Japanese ancient history(Koji-ki)
古事記（こじき、ふることふみ、ふることぶみ）は、一般に日本最古の歴史書であるとされる。その序によれば、和銅5年（712年）に太安万侶が編纂し、元明天皇に献上されたことで成立する。上中下の3巻。内容は天地開闢から推古天皇の記事である。この記事では、日本最古の文献『古事記』をかみ砕いて、要点だけを分かりやすくお伝えします。(English) The Kojiki (Kojiki, Furu-koto-fumi, Furu-koto-bumi) is the oldest history book in Japan. According to its preface, it was compiled by Taian Manpo in 712 and presented to Emperor Genmei. Three volumes: upper, middle, and lower. The contents are articles from the creation of the heavens and the earth to Emperor Suiko. In this article, I will chew up Japan's oldest literature, the Kojiki, and tell you only the essential parts in a way you can understand easily.
A brief synopsis of ancient history(Koji-ki)
The Kojiki is a narrative of the history of Japan from its birth to Emperor Suiko. Various characters appear in the story. The story is full of character and fun, so please read on.
Table of Contents.
Izanagi-Izanami version
When two people fall in love, a country is formed
Izanagi's shocking encounter in the Land of Hades
Susanoo chapter
Susanoo, the troubled god
The outcast problem child plays a significant role
Okuninushi version
The descendant with no resemblance to Susanoo
Okuninushi becomes the lord of a nation with his 00-ness as a weapon.
Amaterasu's attack
Ninigi version
Ninigi, was the god who governed Japan from birth.
Punishment for choosing beautiful women and abandoning ugly ones
From Emperor Jinmu to Emperor Suiko
The first Emperor Jinmu goes to Yamato
The 12th Emperor Keiko and the too-strong Yamatotakeru
Death of the 13th Emperor Nakai and Empress Jingu's conquest of Korea
At the end of the story
Conclusion.
1)
Izanagi-Izanami version.
When two people fall in love, a country is formed.
The Kojiki begins with the creation of the Japanese islands.
Various deities appeared before the creation of the Japanese islands, but we will omit them in this article.
It was Izanagi and Izanami who created the Japanese islands.
Izanagi is a male god, and Izanami is a female god.
The two go around a large, thick tree.
The story goes that a god or Japanese island is born when they meet and fall in love with each other.
The famous island is Awaji Island.
It is said that Awaji Island was the first island to be born.
2)
Izanagi A shocking encounter in the Land of Hades.
The two of them smoothly mass-produced gods and islands.
However, when giving birth to the god of fire, Izanami dies.
Unconvinced, Izanagi went to the Land of Hades.
He then tries to bring Izanami back.
He reaches the Land of Hades.
And when he met Izanami, she told him, "Don't look at me until I say it is good."
Izanagi breaks his promise to her and looks at Izanami.
There he saw Izanami, rotten and unworthy be seen.
Izanagi managed to escape from the angry Izanami.
However, Izanami placed a curse on Izanagi that killed 1,000 people a day in his country.
But Izanagi said he would give birth to 1,500 a day.
From there, people began to die and be born repeatedly.
3)
Susanoo version.
The troubled god Susanoo.
A little time passed after the generation of Izanagi and his followers.
The three brother deities became influential, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo.
The youngest brother, Susanoo, was always a nuisance because of his bad behavior.
One day, he surprised a woman serving his sister, Amaterasu, and shocked her to death.
Amaterasu was furious, and Susanoo was driven out of the heavenly world to Izumo (Shimane Prefecture) in Japan.
4)
The outcast problem child plays a significant role.
After being driven out to Izumo, Susanoo arrives at a village that is being victimized by the Yamata-no-Orochi (giant serpent).
Yamata-no-Orochi is said to eat one of the village's daughters once a year.
The last remaining daughter of the village, Princess Kushinada, will soon be eaten.
When Susanoo saw the poor villagers, he decided to save the village.
He was to exterminate the Yamata-no-Orochi.
