Japanese mythology

In contrast, the Nihon Shoki states that the Kamiyonanayo group was the rst to appear after the creation of
the universe, as opposed to the Kamiyonanayo appearing
after the formation of heaven and earth. It also states that
the rst three generations of deities are hitorigami (individual deities) and that the later generations of deities are
Japanese mythology embraces Shinto and Buddhist tra- pairs of the opposite gender, as compared to the Kojiki's
ditions as well as agriculturally-based folk religion. The two generations of hitorigami.
Shinto

This is part of a series on

Culture of Japan
For the Japanese pantheon, see List of Japanese deities.
Japanese legendredirects here. For Japanese urban
legends, see Japanese urban legends.

pantheon comprises innumerable kami (Japanese for

"god(s)" or "spirits"). This article will discuss only
2 Kuniumi and Kamiumi
the typical elements present in Asian mythology, such
as cosmogony, important deities, and the best-known
Main articles: Kuniumi and Kamiumi
Japanese stories.
Japanese myths, as generally recognized in the mainstream today, are based what the Kojiki, the Nihon Shoki,
and some complementary books. The Kojiki, orRecord
of Ancient Matters, is the oldest surviving account of
Japan's myths, legends and history. The Shintsh describes the origins of Japanese deities from a Buddhist
perspective, while the Hotsuma Tsutae records a substantially dierent version of the mythology.* [1]

Japan's creation narrative can be divided into the birth of

the deities (Kamiumi) and the birth of the land (Kuniumi).

The seventh and last generation of Kamiyonanayo were

Izanagi no Mikoto (Exalted Male) and Izanami no
Mikoto (Exalted Female),* [3] and they would be responsible for the creation of the Japanese archipelago and
*
*
One notable feature of Japanese mythology is its explana- would engender other deities. [4] [5]
tion of the origin of the Imperial Family, which has been To help them to achieve this, Izanagi and Izanami were
used historically to assign godhood to the imperial line. given a naginata decorated with jewels, named AmeThe title of the Emperor of Japan, tenn (), means no-nuboko (Heavenly Jeweled Spear). The two
heavenly sovereign.
deities then went to the bridge between heaven and earth,
Note: Japanese is not transliterated consistently across all Amenoukihashi (Floating Bridge of Heaven) and
churned the sea below with the halberd. Drops of salty
sources, see: #Spelling of proper nouns
water formed the island, Onogoro (self-forming).
The deities descended from the bridge of heaven and
made their home on the island. Eventually, they fell in
1 Creation myth
love and wished to mate. So they built a pillar called
Amenomihashira around which they built a palace called
Yashirodono (the hall whose area is 8 arms' length
Main article: Japanese creation myth
squared). Izanagi and Izanami circled the pillar in opposite directions, and when they met on the other side,
In the Japanese creation myth, the rst deities which came Izanami, the female deity, spoke rst in greeting. Izanagi
into existence, appearing at the time of the creation of the didn't think that this was proper, but they mated anyuniverse, are collectively called Kotoamatsukami.
way. They had two children, Hiruko (leech child)
Later, the seven generations of kami, known as and Awashima (pale island), but the children were
Kamiyonanayo (Seven Generations of the Age of the badly formed and are not considered gods in their origiGods"), emerged, following the formation of heaven and nal form. (Hiruko later became the Japanese god, Ebisu.)
earth.* [2]
The parents, who were dismayed at their misfortune, put
The rst two generations are individual deities called
hitorigami, while the ve that followed came into being
as male/female pairs of kami: brothers and sisters that
were also married couples. In this chronicle, the Kamiyonanayo comprise 12 deities in total.* [2]

the children into a boat and sent them to sea, and then petitioned the other gods for an answer about what they had
done wrong. They were informed that Izanami's lack of
manners was the reason for the defective births: a woman
should never speak prior to a man; the male deity should
1

have spoken rst in greeting during the ceremony.* [6] So

Izanagi and Izanami went around the pillar again, and this
time, when they met, Izanagi spoke rst. Their next union
was successful.

