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Takama-ga-hara
In Japanese mythology, Takamagahara (高天原, "Plain of High Heaven" or "High Plain of Heaven", also read as Takaamanohara, Takamanohara, Takaamagahara, or Takaamahara), is the abode of the heavenly gods ('' amatsukami''). Often depicted as located up in the sky, it is believed to be connected to the Earth by the bridge '' Ame-no-ukihashi'' (the "Floating Bridge of Heaven"). Overview In Shinto, ''ame'' (heaven) is a lofty, sacred world, the home of the '' Kotoamatsukami''. Some scholars have attempted to explain the myth of descent of the gods from the Takamagahara as an allegory of the migration of peoples. However, it is likely to have referred from the beginning to a higher world in a religious sense. A Shinto myth explains that at the time of creation, light, pure elements branched off to become heaven ('' ame''). Heavy, turbid elements branched off to become earth ('' tsuchi''). ''Ame'' became the home of the ''amatsukami'' or gods of heaven, while ''tsuchi'' became the h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Mythology
Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto and Buddhist traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of years of contact with Korea, Ainu, and Okinawan myths are also key influences in Japanese mythology. Japanese myths are tied to the topography of the archipelago as well as agriculturally-based folk religion, and the Shinto pantheon holds countless ''kami'' ( Japanese for " god(s)" or "spirits"). This article will discuss cosmogony, important deities, modern interpretations, cultural significance, and the influence of these myths. Two important sources for Japanese myths as they are recognized today are the '' Kojiki'' and the '' Nihon Shoki''. The ''Kojiki'', or "Record of Ancient Matters," is the oldest surviving account of Japan's myths, legends, and history. Additionally, the ''Shintōshū'' describes the origins of Japanese deities ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kojiki Shinpukuji
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 unde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motoori Norinaga
was a Japanese scholar of '' Kokugaku'' active during the Edo period. He is conventionally ranked as one of the Four Great Men of Kokugaku (nativist) studies. Life Norinaga was born in what is now Matsusaka in Ise Province (now part of Mie Prefecture). His ancestors were vassals of the Kitabatake clan in Ise Province for many generations. However, in the early Edo period they abandoned their samurai status, changing their surname to Ozu, and relocated to Matsusaka, where they became cotton wholesalers. The family initially prospered and had a store in Edo as well. (The film director Yasujirō Ozu was a descendant of the same line). After his elder brother's death, Norinaga succeeded to the Ozu line. At one stage he was adopted out to a paper-making family but the bookish boy was not suited to business. It was at his mother's suggestion that, at the age of 22, Norinaga went to Kyoto to study medicine. In Kyoto, he also studied Chinese and Japanese philology under the n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Onisaburo Deguchi
, born Ueda Kisaburō 上田 喜三郎 (1871–1948), is considered one of the two spiritual leaders of the Ōmoto religious movement in Japan. History Onisaburo had studied Honda Chikaatsu's "Spirit Studies" (Honda Reigaku), he also learned to mediate spirit possession (''chinkon kishin'') from Honda's disciple Nagasawa Katsutate in Shizuoka. He met the founder of Omotokyo in 1898 and in 1899 they established the Kinmeikai, later called Kinmei Reigakkai. In 1900 Kisaburō married Nao's fifth daughter Sumi and adopted the name Deguchi Onisaburō. Oomoto teaches that the guardian spirit of Nao is Amaterasu, described as a male spirit in a female body, and Onisaburo's spirit is Susanowo, a female spirit in a male body.松本健一 『出口王仁三郎 屹立するカリスマ』 リブロポート、1986年12月。。 114-116 In 1908 he and Deguchi Nao founded the Dai Nihon Shūseikai which in 1913 became Taihonkyō and in 1916 the Kōdō Ōmoto. In 1923, he learned Es ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heian Period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. It is a period in Japanese history when the Chinese influences were in decline and the national culture matured. The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art, especially poetry and literature. Two types of Japanese script emerged, including katakana, a phonetic script which was abbreviated into hiragana, a cursive alphabet with a unique writing method distinctive to Japan. This gave rise to Japan's famous vernacular literature, with many of its texts written by court women who were not as educated in Chinese compared to their male counterparts. Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the real power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful aristocr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kogo Shūi
is a historical record of the Inbe clan of Japan written in the early Heian period (794–1185). It was composed by Inbe no Hironari (斎部広成) in 807 using material transmitted orally over several generations of the Inbe clan. Background Historically, both the Inbe and Nakatomi clans had long performed Shinto religious services for the Japanese imperial court. However, at the beginning of the Heian period, the Fujiwara clan, whom the Nakatomi clan are a branch of, seized political power. This strengthened the Nakatomi clan while weakening the Inbe clan and caused conflict between the two clans. Hironari, whose date of birth and death are unknown, wrote this text to clarify the history and legitimize the rights of the Inbe clan as well as to argue the injustice of the Nakatomi clan and decline of the Inbe clan. He presented it to Emperor Heizei in 807. Contents The text consists of three major sections: #The historical events of clan ancestor Amenofutodama no Mikoto an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nara Period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara, Nara, Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kanmu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784, before moving to Heian-kyō, modern Kyoto, a decade later in 794. Japanese society during this period was predominantly agricultural and centered on village life. Most of the villagers followed Shinto, Shintō, a religion based on the worship of natural and ancestral spirits named ''kami.'' The capital at Nara was modeled after Chang'an, the capital city of the Tang dynasty. In many other ways, the Japanese upper classes patterned themselves after the Chinese, including adopting the Chinese writing system, Chinese fashion, and a Chinese version of Buddhism. Literature Concentrated efforts by the Emperors of Japan, imperial court ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oral Tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985), reported statements from present generation which "specifies that the message must be oral statements spoken, sung or called out on musical instruments only"; "There must be transmission by word of mouth over at least a generation". He points out, "Our definition is a working definition for the use of historians. Sociologists, linguists or scholars of the verbal arts propose their own, which in, e.g., sociology, stresses common knowledge. In linguistics, features that distinguish the language from common dialogue (linguists), and in the verbal arts features of form and content that define art (folklorists)."Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: "Methodology and African Prehistory", 1990, ''UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a Gene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fudoki
are ancient reports on provincial culture, geography, and oral tradition presented to the reigning monarchs of Japan, also known as local gazetteers. They contain agricultural, geographical, and historical records as well as mythology and folklore. ''Fudoki'' manuscripts also document local myths, rituals, 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. Kofudoki In the narrower sense, ''Fudoki'' refer to the oldest records written in the Nara period, later called (Old-Fudoki). Compilation of ''Kofudoki'' began in 713 and was completed over a 20-year period. Following the Taika Reform in 646 and the Code of Taihō enacted in 7 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yōrō
was a after '' Reiki'' and before '' Jinki.'' This period spanned the years from November 717 through February 724. The reigning empress was . Change of era * 717 : The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in ''Reiki'' 3, on the 17th day of the 11th month of 717. Events of the ''Yōrō'' era * 717 (''Yōrō 1, 3rd month''): The ''sadaijin'' Isonokami no Maro died at age 78. * 717 (''Yōrō 1, 9th month''): Empress Genshō traveled through Ōmi Province where she was met by the lords of the San'indō, the San'yōdō and the Nankaidō; and she was entertained with singing and dancing. From there, she traveled to Mino Province where the lords of the Tōkaidō, Tōsandō and Hokurikudō who rendered similar honors and entertainments. * 718 (''Yōrō 2''): Revisions and commentaries on the Taihō Code are issued; and these changes are collectively known as the . * 721 (''Yōrō 5, 5th month''): The new ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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