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Orochi
, or simply , is a legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed Japanese dragon/serpent. Mythology Yamata no Orochi legends are originally recorded in two ancient texts about Japanese mythology and history. The 712 AD transcribes this dragon name as and the 720 AD writes it as . In both versions of the Orochi myth, the Shinto storm god Susanoo (or "Susa-no-O") is expelled from Heaven for tricking his sister Amaterasu, the sun goddess. After expulsion from Heaven, Susanoo encounters two near the head of the , now called the , in Izumo Province. They are weeping because they were forced to give the Orochi one of their daughters every year for seven years, and now they must sacrifice their eighth, , who Susanoo transforms into a for safekeeping. The tells the following version: The also describes Yamata no Orochi: "It had an eight-forked head and an eight-forked tail; its eyes were red, like the winter-cherry; and on its back firs and cypresses were growing. As it crawled i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Susanoo
__FORCETOC__ Susanoo (; historical orthography: , ) is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory characteristics (both good and bad), being portrayed in various stories either as a wild, impetuous god associated with the sea and storms, as a heroic figure who killed a monstrous serpent, or as a local deity linked with the harvest and agriculture. Syncretic beliefs that arose after the introduction of Buddhism to Japan also saw Susanoo becoming conflated with deities of pestilence and disease. Susanoo, alongside Amaterasu and the earthly Ōkuninushi (also Ōnamuchi) – depicted as either Susanoo's son or scion depending on the source – is one of the central deities of the imperial Japanese mythological cycle recorded in the ( CE) and the (720 CE). One of the gazetteer reports () commissioned by the imperial court during the same per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kushinadahime
, also known as or Inadahime among other names, is a goddess (''kami'') in Japanese mythology. She is one of the wives of the god Susanoo, who rescued her from the monster Yamata no Orochi. Name The goddess is named 'Kushinadahime' (櫛名田比売) in the ''Kojiki'', while the '' Nihon Shoki'' variously names her 'Kushiinadahime' (奇稲田姫), 'Inadahime' (稲田姫), and 'Makamifuru-Kushiinadahime' (真髪触奇稲田媛). 'Inadahime' may be translated either as "lady / princess ('' hime'') of Inada", with "Inada" (稲田) here being understood as the name of a place in Izumo Province (part of what is now the town of Okuizumo (formerly Yokota) in Nita District, Shimane Prefecture), or "lady / princess of the rice fields" (''inada'' literally translated means "rice field" or "rice paddy"). The element ''kushi'' (Old Japanese: ''kusi'') meanwhile is usually interpreted as the adjective meaning "wondrous"; it is homophonous with the word for "comb" (櫛), which features in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kusanagi
is a legendary Japanese sword and one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called , but its name was later changed to the more popular ("Grass-Cutting Sword"). In folklore, the sword represents the virtue of valor. Legends The history of the extends into legend. According to , the god Susanoo encountered a grieving family of ("gods of the land") headed by in Izumo Province. When Susanoo inquired of Ashinazuchi, he told him that his family was being terrorized by the fearsome Yamata no Orochi, an eight-headed serpent of Koshi, who had consumed seven of the family's eight daughters and that the creature was coming for his final daughter, . Susanoo investigated the creature, and after an abortive encounter he returned with a plan to defeat it. In return, he asked for Kushinada-hime's hand in marriage, which was agreed. Transforming her temporarily into a comb (one interpreter reads this section as "using a comb he turns into asquerades asKushinada-hime") to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Dragon
Japanese dragons (, ''Nihon no ryū'') are diverse legendary creatures in Japanese mythology and folklore. Japanese dragon myths amalgamate native legends with imported stories about dragons from China, Korea and the Indian subcontinent. The style and appearance of the dragon was heavily influenced by the Chinese dragon, especially the three-clawed ''long'' (龍) dragons which were introduced in Japan from China in ancient times. Like these other East Asian dragons, most Japanese ones are water deities associated with rainfall and bodies of water, and are typically depicted as large, wingless, serpentine creatures with clawed feet. Indigenous Japanese dragons The c. 680 AD ''Kojiki'' and the c. 720 AD '' Nihongi'' mytho-histories have the first Japanese textual references to dragons. "In the oldest annals the dragons are mentioned in various ways," explains de Visser, "but mostly as water-gods, serpent- or dragon-shaped." The ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihongi'' mention several a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Princess And Dragon
Princess and dragon is a archetypical premise common to many legends, fairy tales, and chivalric romances. Northrop Frye identified it as a central form of the quest romance. The story involves an upper-class woman, generally a princess or similar high-ranking nobility, saved from a dragon, either a literal dragon or a similar danger, by the virtuous hero (see Damsel in distress). She may be the first woman endangered by the peril, or may be the end of a long succession of women who were not of as high birth as she is, nor as fortunate. Normally the princess ends up married to the dragon-slayer. The motifs of the hero who finds the princess about to be sacrificed to the dragon and saves her, the false hero who takes his place, and the final revelation of the true hero, are the identifying marks of the Aarne–Thompson folktale type 300, the Dragon-Slayer. They also appear in type 303, the Two Brothers. These two tales have been found, in different variants, in countries all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hii River