SUN, MOON AND SEA

and life. Quickly, he searched for Izanami and found her.

At rst, Izanagi could not see her for she was well hidden in the shadows. Nevertheless, he asked her to return
with him. Izanami spat at Izanagi and informed him that
he was too late. She had already eaten the food of the
underworld and now belonged to the land of the dead.
Izanagi was shocked at this news, but he refused to give
in to her wishes to be left to the dark embrace of Yomi.
Izanami agreed to return to the world but rst requested
to have some time to rest. She instructed Izanagi to not
come into her bedroom. After a long wait, Izanami did
not come out of her bedroom, and Izanagi was worried.
While Izanami was sleeping, he took the comb that bound
his long hair and set it alight as a torch. Under the sudden
burst of light, he saw the horrid form of the once beautiful
and graceful Izanami. The esh of her ravaged body was
rotting and was overrun with maggots and foul creatures.

Crying out loud, Izanagi could no longer control his fear

and started to run, intending to return to the living and to
abandon his death-ridden wife. Izanami woke up shriekFrom their union were born the yashima, or the eight
ing and indignant and chased after him. Izanami ingreat islands of Japan:
structed the shikome, or foul women, hunt for the frightened Izanagi and to bring him back.
Awaji
Izanagi, thinking quickly, hurled his headdress, which be Iyo (later Shikoku)
came a bunch of black grapes. The shikome fell on these
but continued pursuit. Next, Izanagi threw his comb,
Oki
which became a clump of bamboo shoots. Now it was
Yomi's creatures that began to give chase, but Izanagi
Tsukushi (later Kysh)
urinated against a tree and created a great river that in Iki
creased his lead. Unfortunately, the shikome still pursued
Izanagi, who began to hurl peaches at them. He knew that
Tsushima
this would not delay them for long, but he was nearly free,
for the boundary of Yomi was now close at hand.
Sado
Yamato (later Honsh)
Note that Hokkaid, Chishima and Okinawa
were not part of Japan in ancient times.

Izanagi burst through the entrance and quickly pushed a

boulder to the entrance of Yomi. Izanami screamed from
behind this barricade and told Izanagi that, if he left her,
she would destroy 1,000 living people every day. He furiously replied that he would give life to 1,500.

And so began the existence of Death, caused by the hands

Izanami died giving birth to Kagutsuchi (incarnation of
of the proud Izanagi, and his abandoned wife Izanami.
re), also called Homusubi (causer of re) due to severe
burns. She was then buried on Mount Hiba, at the border
of the old provinces of Izumo and Hoki, near modern-day
Yasugi of Shimane Prefecture. In anger, Izanagi killed 4 Sun, moon and sea
Kagutsuchi. His death also created dozens of deities.
As could be expected, Izanagi went on to purify himself
The gods who were born from Izanagi and Izanami are
after recovering from his descent to Yomi. As he unsymbolic aspects of nature and culture.* [7]
dressed and removed the adornments of his body, each
item that he dropped to the ground formed a deity. Even
more gods came into being when he went to the water
3 Izanagi in the underworld
to wash himself. The most important ones were created
once he washed his face:
Izanagi lamented the death of Izanami and undertook a
journey to Yomi (the shadowy land of the dead).
Amaterasu (incarnation of the sun) from his left eye,
Izanagi found little dierence between Yomi and the land
Tsukuyomi (incarnation of the moon) from his right
above, except for the eternal darkness. However, this sufeye, and
focating darkness was enough to make him ache for light

3
Susanoo (incarnation of storms) from his nose.
Izanagi went on to divide the world between them with
Amaterasu inheriting the heavens, Tsukuyomi taking
control of the night and moon and the storm god Susanoo
owning the seas.* [8] In some versions of the myth, Susanoo rules not only the seas but also all elements of a
storm, including snow and hail, and, in rare cases, even
sand.

