Kuni-yuzuri
The kuni-yuzuri "Transfer of the land" was a mythological event in Japanese prehistory, related in sources such as the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. It relates the story of how the rulership of Japan passed from the earthly kami to the kami of Heaven and their eventual descendants, the Imperial House of Japan; the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki both relate that the Japanese archipelago were created by the primordial couple Izanagi and Izanami, who brought forth many gods into existence, three of which – Amaterasu and Susanoo – were appointed to govern the sky, the night, the seas, respectively. Susanoo, expelled by Izanagi either because he refused to perform his allotted task of ruling the sea or his impetuous nature, went to Takagamahara to see his sister. Suspected of insurrection, Susanoo protested his innocence, at which the two gods underwent a trial by pledge, giving birth to five male kami and three female kami when each chewed and spat out an object carried by the other. Declaring himself winner of the trial, Susanoo began to wreak havoc upon Takagamahara, causing Amaterasu to hide herself in the Ama-no-Iwato, plunging heaven and earth into darkness.
Though Amaterasu was persuaded to come out of the cave, Susanoo was banished a second time as punishment for his misdeeds. He came down to Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni, to the land of Izumo, where he slew the eight-headed serpent Yamata-no-Orochi and married Kushinada-hime. At length, Susanoo went to the underworld to become its ruler. A son or descendant of Susanoo, Ōnamuji, married the goddess Yagami-hime of Inaba Province, earning the jealousy of his eighty brothers, who were seeking for her hand in marriage. Seeking refuge in Ne-no-kuni after his brothers had made attempts on his life, Ōnamuji met Susanoo's daughter Suseri-bime, with whom he fell in love with. Upon learning of their affair, Susanoo imposes four trials on Ōnamuji, each of which he overcame with Suseri-bime's help. Taking his new wife Suseri-bime, as well as Susanoo's sword and bow and arrow back with him, Ōnamuji – now called Ōkuninushi – defeats his wicked brothers, thereby becoming the lord of Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni. Upon subduing his brothers, Ōkuninushi takes a third wife, Nunakawa-hime of Koshi, causing his second wife Suseri-bime to become jealous.
Ōkuninushi begins the task of creating the land started by Izanagi and Izanami, being helped in his task by a dwarf named Sukunahikona, a son of the primordial deity Takamimusubi or Kamimusubi. Together they made the lands habitable and invented means of dispelling various diseases and calamities such as medicine and magic. In time, the amatsukami of Takagamahara, headed by Amaterasu or/and Takamimusubi, decided that Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni, considered to be overpopulated by unruly and evil kami, must be turned over to them to be pacified. Amaterasu decreed that Ame-no-oshihomimi, one of the five sons born to Amaterasu when Susanoo chewed her magatama beads, shall take possession of the earth and ordered him to go down to it. Ame-no-oshihomimi, inspecting the land below from the bridge connecting heaven and earth, deemed it to be too tumultuous and refused to go any further, instead going back to report what he saw; the heavenly gods decided to send another of Amaterasu's sons, Ame-no-hohi, the most heroic among the gods, down to Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni.
Ame-no-hohi, began to curry favor with Ōkuninushi and did not send back any report for three years. The Nihon Shoki adds that Ame-no-hohi's son, Ōsobi-no-mikuma-no-ushi was sent afterwards, but like his father, he did not report back to Takamagahara. After Ame-no-hohi's failure to return, the amatsukami sent another messenger, Ame-no-wakahiko. However, he too came to side with Ōkuninushi marrying his daughter Shitateru-hime. After eight years of waiting, the heavenly deities sent a female pheasant to question Ame-no-wakahiko, but he shot it with his bow and arrow at the prodding of a goddess named Ame-no-sagume; the blood-stained arrow flew straight up to Takamagahara at the feet of Amaterasu and Takamimusubi, who threw it back to earth with a curse, killing Ame-no-wakahiko. Ame-no-wakahiko's relatives, hearing the wailing of his bereaved wife, erect a mortuary house for Ame-no-wakahiko's corpse at the place where he died or at Takamagahara, they celebrated his memory with song and dance for eight days and nights.
