Handbook of Japanese Mythology phần 4 ppt

Hell is a contradictory concept in Buddhism. Punishment for sins in life should, in theory, occur in the process of rebirth. Nonetheless, Jigoku has a very real mythical existence. Like Dante’s version, there is a hell to fit every crime. Monsters and oni (demons), many borrowed from Indian or Chinese cosmology, torment the denizens with fire, ice, and instruments of torture. The number and kind of loggia, to follow Dante’s terminology, depend, once again, on which Bud- dhist sect is doing the defining. The one common major feature of hell is the dry riverbed that runs through, or beside, it. In this foggy plain are the souls of inno- cents such as aborted children, who have noone to assist them in their climb to better realms. Before hell also flows Shozukawa, the hell river, which only the souls of the dead, stripped of their possessions by the Shozuka-no-baba (the hell hag), can pass. The universe of the living is effectively limitless. Japanese Buddhist cos- mology recognizes that though Japan is the most important of all locations, there are myriad worlds without end encompassed within the universe. The myriad realms of the deities lie above, arrayed in a variety of locations and systems. Supreme over all these, and responsible for the defense of Mt. Meru (that is, of the entire Buddhist Law that Meru represents), are the four Tenno. Each marshals his own particular gifts; for example, Bishamon, guardian of the North, is also the guardian of earthly treasure. Each also marshals his own host of followers and soldiers who defend that particular direction. Above these, toward the ultimate peak, are the paradises of the various Bud- dhas, the peak itself being occupied by ___ Buddha (fill in the blank according to your sect). The schematic described here is just that: a schematic. Its details vary con- siderably, and none of it appears as a full description in any myth. Rather it is an abstract drawn from the many viewpoints that express the entity called Bud- dhism. Certainly the motif of the mountain is very powerful in Buddhist thought. In Japan it has been reinforced by the native predilection for mountains and mountain deities, and may well have been one of the reasons Buddhism found such easy acceptance in Japan. Shinto¯ Spaces Shintπ cosmology and topography are far simpler than Buddhism’s. The defini- tion of the various realms of the cosmos is also far more clearly delineated, with actual geographical features framing much of the mythical topography. The realm of the heavenly kami, Takamagahara (Plain of Heaven), overar- ches the realm of the earth. Within heaven lie the halls of the various gods, Handbook of Japanese Mythology 102 though we have a description of only one: that of Amaterasu-π-mikami. It has specialized halls for the usual domestic tasks—weaving is mentioned—as well as paddy fields and dikes. Running through heaven is a riverbed. The river itself has been dammed upstream so that the kami have a wide assembly place (nec- essary in a system that rules by consensus, as the Japanese still do, and where the participants number eight million). The river runs from a range of high mountains. Heaven is bounded on its earthly side by a shallow stream: This is where Amaterasu confronts her wayward brother. Two significant features in heaven are its exits. There is the Heavenly Float- ing Bridge, often identified with the Milky Way, which joins heaven to earth, and from which the earth was created. There is also a major crossroads, of which one road leads to heaven, the other to earth: This is where Sarutahiko awaited the descent of the heavenly grandson. The earth is composed of several parts. The first is the sea, which appears boundless. It preceded the land, which was drawn from it “like the shoot of a reed.” The land itself is composed of islands, some formed originally from the drops that coalesced on the tip of Izanagi’s jeweled spear, others born of the intercourse between Izanagi and his mate, Izanami. The main component of these islands are the ones that make up the Japanese archipelago. The topogra- phy here is that familiar to us from modern Japan, though the names have changed and many places are identified very doubtfully. Certainly the plains and mountains of Yamato (in the modern Kansai area); the Yoshino mountains on the Kii peninsula (southeast of Yamato); Lake Biwa, which borders Yamato to the east; Izumo to