Yamata-no-Orochi is giant serpents with eight heads.
Susanoo prepared eight vases of wine for each head to drink from.
Yamata-no-Orochi, as expected, drank the wine, got drunk, and fell asleep.
When Susanoo made sure he was asleep, he killed the serpent with his sword.
Inside Yamata-no-Orochi's belly, he found a sword.
That is said to be the Sword of Kusanagi.
After that, Susanoo lived happily ever after with Princess Kushinada.
5)
Okuninushi version
A descendant not at all like Susanoo.
As time passed, the eighty gods (eighty deities) and a deity called Okuninushi appeared among Susanoo's descendants.
Okuninushi was the exact opposite of Susanoo, with a weak character.
For this reason, he was always used by his brother deities, the eighty deities, to get the better of them.
Using his kindness as a weapon, Okuninushi became the lord of a nation.
Okuninushi was weak and was used by the eighty gods.
However, he had the kindest heart of anyone.
One day, he and the eight gods decided to ask a famous beauty called Princess Yagami to marry them and travel together.
While walking, they found a white hare that had been skinned all over by a shark.
Unlike his brother deities, who treated him coldly, Okuninushi gave him gentle advice.
In the process, he reached Princess Yagami.
Okuninushi was used by the eighty deities in a good way and could not woo her.
Princess Yagami, however, chooses Okuninushi as her marriage partner.
It looks like a happy ending.
However, he is then killed twice by the eighty deities.
He is forced to flee to the Realm of the dead out of spite.
In Realm of the dead, he meets Susanoo and his daughter Princess Sunseri.
Okuninushi fell in love with Suserihime.
However, he is subjected to numerous harassment from Susanoo.
Okuninushi overcomes Susano's excessive harassment.
Susanoo eventually approves of their relationship and tells them both to deliver Izumo.
Here, happiness finally comes to Okuninushi.
6)
Amaterasu's attack
Okuninushi delivered the land together with Princess Suseri.
A child was born, and life itself was smooth.
However, in the heavenly realm, Amaterasu would not allow this.
Three times she sent assassins to force him to surrender the country.
Okuninushi was then forced to hand over the country to Amaterasu.
Amaterasu's assassins asked, "Do you have any wish in exchange for handing over the country?"
Okuninushi remembered that Susanoo had told him to build a large shrine in Izumo.
'I want you to build me a large shrine in Izumo.' He asked for this and had it built, which is the famous Izumo Grand Shrine.
7)
Ninigi version
Ninigi was the god who governed Japan from birth.
After receiving Izumo from Okuninushi, Amaterasu considered who should rule it.
She had just had a grandson then, so she decided to send him to him.
His grandson's name was Ninigi.
This event is called the descent of the grandchildren.
8)
Punishment for choosing beautiful women and abandoning ugly ones
After landing in Japan, Ninigi first looked for a wife.
There he found Princess Sakuya.
When he immediately proposes to her, she asks to speak to her father.
Princess Sakuya's father said, "I want you to take my elder sister Princess Iwanaga and Princess Sakuya as your wives."
However, Ninigi refuses, as Princess Iwanaga is not very pretty.
Princess Iwanaga had the power to live as long as a rock but was denied marriage.
As a result, Ninigi was possessed.
He was possessed and deprived of his immortality.
Therefore, from Ninigi's generation onwards, he became a man, not a god.
The first emperor, Emperor Jinmu, was born in Ninigi and Princess Sakuya.
9)
From Emperor Jinmu to Emperor Suiko
The first Emperor Jinmu, to Yamato
Emperor Jinmu was born in Takachiho, Miyazaki Prefecture, Kyushu.
It is not the center of Japan. He said he would build his Imperial Court in the center.
He pacified the Yamato region (Nara Prefecture) and established the Yamato Imperial Court.
10)
The 12th Emperor Keiko and the too-strong Yamatotakeru
Time passed, and the Emperor became the 12th Emperor Keiko.