A friend of Ame-no-wakahiko during his time on the earth who resembled him in appearance, Ajishiki-/Ajisuki-takahikone, went to attend Ame-no-wakahiko's funeral. Taking offense at being confused with the dead god by the family of the deceased, Ajisuki-takahikone destroyed the funeral house they built for Ame-no-wakahiko. After Ame-no-wakahiko's death, the gods of heaven convened another assembly to decide about who to send next. In the Kojiki, the selected candidates were his son, Takemikazuchi; as Itsu-no-ohabari was busy damming the headwaters of the heavenly river, accompanied by the bird-boat deity Ame-no-torifune, was sent instead. In the Nihon Shoki, the gods choose the sword god Futsunushi as their messenger. The
Ōkuninushi
Ōkuninushi is a divinity in Japanese Shinto. His name translates to "Great Land Master", he is believed to be the ruler of Izumo Province, until he was replaced by Ninigi. In compensation, he was made ruler of the unseen world of spirits and magic, he is believed to be a god of nation-building, farming and medicine. This famous tale of the Hare of Inaba is omitted in the Nihongi. Ōkuninushi and his brothers, eighty gods altogether, were all suitors seeking the hand of Princess Yakami/Yagami of Inaba in marriage. They were all travelling together from their home country of Izumo to the neighboring Inaba to court her. Along the way, the brothers encounter a poor little rabbit or hare and raw-skinned, lying in agony upon a sea shore; the group asks what happened, the hare explains that he came from the island of Oki across the sea. He concocted a marvelous plan to accomplish this, recruiting the crocodiles into his service, unbeknownst to them, he beckoned one crocodile, challenged him to a contest to decide which of them had the greater number of kin, the rabbit or the croc-fish.
To settle the bet, he told the croc-fish to line up in a straight row across the strait, so he can hop on and count the numbers. But before the hare had gotten ashore to safety, he gloated about having tricked them, the last croc in line grabbed him and tore off the fur that clothed him; the gods who listened on were cruel-hearted, as a prank, instructed the hare to wash himself in the briny sea, blow himself dry in the wind. The hare was of course in much more stinging pain. Came along Ōkuninushi lagging far behind; the gentle-hearted god told the hare to go to the mouth and wash himself in the fresh water gather the flowering spikes of cattail plants growing all around, scatter the catkins on the ground and tumble around until he is covered by fleece. The cured rabbit makes a divined prediction that Ōnamuji will be the one to win Princess Yakami, "Though thou bearest the bag.". Just as the rabbit predicted, Princess Yakami/Yagami pronounced before the eighty gods that she had chosen Ōkuninushi as her mate.
The rival gods, his brothers, were all furious, conspired to slay him. They compelled him, on pain of death, to chase down a red boar, a boulder heated red hot. Ōnamuji died of burns, but his mother petitioned Kami-Musubi, one of the creator deities, she dispatched two clam goddesses, Kisagai-hime and Umugi-hime, to restore him. The passage regarding the curative treatment has been subject to emendations and reinterpretation, but recent commentary explains that the one goddess who represents the akagai or blood cockle gathered up her blood-red juices, which were placed in the shell of the other goddess, a hamaguri clam. His rivals tricked him into walking onto a fresh tree log split open and held apart by a wedge, snapped it shut, killing him a second time, his mother revived him once again, bid him to seek out Susanoo, banished to the Netherworld, to obtain wise counsel. In the underworld, he met the storm god Susanoo and his daughter Suseri-hime, with whom he shortly fell in love. Of course, Susanoo was aghast.
In response, he sent Ōkuninushi to sleep in a room full of snakes. However, Suseri-hime had given him a scarf; when Susanoo sent him to sleep in a room with centipedes and wasps the next night, he was still protected. As a trial, Susanoo shot an arrow into the middle of an enormous meadow, told him to look for it. Ōkuninushi searched and reached the middle of the field, at which point Susanoo proceeded to light the field on fire. A mouse showed Ōkuninushi a hole that he could hide in, brought the arrow to him. By now, after all his various attempts of murder, Susanoo was beginning to approve of Ōkuninushi. One night, after he told Ōkuninushi to wash his hair and go to sleep, Ōkuninushi tied Susanoo's hair to the rafters of his palace, fled with Suseri-hime, he took arrows and koto with him. When the couple made their escape, the koto brushed against a tree; the god jumped up, pulled down the palace with his hair. At the borders of the underworld, Susanoo caught up with the elopers and called out to them, advising Ōkuninushi to fight his brothers with Susanoo's weapons.
