In the beginning there was nothing but vast ocean and sky. The water seemed endless and you could not see anything but the emptiness of water surrounding the world. The God Izanagi and Goddess Izanami stood looking over earth, on a bridge that was situated above the seas, in heaven. Izanagi become tired of looking at water, and so he placed his spear into the waters of the Earth, and from the tip of the spear fell mud. This then created and formed the Island Ono-goro-jima. It was on this Island the the divine couple descended, whom gave birth too all other deities and all the Japanese people, and also the other three islands of Japan. The other countries of the world were seen to arise through natural causes, and this is why Japan is been as the “divine country”, as it was the only one created first hand from the Gods. Izanagi had three descendants: Tsukuyomi, Susanoo and the great Amaterasu. Amaterasu is the famous Sun goddess. His wife was giving birth to the God of Fire when she passed, and due to Izanagi’s impatience in retrieving her and committment of a forbidden act, she fell indefinitely into the underworld. Because of this, he decided he needed to purify himself, and so Amerterasu and Tsukuyomi are believed to have fallen out of the eyes of Izanagi and Susanoo fell from his nose. Tsukuyomi and Amerterasu were given ruling over the sky- and after conflicts(take to the part in the god/deity section), they separated into ruler of the Sun (Amaterasu) and the Moon (Tsukuyomi). Susanoo became the God of storms and winds.
All other Deities came from these three God’s and Goddesses, and each have specific rulings and responsibilities. One time, Amerterasu spent a long time in a cave due to her brother, Susanoo,’s pranks and hurtful remarks. in a bid for her o come out of the cave and give the ligt back into Japan, Another Goddess came up with the idea to spark her curitosity. She danced outside the cave until Amaterasu’s true spirit of inquiry came forth and the captured her, sending her back into the reign’s of Heaven to do her job. Susanoo then left the Heaven of the Gods, and became, like most “retired” God’s, a monster slayer. One day, after saving a maid from the wrath of a fiece dragon, he ended up maryying the woman. This couple became the forefather of all japanese noble families. Meanwhile, Amaterasu felt that Japan required a leader, someone to take control of all the glorious isalnds and keep the Kami safe and protected. She had a child, whom she expressed the responsibility he must ensue. He simply said “No”, as he felt the pressure of the responsibility was not fitting for him. Instead he suggested his own child, Ninizi. Ninizi was placed on the Islands of Japan and had three children. One , A-Ho-Demi, ended up courting the Sea Goddesses daughter, and as a marriage gist, she gave him control over the tides. His other son, Jimmu-Tenno, was the first emperor of japan on February 11th, 660BC. Today, the 11th of February is a national Japanese holiday. From here, all Kami became the creators and commanders of all creation. |
Key WordsKami - Refers to the Gods of Shintoism. There are many Kami, and can be anything from a human being to a magnificent mountain.
Matsuri - Traditional festivals or celebrations World View - Set of beliefs that shape the way a society views the world. Polytheistic - A religion containing many gods or goddeses as opposed to believing in one (monotheistic) Immanent Religion - Religions whom believe that all deities live and swell within nature. (Image: marvunapp.com) 'Amatsu Kami' - Japanese Gods |