thought to be a tasty part, but it is also the most poisonous, and serving this organ in restaurants was banned in Japan in 198 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jellyfish
Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella-shaped bells and trailing tentacles, although a few are anchored to the seabed by stalks rather than being mobile. The bell can pulsate to provide propulsion for highly efficient animal locomotion, locomotion. The tentacles are armed with Cnidocyte, stinging cells and may be used to capture prey and defend against predators. Jellyfish have a complex Biological life cycle, life cycle; the medusa is normally the sexual phase, which produces planula larvae that disperse widely and enter a sedentary polyp (zoology), polyp phase before reaching sexual maturity. Jellyfish are found all over the world, from surface waters to the deep sea. Scyphozoans (the "true jellyfish") are exclusively marine habitats, marine, but some hydrozoans with a simila ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suzuki (fish)
The Japanese sea bass (''Lateolabrax japonicus'') is a species of catadromous marine ray-finned fish from the Asian sea bass family Lateolabracidae which is found in the Western Pacific. In Japan this species is known as . Description The Japanese sea bass has a slightly forked tail and a large mouth which has the lower jaw protruding beyond the upper jaw. The young fish have small black spots on the back and dorsal fin which tend to lost in larger fish. Its body has 12 to 15 spines in the first dorsal followed by 12 to 14 soft rays in its second dorsal. The anal fin has 3 spines and 7 to 9 soft rays. The maximum recorded total length is , although the more common standard length is and the maximum published weight is . Distribution The Japanese sea bass is found in the Western pacific where it occurs from Japan to the South China Sea. Habitat and biology The Japanese sea bass occurs on inshore rocky reefs where there is a current. The juveniles have been recorded ascending ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Sea Bream
Red seabream is a name given to at least two species of fish of the family Sparidae, ''Pagrus major'' and ''Pagellus bogaraveo''. ''Pagrus major'' ''Pagrus major'' is of great culinary and cultural importance in Japan, and is known as madai in Japanese. It is considered an auspicious fish, eaten during Japanese New Year and other special occasions, such as weddings. It is also eaten in Taiwan and Korea, where it is known as chamdom. File:Redseabreamji1.jpg, Wild madai in the waters near Yamagata, Japan File:Osakatenman-gu Osaka Japan05-r.jpg, Madai as an auspicious object, with straw bindings and coins at Osaka Tenmangū shrine File:Red sea bream sashimi (27992669723).jpg, Madai sashimi File:Madai-fried-tokyoarea-sept23-2016.jpg, Fried madai File:Painting of a Red Sea Bream (Tai) by Ogawa Haritsu, 18th century.jpg, ''Tai on Bamboo Leaves'', painting by Ogawa Haritsu (1663-1747) ''Pagellus bogaraveo'' ''Pagellus bogaraveo'' is also known as blackspot sea bream. In Sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