Ōkuninushi asked him to make Suseri-hime his wife, to build a palace at the foot of Mount Uka, which he agreed to. After the entire ordeal was over, Ōkuninushi became ruler of the province of Izumo; the Grand Izumo-taisha is dedicated to his spirit and is one of the oldest and most important shrines in Japan. He has a lot of other names, it is thought faith in him was combined from their image. Ōkuninushi-no-kami – It means an emperor or monarch. According to another opinion, he is said to have been the king in Izumo. Ōnamuchi-no-kami, Ōnamuchi-no-mikoto – These were his names when he was young. Yachihoko-no-kami – A hoko is a symbol of power. For this reason, Yachihoko is believed a god of power. Ashihara-Shiko-no-Ō, Ashihara-Shiko-no-Ō-no-kami – A shiko-no-ō is a symbol of strength of men, that is, Ashihara-Shiko-no-Ō is believed a god of war. Ōmononushi-no-kami Ōkunitama Utsushikunitama Kunitsukuriōnamuchi-no-mikoto Daikoku-sama – Probably because of th
Nihon Shoki
The Nihon Shoki, sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. The book is called the Nihongi, it is more elaborate and detailed than the Kojiki, the oldest, has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeologists as it includes the most complete extant historical record of ancient Japan. The Nihon Shoki was finished in 720 under the editorial supervision of Prince Toneri and with the assistance of Ō no Yasumaro dedicated to Empress Genshō; the Nihon Shoki begins with the Japanese creation myth, explaining the origin of the world and the first seven generations of divine beings, goes on with a number of myths as does the Kojiki, but continues its account through to events of the 8th century. It is believed to record the latter reigns of Emperor Tenji, Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō; the Nihon Shoki focuses on the merits of the virtuous rulers as well as the errors of the bad rulers. It describes diplomatic contacts with other countries.
The Nihon Shoki was written in classical Chinese. The Kojiki, on the other hand, is written in a combination of Chinese and phonetic transcription of Japanese; the Nihon Shoki contains numerous transliteration notes telling the reader how words were pronounced in Japanese. Collectively, the stories in this book and the Kojiki are referred to as the Kiki stories; the tale of Urashima Tarō is developed from the brief mention in Nihon Shoki that a certain child of Urashima visited Horaisan and saw wonders. The tale has plainly incorporated elements from the famous anecdote of "Luck of the Sea and Luck of the Mountains" found in Nihon Shoki; the developed Urashima tale contains the Rip Van Winkle motif, so some may consider it an early example of fictional time travel. Chapter 01: Kami no Yo no Kami no maki. Chapter 02: Kami no Yo no Shimo no maki. Chapter 03: Kan'yamato Iwarebiko no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 04: Kamu Nunakawamimi no Sumeramikoto. Shikitsuhiko Tamatemi no Sumeramikoto. Ōyamato Hikosukitomo no Sumeramikoto.
Mimatsuhiko Sukitomo no Sumeramikoto. Yamato Tarashihiko Kuni Oshihito no Sumeramikoto. Ōyamato Nekohiko Futoni no Sumeramikoto. Ōyamato Nekohiko Kunikuru no Sumeramikoto. Wakayamato Nekohiko Ōbibi no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 05: Mimaki Iribiko Iniye no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 06: Ikume Iribiko Isachi no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 07: Ōtarashihiko Oshirowake no Sumeramikoto. Waka Tarashihiko no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 08: Tarashi Nakatsuhiko no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 09: Okinaga Tarashihime no Mikoto. Chapter 10: Homuda no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 11: Ōsasagi no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 12: Izahowake no Sumeramikoto. Mitsuhawake no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 13: Oasazuma Wakugo no Sukune no Sumeramikoto. Anaho no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 14: Ōhatsuse no Waka Takeru no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 15: Shiraka no Take Hirokuni Oshi Waka Yamato Neko no Sumeramikoto. Woke no Sumeramikoto. Oke no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 16: Ohatsuse no Waka Sasagi no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 17: Ōdo no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 18: Hirokuni Oshi Take Kanahi no Sumeramikoto.