the northwest; and the Seto Sea and island of Kyushu to the south are all identified and play a part in the myths. The Korean Peninsula fea- tures as well, especially two of the three major Korean polities of the time, Silla and Paekche. The domain of the sea god, variously Owatatsumi-no-kami or Ry∆jin, is like the earth except that the denizens are fish rather than humans. In former times, until Ho-ori’s disagreement with his wife, the domains of the sea and the land were one expanse. Now they are separate parts of the earth. Other parts of the earth are reachable through caves or fissures in the earth’s crust. Perhaps the most important is an undefined realm across the sea. This is the homeland of such marebito (visiting deities) as Sukunabikona, the magician dwarf god who helps ∏kuninushi complete the construction of the land started by Izanagi. There is some reason to suggest, argues Ouwehand, that this land, sometimes identified (following a Chinese legend) as the Isles of the Blessed, is in reality the final realm of myth: the Land of Yπmi. The Land of Yπmi exists underground. It is a damp and dark place, devoid of light and color. We have no clear topography of the place. The dead, judging by Mythic Time and Space 103 the description in the Kπjiki and the Nihonshπki, exist in halls as they do in life. Their torment, if such there is, consists of being separated from their former lives and particularly from their loved ones and friends. No other torments are in evidence, nor is the land of Yπmi a place of punishment. Yπmi is merely a place of utter pollution from which no one returns. Handbook of Japanese Mythology 104 Chronology: Historical and Mythical Time Period Key Historical Myth or mythical Events period Dates Age of Creation Emergence of the kami. The creation of the islands of Japan. Evidence of Shell mounds 9000 B.C.E. preceramic culture Jo¯ mon Pottery culture; pit ca. 7000–250 B.C.E. housing; large villages. The birth, life, and 565(?)–486 miracles of the Buddha in India. ∏kuninushi. The Subjugation of the land by the heavenly deities. The Izumo myths of Susano-wo?? Mythical date of 660 B.C.E. the accession of Jimmu Tenno. Age of Emperors Yayoi culture ca. 250 B.C.E.– 300 C.E. Yamato Period 300 B.C.E.(?)/300 C.E.(?)–645 Yamato-takeru. Japanese trade Empress Jing∆ ca. 2nd century colonies in Korea invades Korea. B.C.E. (or more likely, 366 C.E.) Kofun Period Construction of 400 C.E.–593 kofun monumental tombs. Expansion of Yamato state. Introduction of 552 or 538 Buddhism from Korea. King of Paekche sends 545 image of Miroku-butsu to Emperor Kimmei. Regency of Shπtoku 593–622 Taishi. Seventeen-article rescript. 604 First embassy to China. 607 Oracle of Miwa 616 declares Buddhist priests are to perform funeral rites. Taika Reform. Chinese- 645 influenced administra- tive revolution, the entire government being remodeled on the plan of the Chinese bureaucracy. Head of Yamato clan declared sovereign son- of-heaven on Chinese model. En-no-Gyπja performs 634–701 miracles. Foundation of Shugendπ. Nara Period Nara becomes first fixed 710–784 capital. Dedication of the Great 752 Buddha statue (Daibutsu) of Tπdaiji in Nara. Life of Kπbπ Daishi. Miracles performed 774–835 Establishment of 88- by the Daishi. stage pilgrimage on Shikoku. Mythic Time and Space 105 Ryπbu-Shintπ accepted ca. 700–800 as proper doctrine. Heian Period Capital established at 794–1185 Heian-kyπ (modern Kyoto). Introduction of Tendai sect. 805 Introduction of Shingon sect. 806 Twelfth and last embassy 838 to China. Age of Heroes Fudπ statue brought to Raikπ and his four 940 Kantπ. vassals. Tawara Toda kills Taira-no-Masakado. Heiji conflict; military Tomoe Gozen 1159–1160 supremacy gained by Hachimantarπ, etc. Taira clan. Founding of the Jπdπ 1175 (Pure Land) sect by Shπnin (1133–1212). Jπdπ-Shinshu sect founded by Shinran Gempei War between Minamoto-no 1180–1185 the Minamoto and Yoshitsune and the Taira. Benkei. Kamakura Period 1185–1333 Title of shogun granted 1192 to Yoritomo. Mongol invasions. Nichiren-shπnin’s 1274, 1281 miracles. Ashikaga (or 1338–1573 Muromachi) Period Sengoku (Civil ca. 1480–1568 War) Period Portuguese arrive at 1542 or 1543 Tanegashima; introduce Western firearms Handbook of Japanese Mythology 106 Azuchi- 1568–1600 Momoyama (or Shokuhπ) Period Occupation of Kyoto 1568 by warlord Oda Nobunaga. Nobunaga assassinated. 