The is a river on the island of Honshu in Shimane Prefecture and Tottori Prefecture, Japan. With a length of 153 km and catchment of 2540 km2, it is the largest river in the east of Shimane Prefecture. It flows through the cities of Izumo and Matsue and through the lakes Shinji and Nakaumi and discharges into the Sea of Japan. In the antiquity the river was known as "Izumo-no-okawa" (出雲大川, "The great Izumo river"). The River Hii significantly changed its course and transformed the land several times during last 7 millennia. Alluvial deposits carried by the river joined the Shimane peninsula to the mainland, which may have been represented in the "Kunibiki-shinwa" myth. Since the 17th century it flows into lake Shinji, and since the early 20th century continues to the Sea of Japan. Hii river frequently caused floods in its catchment. On the other hand, it was and currently is an important source of drinking and irrigation water. During the Edo period the upper Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial Regalia Of Japan
The are the imperial regalia of Japan and consist of the sword , the mirror , and the jewel . They represent the three primary virtues: valour (the sword), wisdom (the mirror), and benevolence (the jewel).ミニ講話 宮司のいい話 (in Japanese). The actual historical status of these legendary treasures is unknown as they are intentionally kept from public view to symbolize authority. Legend 
According to legend, these treasures were brought to Earth by [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amaterasu
Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami () or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. One of the major deities (''kami'') of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the ''Kojiki'' (c. 712 CE) and the '' Nihon Shoki'' (720 CE), as the ruler (or one of the rulers) of the heavenly realm Takamagahara and the mythical ancestress of the Imperial House of Japan via her grandson Ninigi. Along with her siblings, the moon deity Tsukuyomi and the impetuous storm god Susanoo, she is considered to be one of the "Three Precious Children" (, ), the three most important offspring of the creator god Izanagi. Amaterasu's chief place of worship, the Grand Shrine of Ise in Ise, Mie Prefecture, is one of Shinto's holiest sites and a major pilgrimage center and tourist spot. As with other Shinto ''kami'', she is also enshrined in a number of Shinto shrines throughout Japan. Name The goddess is referred to as 'Amaterasu Ōmikami' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kojiki
The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperial line. It is claimed in its preface to have been composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Genmei in the early 8th century (711–712), and thus is usually considered to be the oldest extant literary work in Japan. The myths contained in the as well as the are part of the inspiration behind many practices. Later, they were incorporated into Shinto practices such as the purification ritual. Composition It is believed that the compilation of various genealogical and anecdotal histories of the imperial (Yamato) court and prominent clans began during the reigns of Emperors Keitai and Kinmei in the 6th century, with the first concerted effort at historical compilation of which we have record being the one made in 620 under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yata No Kagami
is a sacred bronze mirror that is part of the Imperial Regalia of Japan. Name and significance The represents "wisdom" or "honesty," depending on the source. Its name literally means "The Eight wikt:咫#Japanese, Mirror," a reference to its size. Mirrors in ancient Japan represented truth because they merely reflected what was shown, and were objects of mystique and reverence (being uncommon items). According to Shinsuke Takenaka at the Institute of Moralogy, is considered the most precious of the three sacred treasures. History In the year 1040 ( 1, 9th month), the compartment which contained the Sacred Mirror was burned in a fire. Whether that mirror was irrevocably lost or not, it is said to be housed today in Ise Grand Shrine, in Mie Prefecture, Japan, although a lack of public access makes this difficult to verify. Presently, a replica is enshrined in Three Palace Sanctuaries of the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Mythology In Shinto, the mirror ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magatama
are curved, comma-shaped beads that appeared in prehistoric Japan from the Final Jōmon period through the Kofun period, approximately 1000 BCE to the 6th century CE. The beads, also described as "jewels", were made of primitive stone and earthen materials in the early period, but by the end of the Kofun period were made almost exclusively of jade. originally served as decorative jewelry, but by the end of the Kofun period functioned as ceremonial and religious objects. Archaeological evidence suggests that were produced in specific areas of Japan and were widely dispersed throughout the Japanese archipelago to the Southern Koreanic kingdoms via trade routes. Jōmon period first appeared in Japan in the Final Jōmon period (1000–300 BCE), and in this period were made from relatively simple, naturally occurring materials, including clay, talc, slate, quartz, gneiss, jadeite, nephrite, and serpentinite. from the Jōmon period were irregularly shaped, lacked continuity in f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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