Take Ohirokuni Oshi Tate no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 19: Amekuni Oshiharaki Hironiwa no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 20: Nunakakura no Futo Tamashiki no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 21: Tachibana no Toyohi no Sumeramikoto. Hatsusebe no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 22: Toyomike Kashikiya Hime no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 23: Okinaga Tarashi Hihironuka no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 24: Ame Toyotakara Ikashi Hitarashi no Hime no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 25: Ame Yorozu Toyohi no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 26: Ame Toyotakara Ikashi Hitarashi no Hime no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 27: Ame Mikoto Hirakasuwake no Sumeramikoto. Chapter 28: Ama no Nunakahara Oki no Mahito no Sumeramikoto, Kami no maki. Chapter 29: Ama no Nunakahara Oki no Mahito no Sumeramikoto, Shimo no maki. Chapter 30: Takamanohara Hirono Hime no Sumeramikoto; the background of the compilation of the Nihon Shoki is that Emperor Tenmu ordered 12 people, including Prince Kawashima, to edit the old history of the empire. Shoku Nihongi notes that "先是一品舍人親王奉勅修日本紀。至是功成奏上。紀卅卷系圖一卷" in the part of May, 720.
It means "Up to that time, Prince Toneri had been compiling Nihongi on the orders of the emperor. The process of compilation is studied by stylistic analysis of each chapter. Although written in classical Chinese character, some sections use styles characteristic of Japanese editors; the Nihon Shoki is a synthesis of older documents on the records, continuously kept in the Yamato court since the sixth century. It includes documents and folklore submitted by clans serving the court. Prior to Nihon Shoki, there were Tennōki and Kokki compiled by Prince Shōtoku and Soga no Umako, but as they were stored in Soga's residence, they were burned at the time of the Isshi Incident; the work's contributors refer to various sources
Fudoki
Fudoki are ancient reports on provincial culture and oral tradition presented to the reigning monarchs of Japan known as local gazetteers. They contain agricultural and historical records as well as mythology and folklore. Fudoki manuscripts document local myths and poems that are not mentioned in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki chronicles, which are the most important literature of the ancient national mythology and history. In the course of national unification, the imperial court enacted a series of criminal and administrative codes called ritsuryō and surveyed the provinces established by such codes to exert greater control over them. In the narrower sense, Fudoki refer to the oldest records written in the Nara period called Kofudoki. Compilation of Kofudoki was completed over a 20-year period. Following the Taika Reform in 646 and the Code of Taihō enacted in 701, there was need to centralize and solidify the power of the imperial court; this included accounting for lands under its control.
According to the Shoku Nihongi, Empress Genmei issued a decree in 713 ordering each provincial government to collect and report the following information: Names of districts and townships Natural resources and living things Land fertility Etymology of names for geographic features, such as mountains and rivers Myths and folktales told orally by old people Empress Genmei ordered in 713 that place names in the provinces and townships should be written in two kanji characters with positive connotations. This required name changes. For example, Hayatsuhime became Ishinashi no Oki became Ishii. At least 48 of the Gokishichidō provinces contributed to their records but only that of Izumo remains nearly complete. Partial records of Hizen, Bungo and Hitachi remain and a few passages from various volumes remain scattered throughout various books; those of Harima and Hizen are designated National Treasures. Below is a list of scattered passages. In 1966 the Agency for Cultural Affairs called on the prefectural governments to build open-air museums and parks called Fudoki no Oka near historic sites such as tombs and provincial temples.