1582 Osaka Castle built by 1586 Toyπtπmi Hideyoshi Hideyoshi supreme 1590 in Japan. Hideyoshi’s invasion 1592 of Korea. Death of Hideyoshi 1598 and withdrawal of troops from Korea. Victory of Tokugawa 1600 Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara. Tokugawa (or Assumption of power 1600–1868 Edo) Period by Tokugawa clan. Capital moved to Edo. Era of secluded and peaceful country. Title of shogun 1603 acquired by Ieyasu. Modern Age Meiji Period Formal restoration of Consolidation of 1868–1912 Imperial rule and end the myth of Japan. of shoguns. Japan starts to modernize. Imperial capital established at Tokyo (formerly Edo). Sino-Japanese War “Triumph of 1894–1895 Japan defeats China. Japanese spirit.” Russo-Japanese War. 1904–1905 First defeat of a European power by a non-European. Annexation of Korea. 1910 Mythic Time and Space 107 Taishπ Period 1912–1926 Shπwa Period 1926–1990 Outbreak of war 1937 with China. Attack on Pearl Harbor, 1941 start of Pacific War of World War II. Kamikaze attacks. 1945 Surrender of Japan. Heisei Period Death of Shπwa Emperor 1991– (Hirohito). Succession by his son. Handbook of Japanese Mythology108 3 DEITIES, THEMES, AND CONCEPTS AE-OINA KAMUI (AINU) A “teacher” kamui and culture hero who taught humans the domestic arts. Armed with a magical and irresistible spear of mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris, a bitter aromatic herb), Ae-oina Kamui fought many battles on behalf of humankind. Instructed by Kamui Fuchi, the kamui of the hearth, he taught weaving and other domestic tasks to Ainu women. He is depicted as wreathed in mist or smoke. When this parts briefly, he is seen to be skirted by flames from his feet to his belt, wearing a coat of elm-bark fiber, its hem aflame, and a girt with a flame-tipped sword-sheath. The flames indicate his strongly virtuous character and his association with Kamui Fuchi. There are a number of myths of his origin, due most probably to regional dif- ferences among Ainu tribes: Some say he was born of the elm tree, or fathered by the sun or by thunder, or even by Pakoro Kamui, the deity of pestilence and smallpox. In the myths of some Ainu areas, Ae-oina Kamui is identified with Okikurmi, the culture hero and magician. He/they are often referred to as Ain- urakkur, meaning the father of the Ainu. He is at the same time a savior and a dangerous kamui. In one myth, he kills a magical giant char with his spear of mugwort, saving humanity from famine. In another myth he fights a famine crone, who has built fish traps to block the salmon from the people. He breaks all her fish traps, then releases herds of deer and schools of fish from the snow on his snowshoes. And another myth recounts how he forces the sister of the owl deity, Chikap Kamui, to marry him after defeating Chikap Kamui in battle. Ae-oina Kamui/Okikurmi is credited with teaching humans the important basics of being Ainu (i.e., human). Philippi summarizes these teachings as (1) rit- ual activities appropriate for men and for women; (2) handicraft techniques spe- cific to men (carving) and women (needlework); (3) fishing, hunting, and gathering techniques; (4) architecture; (5) medicine; (6) dispute settlement (that is, law); and (7) entertainment and singing. Ae-oina Kamui finally returned to heaven, or, in some epics, left for another 109 country, in disgust at the depraved ways of the Ainu. With his departure started the long decline of the Ainu. Thus the Ainu equate their subjugation by the Japanese in terms of the departure of their culture hero. See also Kamui Fuchi; Okikurmi. References and further reading: Munro, Neil Gordon. 1962. Ainu Creed and Cult. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul; London and New York: K. Paul International, distributed by Columbia University Press, 1995. Philippi, Donald L., trans. 1979. Songs of Gods, Songs of Humans: The Epic Tradi- tion of the Ainu. Princeton: Princeton University Press. AIZEN-MYO ¯ -O ¯ Deity of love and sex, worshiped by prostitutes, landlords, singers, and musi- cians. One of the Myπ-π (heavenly kings). Despite his ferocious appearance he is considered to be beneficial to humankind. Originally he was a deity of the Shin- gon and Tendai esoteric schools and represented love and desire for enlighten- ment and union with the Buddha. With time, desire was interpreted as carnal desire as well, and Aizen became patron of the “Floating World”: the evanescent world of the entertainer and prostitute, which, though decried incessantly