Introduction
Myths and legends played a vital role in the progression of culture of the great civilizations of in the ancient world. In today’s ideological contemporaries, the role of myths to a specific culture fascinated scholars for ages and several theoretical approaches were attributed to understanding the context of myths. In this discussion Eastern mythology will be explored specifically the myth of the creation of the universe and Japan. Exploring the mythological context of creation employs the feminist and anthropological theoretical underpinnings. In addition, referencing other literatures to explain how the Japanese society makes use of the myth, its relation to the Japanese culture, and the involvement of the myth in today’s Japanese society. Understanding the myths of creation of the universe and Japan involves the feminist and anthropological theoretical principles.
How the Japanese makes use of the Myth
It is apparent that the myth surrounding the creation of the universe and the islands of Japan are considered narrations of both mytho-religious and supernatural. Given the strong attribution of the myth to the Japanese religion, it can be assumed that the myth of creation was embedded in the Japanese culture as a fundamental principle that governs the understanding of life and death among the Japanese society. In this regard, exploring the relationship of the myth to the Japanese way of life employs the principles of anthropological theories. According to Dorson (1963), the propagation of myths of creation such as the one involving the universe and Japan are materials of folklore in which rites and practices were rooted rather than a mere context of old literary tradition. From an anthropological point of view, the myth was part of a belief system spreading throughout the islands and later became a fundamental part of the folk religion. The Basic concepts in anthropology suggest that its theoretical underpinnings are essential to the study of human’s past and present.
In relation to the understanding of the Japanese past and present, the context of the myth of creation shares assimilates historical value in which the social structure of the past still remains potent and influential in the modern era. For instance, the accounts of the myths surrounding the creation of the universe and the islands are well represented in the Shinto Religion in Japan (Askew). In the myth of creation, the ancient gods Izanagi and Izanami are the propagators of creation. The two gods have created other gods particularly the god of the land where its divine power has created the bounties of the land (Rosenberg). One of the most valued among the creations of the land is rice, which is believed to be a gift from god Inari (Shibukawa). Even today’s modern Japanese society, rice plays a crucial role as a symbolic crop. These elements from the myth are highly attributed to the formation of the Japanese society and the same belief is still observed Japanese cultural practices, rituals, and religion.
Based on the similarities in naming the land of the gods as Shinkoku, it can be assumed that the inhabitants of the island considers the fundamental role of the gods in their daily life and the creation of everything in the land. Japan is one of the few countries in the world where the major religious belief was not totally influenced by outside faith such as Catholicism except Buddhism, which co-exist peacefully alongside Shinto. However, the Shinto faith constitutes the biggest influence that the myth of creation had on the Japanese culture. Being able to preserve the Shinto religion after more than two thousand of years, the Japanese demonstrates the example of a civilization and way of life attributed to the context of the myths. For instance, the commissioning of the Kojiki manuscripts by the Japanese imperial court is to show other kingdoms particularly the Chinese empire that the lineage of the Japanese people and the empire’s history dates back to the time of the gods. Hence, the Yamato Dynasty proved to the Chinese emperor that Japan is a sovereign kingdom that is not part of Chinese territories. This historical example provides the influence of the myth to the Japanese’ sense of national identity.
How the myth was developed alongside its culture
The myth of creation of the universe and Japan was developed and dated as old as Japan itself, but its source can be only associated to the written versions referred to as Kojiki was compiled for the imperial court. On the other hand, the other source of the myth was found in the Nihongi, which is also the basis of establishing the genealogy of the imperial family (Eyjólfsdóttir). Culturally, the Japanese has strongly attributed their values and religious faith on the remnants of the ancient myths. In fact, the sun goddess Amaterasu is believed to be the origin of the emperors. In addition, the culture in relation to the myth is intertwined by several beliefs leading to the way the Japanese society was structured even today. From the religion point of view, Shinto or the way of the gods is largely the native faith for the Japanese people and it is deeply rooted from traditions based on worship of ancestors and nature.
On the other hand, the culture and myth development involves gender specific roles, which can be explained through the principles of feminism. It is apparent that the rich cultural traditions of the Japanese is hierarchical and leadership is governed by the social and gender roles. The male dominates the society from emperors or shoguns to samurai culture, and other roles exclusive for males. However, the myths and feminist theory suggests not all aspect of the cultural development in Japan is not specific to the male gender. For instance, the myth of creation recalls that goddess Amaterasu was too beautiful to live on earth that’s why her parents Izanagi and Izanami raised her to the heavens to be the sun goddess. Apparently, the Shinto religion is centered on Amaterasu, the female goddess from which Emperors was believed have originated. In this sense, the cultural establishment of the Japanese society is not predominantly male oriented because the higher being attributed to the established socio-political structure is a goddess (Nakamara). In addition, patriarchal codes in cultural traditions were developed as contradicting interpretation of a natively feminine mythological belief.
The contradiction between the patriarchal society and feminine oriented Shinto religion originating from the myths in Japanese antiquity encompasses the varying conjunctures about the role of women the old Japanese society. In relation to the spiritual belief at the time, feminine presence are regarded in the Nihongi and Kojiki texts as the subject of worship as observed in the formation of the Shinto faith as strongly connected to the myths from Amaterasu to the myth of creation. This provides basis to the existence of femininity in the Japanese mythology constituting a matriarchal antiquity. At the same time, the myth surrounding Amaterasu and her parents paved the way for the birth of the Yamato dynasty in which a more patriarchal code has been introduced (Silva-Grondin). The instances in the historical accounts also provide the foundation of the Japanese culture in which the development was largely based on feminist spiritual belief system. Shinto as the fundamental religious system was established in conjunction to the myths of creation and at the same time the Shinto faith also became the cornerstone of Japan’s ancient cultural identity, which is still very potent even in today’s modern society.
Conclusion
The myths surrounding the creation of the universe and Japan encompasses can be better understood with through the theoretical concepts of anthropology and feminism. From the anthropological perspective, the myths are the fundamental principles behind the cultural identity of both the ancient and the modern Japanese society. In addition, the feminist view of the myth provides foundation of the Japanese Shinto religion.
References
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