These archaeological museums preserve and exhibit cultural properties to enhance public understanding of provincial history and culture. Japanese Historical Text Initiative Akimoto, Kichirō. Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 2: Fudoki. Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 4-00-060002-8. Sakamoto, Masaru. Zusetsu Chizu to Arasuji de Wakaru! Fudoki. Seishun Publishing. ISBN 978-4-413-04301-4. Kojima, Noriyuki. Nihon no Koten wo Yomu 3 Nihon Shoki Ge • Fudoki. Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4-09-362173-1. 風土記 texts of the remaining Fudoki & scattered passages in other books. Manuscript scans at Waseda University Library: Hizen, 1800,Bungo, 1800, unknown Tsukamoto, Tetsuzō. Kojiki, Fudoki. Yūhōdō Shoten. Pp. 383–586. Scan at the Internet Archive. 風土記 国土としての始原史～風土記逸文
Watatsumi
Watatsumi pronounced Wadatsumi, is a legendary kami, Japanese dragon and tutelary water deity in Japanese mythology. Ōwatatsumi no kami is believed to be another name for the sea deity Ryūjin, for the Watatsumi Sanjin, which rule the upper and lower seas and were created when Izanagi was washing himself after returning from Yomi, "the underworld". The earliest written sources of Old Japanese transcribe the name of the sea god in a diverse manner; the ca. 712 CE Kojiki writes it semantically. "sea god", transcribes it phonetically with man'yōgana as Wata-tsu-mi 綿津見 lit. "cotton port see" in identifying the Watatsumi Sanjin. The ca. 720 CE Nihongi writes Watatsumi as 海神 "sea god", along with 海童 "sea child" and 少童命 "small child lords" for the Watatsumi Sanjin. In the modern Japanese writing system, the name Watatsumi is written either in katakana as ワタツミ or in kanji phonetically 綿津見 or semantically 海神 "sea god". Note that in addition to reading 海神 as watatsumi, wata no kami, or unagami in native Japanese kun'yomi pronunciation, it is read kaijin or kaishin in Sino-Japanese on'yomi.
The original Watatsumi meaning "tutelary deity of the sea" is semantically extended as a synecdoche or metaphor meaning "the sea. The etymology of the sea god Watatsumi is uncertain. Marinus Willern de Visser notes consensus. "It is not impossible" he concludes, "that the old Japanese sea-gods were snakes or dragons." Compare the Japanese rain god Kuraokami, described as a giant snake or a dragon. The comparative linguist Paul K. Benedict proposed that Japanese wata 海 "sea" derives from Proto-Austronesian *wacal "sea; the Kojiki version of the Japanese creation myth honorifically refers to Watatsumi 海神 with the name Ōwatatsumi kami 大綿津見神 "Great Watatsumi god". Compare this sea god with mountain god named Ohoyamatsumi 大山積; the world-creating siblings Izanagi and Izanami first give birth to the Japanese islands and to the gods. When they had finished giving birth to countries, they began afresh giving birth to Deities. So the name of the Deity they gave birth to was the Deity Great-Male-of-the-Great-Thing.
Chamberlain explains. A subsequent Kojiki passage describes Watatsumi's daughter Otohime and her human husband Hoori living with the sea god. After Hoori lost his brother Hoderi's fishhook, he went searching to the bottom of the sea, where he met and married the dragon goddess Otohime, they lived in the sea god's underwater palace Ryūgū-jō for three years. So he dwelt in that land for three years. Hereupon His Augustness Fire-Subside thought of what had gone before, heaved one deep sigh. So Her Augustness Luxuriant-Jewel-Princess, hearing the sigh, informed her father, saying: "Though he has dwelt three years, he had never sighed. What may be the cause of it?" The Great Deity her father asked his son-in-law saying: "This morning I heard my daughter speak, saying:'Though he has dwelt three years, he had never sighed. What may the cause be? Moreover what was the cause of thy coming here?" Told the Great Deity how his elder brother had pressed him for the lost fish-hook. Thereupon the Sea-Deity summoned together all the fishes of the sea and small, asked them, saying: "Is there perchance any fish that has taken this fish-hook?"