Amaterasu and Susanoo

See also: Solar deity Missing sun

Amaterasu, the powerful sun goddess of Japan, is the
most well-known deity of Japanese mythology. Her feuding with Susanoo, her uncontrollable brother, however, is
equally infamous and appears in several tales. One story
tells about Susanoo's wicked behavior toward Izanagi,
who, tired of Susanoo's repeated complaints, banishes
him to Yomi. Susanoo grudgingly acquiesces, but has
rst to attend some unnished business. He goes to
Takamagahara (heaven) to bid farewell to his sister, Amaterasu. Amaterasu knows that her unpredictable Torii at Ama-no-Iwato Shrine, Takachiho, Miyazaki Prefecture
brother does not have good intentions and is prepared for
battle.For what purpose do you come here?" asks Amaterasu. To say farewell,answers Susanoo.
cave, which is sealed with a shimenawa. Surrounded by
But she does not believe him and requests a contest for merriment, Amaterasu's depression disappears, and she
proof of his good faith. A challenge is set as to who can agrees to return with her light. Uzume is then known as
bring forth more noble and divine children. Amaterasu the kami of dawn as well as of mirth.
creates three women from Susanoo's sword, while Susanoo makes ve men from Amaterasu's ornament chain.
Amaterasu claims the title to the ve are attributed to Su6 Susanoo and Orochi
sanoo.
Both gods declare themselves to be victorious. Amaterasu's insistence in her claim drives Susanoo to violent
campaigns that reach their climax when he hurls a halfayed pony (an animal sacred to Amaterasu) into Amaterasu's weaving hall and causes the death of one of her
attendants. Amaterasu, angered by the display, hides in
the cave called Iwayado. As the sun goddess disappears
into the cave, darkness covers the world.
All of the gods and goddesses strive to coax Amaterasu
out of the cave, but she ignores them all. Finally, the
kami of merriment, Ame-no-Uzume, hatches a plan. She
places a large bronze mirror on a tree, facing Amaterasu's
cave. Then, Uzume clothes herself in owers and leaves,
overturns a washtub and begins to dance upon it, drumming the tub with her feet. Finally, Uzume sheds the
leaves and owers and dances naked. All of the male
gods roar with laughter, and Amaterasu becomes curious.
When she peeks outside, a ray of light called dawn
escapes and Amaterasu is dazzled by the beautiful goddess that she sees, this being her own reection in the
mirror. The god, Ameno-Tajikarawo, pulls her from the

Susanoo, exiled from heaven, comes to Izumo Province

(now part of Shimane Prefecture). It is not long before he
meets an old man and an old woman sobbing beside their
daughter. The old couple explain that they originally had
eight daughters who were devoured, one after the other,
by the dragon, Yamata no Orochi
( eight-forked serpent
, who is said to originate from Kosinow Hokuriku region). The terrible dragon had eight heads and eight tails,
stretched over eight hills, and is said to have eyes as red as
good wine.* [9] Kushinada-hime (rice paddy princess
) was the last of the eight daughters.
Susanoo, who knew about the old couple's relation to
Amaterasu, oers his assistance in return for their beautiful daughter's hand in marriage. The parents accept, and
Susanoo transforms Kushinada into a comb and hides her
safely in his hair.* [10] He also orders a large fence-like
barrier to be built around the house. The fence has eight
gates, with eight tables placed at each gate and eight casks
placed on each table. Each cask is lled with eight-timesbrewed rice wine.