in Buddhist thought and literature, was deeply embedded into actual life. Aizen is portrayed as having a red body and face, and six hands. These hold a bell, a five-pointed kongπ (a double-ended weapon representing diamond and thun- derbolt; see Weapons), an arrow, a bow, and a lotus bud. He has three eyes, one set vertically in the middle of his forehead, and his erect hair is topped by a shishi (q.v.), lion’s head. His expression is ferocious and angry. He represents passions con- quered, and subjugation of oneself, and one’s external enemies through self-control. During the second Mongol attack on Japan (1281) Aizen Myπ-π was invoked. He shot an arrow from his bow, which precipitated a tempest—the kamikaze— which sank the Mongol fleet. In addition to being the patron of entertainers, Aizen is also worshipped as patron of dyers and cloth sellers. The reason is a play on words between Aizen and aizome (dyeing with indigo). He is worshiped as such in the Nichiπ-ji tem- ple in Tokyo. See also Animals: shishi; Kamikaze; Weapons. References and further reading: Frank, Bernard. 1991. Le pantheon bouddhique au Japon. Paris: Collections d’Emile Guimet. Reunion des musees nationaux. AJISHIKITAKAHIKONE-NO-KAMI One of the many thunder deities. The son of ∏kuninushi, he is the tutelary deity of Kamo province. He was a friend of Ame-no-wakahiko, who had been dispatched Handbook of Japanese Mythology 110 by the heavenly deities to subdue the land. After Ame-no-wakahiko had been killed for rebelling against the heavenly kami’s orders, Ajishikitakahikone-no- kami arrived at the obsequies, but was mistaken by the dead deity’s parents for their son. Ajishikitakahikone, enraged at being confused with a polluting corpse, drew his sword and destroyed the funerary house, then left in high dudgeon. He is often portrayed as a baby (no doubt due to his outburst at the funeral) who, unable to sleep, is carried by his mother up and down a ladder in order to lull him to sleep. The sound of growing thunder is the result of his being pulled up and down the ladder. The same myth is told, of course, of the other thunder deities as well. See also Ame-no-wakahiko; Swords; Takemikazuchi-no-kami; Thunder Deities. References and further reading: Aston, William G., trans. 1956. Nihongi. London: Allen and Unwin. Philippi, Donald, trans. and ed. 1968. Kπjiki. Tokyo: Tokyo University Press. AMA-NO-UZUME The kami who enticed Amaterasu-π-mikami from her cave by dancing a lewd dance. Ama-no-uzume is one of the most active deities in Shintπ mythology. One of the most aggressive, powerful, and crafty of the deities, she features in many of the world foundation myths. When the sun goddess, incensed by the behavior of her brother, hid herself in a cave, it was Ama-no-uzume-no-mikoto who enticed her out. She bound up her sleeves and hair with sacred vines and carried a fan of sasa leaves (a grass similar to bamboo). Overturning a bucket, she stamped and danced upon it, then becoming possessed, she danced a lewd dance, exposing her breasts and genitals, causing the audience of worried kami to laugh out loud, thus enticing the solar deity from her hiding place. When Ninigi-no-mikoto was ready to descend from the Plain of Heaven to the Central Land of the Reed Plains, his way was blocked at the Eightfold Cross- roads by Sarutahiko-no-kami, an earth kami. Ama-no-uzume—considered a woman of great character and force—was dispatched by Amaterasu-π-mikami and Takamimusubi-no-kami to demand explanations and subdue him as neces- sary, which she promptly did. As a consequence, she became one of Ninigi’s advisers and companions in the descent to the land. As she had been the first to recognize Sarutahiko, Ninigi-no-mikoto commanded her to accompany Saru- tahiko home when the latter’s work as guide to the Central Land of the Reed Plains was done. Subsequently she became the ancestress of an important impe- rial clan and assumed the name of her protégé, Sarutahiko. It is possible, and some people hold, that they became man and wife. The accounts of her are a tes- timony to her determination and ruthlessness: Incensed by the sea cucumber’s Deities, Themes, and Concepts 111 [...]