So all the fishes replied: "Lately the tahi has complained of something sticking in its throat preventing it from eating. On the throat of the tahi being thereupon examined, there was the fish-hook. Being forthwith taken, it was washed and respectfully presented to His Augustness Fire-Subside, whom the Deity Great-Ocean-Possessor instructed. Watatsumi instructs Hoori how to deal with Hoderi, chooses another mythic Japanese dragon, a wani "crocodile" or "shark", to transport his daughter and son in law back to land. Two Nihongi contexts refer to Watatsumi in legends about Emperor Jimmu. First, the army of Emperor Keikō encounters Hashirimizu 馳水 "running waters" crossing from Sagami Province to Kazusa Province; the calamity is placated through human sacrifice. Next he marched on to Sagami, whence. Looking over the sea, he spake with a loud voice, said: "This is but a little sea: one mig
Amaterasu
Amaterasu, Amaterasu-ōmikami, or Ōhirume-no-muchi-no-kami is a deity of the Japanese myth cycle and a major deity of the Shinto religion. She is seen as the goddess of the universe; the name Amaterasu is derived from Amateru and means "shining in heaven". The meaning of her whole name, Amaterasu-ōmikami, is "the great august kami who shines in the heaven". According to the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki in Japanese mythology, the Emperors of Japan are considered to be direct descendants of Amaterasu. Records of the worship of Amaterasu are found from the c. 712 CE Kojiki and c. 720 CE Nihon Shoki, the oldest records of Japanese history. In Japanese mythology, the goddess of the sun, is the sister of Susanoo, the god of storms and the sea, of Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon, it was written that Amaterasu had painted the landscape with her siblings while she created ancient Japan. Amaterasu was said to have been created by the divine couple Izanagi and Izanami, who were themselves created by, or grew from, the originator of the Universe, Amenominakanushi.
All three deities were born from Izanagi when he was purifying himself upon entering Yomi, the underworld, after breaking the promise not to see dead Izanami and he was chased by her and Yakusan-no-ikaduchigami, surrounding rotten Izanami. Amaterasu was born when Izanagi washed out his left eye, Tsukuyomi was born from the washing of the right eye, Susanoo from the washing of the nose. Amaterasu became the ruler of the sun and the heavens along with her brother, Tsukuyomi as the ruler of the night, Susanoo as the ruler of the seas. Amaterasu shared the sky with Tsukuyomi, her husband and brother until, out of disgust, he killed the goddess of food, Uke Mochi, when she pulled "food from her rectum and mouth"; this killing upset Amaterasu causing her to split away from him. The texts tell of a long-standing rivalry between Amaterasu and her other brother, Susanoo. Susanoo is said to have insulted claiming she had no power over the higher realm; when Izanagi ordered him to leave Heaven, he went to bid his sister goodbye.
Amaterasu was suspicious, but when Susanoo proposed a challenge to prove his sincerity, she accepted. Each of them took an object belonging from it, birthed deities. Amaterasu birthed three women from Susanoo's sword. Claiming the gods were hers because they were born of her necklace, the goddesses were his, she decided that she had won the challenge, as his item produced women. After Susanoo's defeat he went on a rampage destroying much of the heavenly and earthly realm, Amaterasu's rice fields, hurled a flayed pony at her loom, killing one of her attendants in a fit of rage. Amaterasu, in fury and grief, hid inside the Ama-no-Iwato, plunging the earth into darkness and chaos, she was persuaded to leave the cave. Omoikane threw a party outside of the Ama-no-Iwato to lure Amaterasu out but it was not until the Goddess Ame-no-Uzume danced promiscuously outside of the cave that Amaterasu came out. Susanoo was punished by being banished from heaven. Both amended their conflict when Susanoo gave her the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi sword as a reconciliation gift.
According to legend, responsible from keeping balance and harmony within the earthly realm, bequeathed to her descendant Ninigi: the mirror, Yata no Kagami. Collectively, the sacred mirror and sword became the three Imperial Regalia of Japan; the Ise Shrine located in Ise, Mie Prefecture, houses the inner shrine, dedicated to Amaterasu. Her sacred mirror, Yata no Kagami, is said to be kept at this shrine as one of the imperial regalia objects. A ceremony known as Shikinen Sengu is held every twenty years at this shrine to honor the many deities enshrined, formed by 125 shrines altogether. At that time, new shrine buildings are built at a location adjacent to the site first. After the transfer of the object of worship, new clothing and treasure and offering food to the goddess the old buildings are taken apart; the building materials taken apart are given to buildings to renovate. This practice is a part of the Shinto faith and has been practiced since the year 690, but is not only for Amaterasu but for many other deities enshrined in Ise Shrine.