Orochi arrives and nds his path blocked. After boasting about his prowess, he nds that he cannot get through
the barrier. His keen sense of smell takes in the sake
which Orochi lovesand the eight heads are now faced
with a problem. They want to drink the delicious sake,
yet the fence blocks access to the sake. One head suggests that they simply smash the barrier, but that would
knock over the sake. Another proposed that they combine their ery breath and burn the fence to ash, but then
the sake would evaporate. The heads begin to search for
an opening. They nd the hatches, and, eager for the sake,
they wish to poke their heads through to drink it. Yet, the
eighth head, which is the wisest, warns his brethren about
the folly of such an act and volunteers to go through rst to
ensure that all is well. Susanoo waits for his chance. He
allows the head to drink some sake in safety and to report to the others that there is no danger. All eight heads
plunge through the hatches and greedily drink every drop
of the sake.
As the heads nish, Susanoo launches his attack on
Orochi. Drunken from drinking so much sake, the great
serpent is no match for the spry Susanoo who decapitates
and slays Orochi. A nearby river is said to have turned
red with the blood of the defeated serpent. As Susanoo
cuts the dragon into pieces, he nds an excellent sword
from a tail of the dragon that his sword had been unable to cut. The sword is later presented to Amaterasu
and named Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi (,
Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven, which was
later called Kusanagi,Grass Cutter* [11]). This sword
was to feature prominently in many other tales.

Prince kuninushi

NINIGI'S DESCENT TO THE MIDDLE WORLD

ing province, when the group encountered a rabbit who

has been ayed (by crocodile-sh, usually interpreted as
sharks) and lying in agony upon a sea shore. In a wickedhearted gesture, they advise the rabbit to bathe in the
briny sea and blow himself dry in the wind. The rabbit
nds himself in worse agony. namuji, who came lagging behind, takes pity on the creature and tells it to wash
himself in fresh water, then roll in the scattered eece
of the cattail plants. The cured rabbit makes a divined
prediction that namuji will be the one to win Princess
Yakami,though thou bearest the bag,* [12] (Evidently
his brother was treating him as a luggage carrier).

7.2 Princess Suseri

As the hare predicted, Princess Yakami pronounces her
choice of namuji for husband before the eighty gods,
and they all conspire and kill him twice over. His mother
petitions Kamimusubi, one of the creator deities, and resuscitates him each time, nally sending him o to seek
Susanoo who has been banished to the Netherworld (Neno-kuni), and to obtain his wise counsel.
Here namuji meets face to face with Susanoo's daughter Suseri-hime and they immediately marry. The crafty
Susanoo tests namuji several times, but, in the end, Susanoo approves of the young boy and foretells namuji's
victory over his brothers.
Although the Yamato tradition attributes the creation of
the Japanese islands to Izanagi and Izanami, the Izumo
tradition claims that namuji, along with a dwarf god
called Sukunabiko, contribute to, or at least nish, the
creation of the Japanese islands.

Mostly known by his nickname kuninushi, namuji

was a descendant of Susanoo, and represented the power 8 Ninigi's descent
structure localized in the Izumo area. kuninushi's peoWorld
ple succeeded in unifying territory to some measure, but
later relinquished control to the Yamato-based clans, as
Main article: Tenson krin
described in the Tenson krin chapter, below.

7.1

kuninushi helps the white hare

Main article: Hare of Inaba

A tale of how the merciful kuninushi helped the beleaguered rabbit or hare is of enduring fame, and often told
as a sort of a Mukashibanashi oronce upon a time tale
. It is found in Kojiki but not recorded in the Nihongi
.
kuninushi (at the time he was just namuji without the
august nickname) and his brothers, eighty gods altogether
were rival suitors courting Princess Yakami/Yagami (
) of Inaba to become his wife. They started out
of their homeland of Izumo headed for the neighbor-

to the Middle

In the Nihongi here begins the section entitled Age of

the Gods: Part II* [13] (kamiyo ge-kan ()).
The episode of the Tenson krin ( Descent
of the Heavenly Grandson) begins with description of
how the heavenly gods (Ama-tsu-kami) who dwelled in
the Heavenly Plains (Takama-ga-hara) peered down upon
the earth below (known by the stilted name Ashihara no
Nakatsukuni (Reedy Plains Middle World).
It represents Japan, not the whole world), and dispatched
various members of their own kind to subjugate it. Amaterasu had decreed her own grandson Ninigi to rule over
the terrestrial world, but the terrestrial gods (kuni-tsukami) were not altogether willing to hand it over, and odd
sorts of terrestrial gods were still lurking about making it
too dangerous.

