Directors and writers are also using mythology in their works and thus pop culture has continued to spread many parts of Japanese mythology to a wide audience. Japanese mythology is no longer shared as it once used to, but its stories and kami continue to be talked about in different forms....
The perfect introduction to the world of Japanese myth and legend. This is a smart and succinct guide to the rich tradition of Japanese mythology, from the earliest recorded legends of Izanagi and Izanami, their divine offspring and t
The “Dragon’s eggs”, beautiful stones picked up in the mountains, out of which constantly water dripped and which for this reason were often used as ink-stones, were dangerous treasures indeed. For sooner or later they split, and a little snake crept out of them, which in a few minut...
where he then built a shrine. He would eat whatever he could find himself, taking upon himself the task of praying for the statue. During the winter, he was visited by his long-lost
“giji”) created in the early modern period, which purport to be an ancient Japanese writing script. One of the most famous examples of literature written in the jindai moji is the epic poem Hotsuma Tsutae, which is regarded as an account of the development of medieval mythology in the ...
The foreground scene features a familiar pairing of the god Fukurokuju, one of the seven lucky gods in Japanese mythology. Fukurokuju is usually portrayed with an exaggerated cranium as here and to add to the humour of the scene, Kunisada has included a second of the lucky gods, Daikoku, ...
But our only real description of the creature comes from a collection of Pahlavi writings concerned with Zoroastrian mythology and compiled in the centuries after the fall of the Sasanian empire. The senmurv is said to be of three natures, and his actions are described thus: “The tree of ...
For more on this “red” tradition, please see The Color Red in Japanese Mythology.Below drawings from comic book named おじぞうさま (Daido Publications 大道社, Tokyo)Order the comic book -- #3 -- online at www.seihon.co.jp/CCP002.html (J-site only)...
This article will discuss only the typical elements present in Oriental mythology such as cosmogony, important deities and the best-known Japanese stories. Mainstream Japanese myths, as generally recognized today, are based on the Kojiki, Nihon Shoki and some complementary books. The Kojiki or "...
Izumo Taisha出雲大社. The Grand Shrine of Izumo (Izumo Taisha) in Shimane Prefecture is one of Japan’s oldest shrines. It is devoted toŌkuninushi大国主命, the Shintō kami of abundance, medicine, luck, and happy marriages. In Japanese mythology,Ōkuninushi(lit. = Master of the Great...