... Jewel Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press 133 1 34 Handbook of Japanese Mythology A doll of Daruma, Zen founder, peering out from an offering tray (Courtesy of the author) DARUMA The Japanese rendition of the name Boddhidarma, a Buddhist sage who brought a form of Buddhism to South China and became the founding saint of Zen Buddhism Most of the myths surrounding Daruma are of Chinese origin and in Chinese... Disappointed, however, by the vanity of the world, she entered a monastery, where she meditated upon Buddha Amida, praying for the reincarnation of her mother in the Pure Land of the West Years of austerity followed, during which she became a “living Buddha.” As she was at 129 130 Handbook of Japanese Mythology the end of a period of austerity, Amida Butsu appeared to her in the form of a nun, and, in response... the Japanese Cinderella, and a paragon of the virtue of filial devotion Born, according to the story, on the eighteenth day of the eighth month of the eighteenth year of emperor Shπmu’s reign ( 747 ), she was the daughter of an imperial minister and his wife, a royal princess Childless, they appealed to Kannon and were granted a daughter in exchange for the life of one of the parents At the age of three... Tokyo Press McCullough, Helen Craig, trans 1988 The Tale of the Heike Stanford: Stanford University Press 125 126 Handbook of Japanese Mythology — — 1966 Yoshitsune: A Fifteenth-Century Japanese Chronicle (Gikeiki) Stan— ford: Stanford University Press Ouwehand, Cornelius 19 64 Namazu-e and Their Themes: An Interpretative Approach to Some Aspects of Japanese Religion Leiden, the Netherlands: E J Brill Sieffert,... the Japan of warrior virtues The Ch∆shingura embodied the virtues of bushidπ, the Warrior’s Way, which was formulated during the Edo-period peacetime It provided some of the underpinnings of the blind ferocity and loyalty exalted by the Imperial Japanese Army during the lengthy years of the Pacific War (circa 1936 to 1 945 , and including World War II) The story of the forty-seven rπnin is one of three... Sea, Daigenshuri—who 131 132 Handbook of Japanese Mythology had boarded the ship unknown to the sage—calmed the storms and insured that the Zen idea would reach the shores of Japan safely Daigenshuri is thus portrayed in the dress of a Chinese magistrate, with a tall hat, symbol of his rank One of his hands is shading his eyes, indicating his dual responsibility as guardian of the Law and as a navigator... held aloft a large rock to crush his challenger: The rock can still be seen today 123 1 24 Handbook of Japanese Mythology Temple bell (Courtesy of the author) Because of his wildness and perhaps his huge appetite, he was made a novice at Enryakuji temple on Mt Hiei (thus his familiar surname—Musashibπ, or “Priest Musashi”), where he studied to be a yamabushi Eventually he became a sπhei, one of the... See also Jizπ; J∆ rokurakan; Kannon; Kπbπ Daishi 127 128 Handbook of Japanese Mythology References and further reading: Frank, Bernard 1991 Le pantheon bouddhique au Japon Paris: Collections d’Emile Guimet Reunion des musées nationaux Statler, Oliver 19 84 Japanese Pilgrimage London: Picador BISHAMON-TEN One of the Shichi Fukujin (seven gods of good fortune), Bishamon-ten is depicted as an armored warrior... Making in Japanese Industry.” Tokyo: Sophia University Business Series 132 Philippi, Donald, trans and ed 1968 Kπjiki Tokyo: Tokyo University Press Rohlen, Thomas P 19 74 For Harmony and Strength: Japanese White Collar Organization in Anthropological Perspective Berkeley: University of California Press ATAGO-GONGEN The guardian deity of Mt Atago, north of Kyoto, protective deity of fire and of protection... capital of Heian-kyπ (now Kyoto), was the haunt of tengu (goblins), particularly a very powerful one named Tarπbπ During the reign of Emperor Monmu (701–7 04) , the sages En-no-Gyπja, founder of the Shugendπ syncretic sect, and Taichπ, founder of the Hakusan Shugendπ monastery, were ordered to clear the mountain of the goblins Tarπbπ surrendered to the two sages and promised to become the protector of the . C.E.) Kofun Period Construction of 40 0 C.E.–593 kofun monumental tombs. Expansion of Yamato state. Introduction of 552 or 538 Buddhism from Korea. King of Paekche sends 545 image of Miroku-butsu to. are in evidence, nor is the land of Yπmi a place of punishment. Yπmi is merely a place of utter pollution from which no one returns. Handbook of Japanese Mythology 1 04 Chronology: Historical and. of the mythical topography. The realm of the heavenly kami, Takamagahara (Plain of Heaven), overar- ches the realm of the earth. Within heaven lie the halls of the various gods, Handbook of Japanese