Emperor Keiko had a son named Yamatotakeru, a man of terrible power and madness.
His power and madness were so great that he even killed his brother, who had deceived his father.
Fearing Yamatotakeru, Emperor Keiko ordered the Kumaso clan of Kyushu to be killed.
Yamato Takeru assassinated the Kumaso representatives.
He also killed a representative of Izumo on his way back.
He returned to Emperor Keiko and reported his findings.
However, Emperor Keiko immediately ordered him to pacify the East.
Yamato Takeru was saddened when he realized his father feared him and wanted him dead.
He then visited his aunt in Ise.
From his aunt, he receives the Sword of Kusanagi.
After acquiring Kusanagi, Yamatotakeru conquered the eastern provinces at a tremendous pace.
However, the wild boar he killed on his journey was a mountain god, and so he was cursed by the mountain.
A natural disaster finally kills Yamato Takeru.
At his death, Yamatotakeru became a swan and traveled to heaven.
11)
Death of the 13th Emperor Nakai, Korean War by Empress Jingu.
After Yamatotakeru's death, his son, Emperor Chuai, succeeded Emperor Keiko.
He discussed with his wife, Empress Jingu, how to improve the country.
At that time, Amaterasu suddenly took over Empress Jingu and gave her an oracle telling her to attack Silla.
It's like the spirit of Amaterasu possessed Empress Jingu.
Emperor Nakai, who did not believe in the oracle, died, and Empress Jingu was forced to appease Silla in the Emperor's place.
12)
Last part of the story
Then dozens of generations of emperors followed, and there was internal strife.
However, we arrive at the 33rd generation, the current Emperor Suiko.
And so the Kojiki ends.
13)
Conclusion.
The Kojiki, when looking at the episodes in detail, reveals the origins of the names of places in Japan.
The episodes are interesting, to begin with, and so on, making it a fascinating work.
If you find it interesting, why not use what I am about to introduce and enjoy the charm of the Kojiki more?
A brief synopsis of ancient history(Koji-ki)
https://yasuhara5.hatenablog.com/entry/2020/05/04/105623
Ref - 1)
Amaterasu
Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu-Ōmikami (天照大御神), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology.
One of the principal 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 one of the "Three Precious Children" (三貴子, Mihashira no Uzu no Miko / Sankishi), the three most important offspring of the creator god Izanagi.
Amaterasu's principal 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 enshrined in several Shinto shrines throughout Japan.
Amaterasu - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaterasu
Ref - 2)
Why is Japanese mythology not taught in Japanese history education?
1)
After the war, the Japan Teachers' Union (JKU), which led education, followed the policy of the GHQ.
One of the main pillars of this policy was to deny the deification of the Emperor vehemently.
2)
Therefore, the "Imperial Rescript on Education" was no longer taught.
The phrase "Hakko Ichiu" was a slogan of Japanese imperialism.
Hakko Ichiu means "to make the whole country like one house" or "to make the whole world like one house."
Also, it means that "The Emperor's Totalitarianism," or "the sole ideological driving force."
3)
And the "Kojiki," "Japan's Old Testament," has largely disappeared from textbooks.
4)
If history textbooks do not correctly state "historical facts," the textbook examiners issue a rewriting order called an "approval opinion."
If they do not comply, they will not be approved as textbooks.
5)
In addition, few Japanese historical societies today consider the Kojiki a subject of study, as they consider it a myth and not a fact.
6)
However, many countries have myths about their founding.
And this is a source of national unity and patriotism.
7)
The fact that legends about the founding of a country are passed down to the present day means that the government has a long history and a continuing culture.
8)
Japan, in particular, is fortunate to have a language with such a long history. This Japanese language has handed down the culture of the pre-Ancient Jin Dynasty to the present day.
9)
Some say, "Japan is becoming a useless country, being overtaken more and more by foreign countries."
But such people do not realize that Japan has a rich culture and tradition that is second to none in the world.
10)
Teaching Japanese mythology and the things mentioned above early in primary school is essential.