5
Some of the gods rst appointed to quell the middle world 10 Luck of the Sea and Luck of the
were derelict in their mission, or joined leagues with the
Mountains
terrestrial gods. After several false starts, two gods were
nally successful. They were Ame-no-ohabari (aka Itsuno-ohabari; elsewhere this kami is said to be a sword) Main articles: Hoderi and Hoori
and Takemikazuchi. They embarked aboard the Ame- Ninigi's elder son Hoderi orFire-Shinehad the gift of
no-torifune orDeity Heavenly-Bird-Boat* [14] to their
military campaign. These two sabre-rattling deities were
able to frighten kuninushi's two sons into ight, causing
kuninushi to abdicate and relinquish the territories to
the Heavenly Grandson.* [15]
Amaterasu was now able to decree the Tenson krin (
Descent of the Heavenly Grandson), also referred to as amori, amakudari ( descent from
heaven), installing her grandson to rule over the terrestrial middle world. She endowed him the Three Sacred
Treasures (Imperial Regalia of Japan):* [16]* [17]
the necklace Yasakani no magatama (now in the
Imperial Palace in Tokyo);
the mirror Yata no kagami (now in the Grand Shrine
of Ise); and
the sword Kusanagi (now in the Atsuta Shrine in
Nagoya).
The mirror was to be worshipped as a representation of
Amaterasu. A number of deities were made to make the
descent at this time.
Ninigi and his company went down to the earth and came
to Himuka (Hyga province, today's Miyazaki prefecture), there he founded his palace.

Ninigi's marriage

Ninigi met Konohanasakuya-hime (symbol of owers),

the daughter of Yamatsumi (master of mountains), and
they fell in love. Ninigi asked Yamatsumi for his daughter's hand. The father was delighted and oered both
of his daughters, Iwanaga (symbol of rocks) and Sakuya
(symbol of owers). However, Ninigi married only
Sakuya and refused Iwanaga.
Iwanaga is blessed with eternity and Sakuya with prosperity, Yamatsumi said in regret,by refusing Iwanaga,
your life will be brief from now on. Consequently,
Ninigi and his descendants became mortal.
Sakuya conceived by a night and Ninigi doubted her. To
prove legitimacy of her children, Sakuya swore by her
luck and took a chance; she set re to her room when she
had given birth to her three babies. By this, Ninigi knew
her chastity. The names of the children were Hoderi, Ho- Luck of the Mountains meets Toyotama,in Wadatsumi no Iroko
no Miya, painting by Shigeru Aoki (1907), Ishibashi Museum
suseri and Howori.

11 MYTHICAL LEGENDS OF EMPERORS

the bounty of the sea, and gained his livelihood by shing 11

(and bore the nickname Umisachihiko or Luck of the
Sea). The younger son Howori orFire-Fadehad the
11.1
gift of the bounty of the mountains, and was a hunter (and
nicknamed Yamasachihiko orLuck of the Mountains
).* [18]* [19]* [20]