The Amanoiwato Shrine in Takachiho, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan is dedicated to Amaterasu and sits above the gorge containing Ama-no-Iwato. The worship of Amaterasu to the exclusion of other kami has been described as "the cult of the sun"; this phrase may refer to the early pre-archipelagoan worship of the sun. Himiko Shinto in popular culture Sól Surya Vairocana Zalmoxis Ōkami Amaterasu, fictional character from video game Ōkami
Yamata no Orochi
Yamata no Orochi or Orochi, is a legendary 8-headed and 8-tailed Japanese dragon. Yamata no Orochi legends are recorded in two ancient texts about Japanese mythology and history; the ca. 680 AD Kojiki transcribes this dragon name as 八岐遠呂智 and ca. 720 AD Nihongi writes it as 八岐大蛇. 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 "Earthly Deities" near the head of the Hi River, now called the Hii River, in Izumo Province, they are weeping because they were forced to give the Orochi one of their daughters every year for seven years, now they must sacrifice their eighth, Kushi-inada-hime. The Kojiki tells the following version: So, having been expelled, descended to a place Tori-kami at the head-waters of the River Hi in the Land of Idzumo. At this time some chopsticks came floating down the stream. So His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness, thinking that there must be people at the head-waters of the river, went up it in quest of them, when he came upon an old man and an old woman, --two of them,--who had a young girl between them, were weeping.
He deigned to ask: "Who are ye?" So the old man replied. I am called by the name of Foot-Stroking-Elder, my wife is called by the name of Hand-Stroking Elder, my daughter is called by the name of Wondrous-Inada-Princess." Again he asked: What is the cause of your crying?" Saying: "I had eight young girls as daughters. But the eight-forked serpent of Koshi has come every year and devoured, it is now its time to come, wherefore we weep." He asked him: "What is its form like?" answered, saying: "Its eyes are like akakagachi, it has one body with eight heads and eight tails. Moreover on its body grows moss, chamaecyparis and cryptomerias, its length extends over eight valleys and eight hills, if one look at its belly, it is all bloody and inflamed." His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness said to the old man: "If this be thy daughter, wilt thou offer her to me?" He replied, saying: "With reverence, but I know not thine august name." He replied, saying: "I am elder brother to the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity.
So I have now descended from Heaven." The Deities Foot-Stroker-Elder and Hand-Stroking-Elder said: "If that be so, with reverence will we offer." So His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness, at once taking and changing the young girl into a multitudinous and close-toothed comb which he stuck into his august hair-bunch, said to the Deities Foot-Stroking-Elder and Hand-Stroking-Elder: "Do you distill some eight-fold refined liquor. Make a fence round about, in that fence make eight gates, at each gate tie eight platforms, on each platform put a liquor-vat, into each vat pour the eight-fold refined liquor, wait." So as they waited after having thus prepared everything in accordance with his bidding, the eight-forked serpent came as had said, dipped a head into each vat, drank the liquor. Thereupon it was intoxicated with drinking, all lay down and slept. His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness drew the ten-grasp sabre, augustly girded on him, cut the serpent in pieces, so that the River Hi flowed on changed into a river of blood.
So when he cut the middle tail, the edge of his august sword broke. Thinking it strange, he thrust into and split with the point of his august sword and looked, there was a great sword. So he took this great sword, thinking it a strange thing, he respectfully informed the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity; this is the Herb-Quelling Great Sword. Compare the Nihongi description of Yamata no Orochi. "It had an eight-forked tail. As it crawled it extended over a space of eight hills and eight valleys." These botanical names used to describe this Orochi are akakagachi or hoozuki, hikage and sugi. The legendary sword Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, which came from the tail of Yamata no Orochi, along with the Yata no Kagami mirror and Yasakani no Magatama jewel, became the three sacred Imperial Regalia of Japan; the Japanese name orochi 大蛇 derives from Old Japanese woröti. Besides this ancient orochi reading, the kanji 大蛇 are pronounced daija "big snake. Carr notes that Japanese scholars have proposed "more than a dozen" orochi < woröti etymologies, while Western linguists have suggested loanwords from Austronesian and Indo-European languages.
The most feasible native etymological proposals are Japanese o- from o 尾 "tail", ō 大 "big. Benedict proposed woröti "large snake" was suffixed from Proto-Austro-Japanese *oröt-i acquired from Austronesian *uḷəj "snake.
