Essays on Izanagi

The Japanese culture and mythology reflects back to ancient times and just like the Christian creation story, they too have their own creation story. They believe that the world did not just appear and become what it is today as we see it. Instead, they believe that there were powerful sources that are responsible for the creation of heavens, the earth and oceans. Interestingly, Japan has a unique myth about the creation of each of her islands. Although its history has gone through a lot of dynamism and change, including various cultural aspects, the islands have maintained their religious ...

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 ...

Shintoism and Buddhism in Japanese History

Before the spread of today’s religion, the early civilizations had different views as to how they could explain the things around them. Some would say it is the work of spirits who dwell upon plants, animals and inanimate objects while others believe in the intervention of divine beings who created the world prior to mankind. While some of these early beliefs have been forgotten in favor of newer religions, there are countries where early beliefs played heavily in the formation of the nation and even triggered a conflict to occur when a new religion was introduced to the ...