Mythical legends of Emperors

First Emperor Jimmu

One day, Luck of the Mountains asked his elder brother

Luck of the Sea to exchange their tools and swap places
for a day. He wanted to try his bid at shing. But he did
not catch a single sh, and worse, he lost his borrowed
shhook. To make amends, he shattered the very sword
he was wearing to make a hundred, then a thousand hooks
to replace what he lost, but the elder brother would accept
nothing but the original shhook.
Luck of the Mountains was sitting on a beach balefully
weeping, there came to his aid Shiotsuchi-no-oji (one of
the deities now enshrined at Shiogama Jinja* [21]). The
tide god built him a small ship described as being manashikatsuma (, basket without
interstices), and sent him on a journey to the sh-scaled
palace of the Watatsumi (Sea God, often conceived of
as a dragon-god). There he had a fateful meeting with
the Sea God's daughter Princess Toyotama, and married
her. After three years, he remembered his brother and
his shhook, and was longing to return home.
Watatsumi gathered his piscean minions, and soon the
shhook was found in the throat of a bream (tai) and
restored to Luck of the Mountains. The Sea God also
imparted two magical balls: Shihomitsutama (
Tide-owing ball) which could cause a ood, and Shihohirutama ( Tide-ebbing ball) which could
cause water to recede and dry up. And he gave additional
strategic advice to gain advantage from his contentious
elder brother. So riding on a fathom-long crocodile-sh
or shark (hitohiro-wani ()), they returned to dry
land.* [22]
The pregnant Princess Toyotama built a cormorant
feather-thatched maternity house and pleaded her husband for privacy, as she would be reverting to her true
shape while delivering her child. But Howori (Luck of the
Mountains) was overcome with curiosity, and peeped inside to discover her transformed into a crawling 8-fathom
croc-sh(shark, dragon* [23]), and scuttered away in
fright. Ashamed and disgusted by her husband's breach
of trust, she abandoned the newborn and returned to sea.
The infant prince was named Ugaya meaningcormorant
house.

Tenn Jimmu detail 01

The rst legendary Emperor of Japan, best known by his

posthumous name of Emperor Jimmu* [24](Transition
from Age of the Gods to Human Age),* [25] was referred
to in the records by the title of Iwarebiko (
/ Kamu-yamato Iware-biko nomikoto). He is the son of Ugaya, descendent of Ninigi,
Ugaya married his aunt, the sea princess Tamayori and and the sea princess Tamayori. His given name was Hikohad ve children, including Yamatobiko, who was later hohodemi.
to become Emperor Jimmu. In the Nihongi, the Age With claimed descendent from sun-goddess Amaterasu
of the Gods(kamiyo ()) section ends here, and is through Ninigi, Emperor Jimmu launched an expedition
followed by sections under the titles of the reigns of each to capture Yamato.
Emperor.
After taking control of Yamato province, he established
the imperial throne and acceded in the year of kanototori
(conventionally dated to 660 B.C.). His pedigree is summarized as follows.

11.5

Kami of Japanese sweets

Izanagi is born of his own accord.

Amaterasu is born from the left eye of Izanagi.

7
Nomi no Sukune to bury clay gurines called haniwa instead of live men.* [34]* [35]

Oshihomimi is born from an ornament of Amaterasu.

Ninigi is a son of Oshihomimi and Akizushi.
Howori is a son of Ninigi and Sakuya.
Ugaya is a son of Howori and Toyotama.
Iwarebiko is a son of Ugaya and Tamayori.

11.2

11.5 Kami of Japanese sweets

Main article: Tajimamori
The Kojiki reports that during the reign of the 11th

Jimmu's conquest of the east

Further details: Jimmu's conquest of the east

The descendants of Ninigi, including Jimmu, were rooted
in Himuka Myth Road of the Hyga province (today
Takachiho, Miyazaki Prefecture).
After Jimmu's death, an elder prince named Tagishishimi
(who was not rst in line as successor) moved to consolidate power under him while everyone else was in mourning, and plotted to slay his two younger half-brothers.
The plot was suppressed, and the younger prince who had
the courage to pluck the bow and shoot Tagishishimi fatally was cede the crown to become the next emperor,
Suizei.* [26]* [27]

11.3

Eight undocumented monarchs

Further details: Eight undocumented monarchs

Of the eight emperors who succeeded Jimmu, there is
very little record of their deeds, so they are described
collectively under Book III of Nihon Shoki. Regarding Citrus tachibana
Emperor Suizei, the foregoing description of how he suppressed his elder brother's insurrection. And for the other
emperor Suinin, a man named Tajimamori was sent to
legendary rulers, not much more than their genealogy is
Tokoyo-no-kuni ( Eternal Land) in a quest
*
*
given. [28] [29]
for the tokijiku-no-kaku-no-konomi (
The 10th, Sujin* [30]* [31] and 11th emperor Suinin , fruit of the everlasting
are discussed under their own books of Nihon fragrant tree).* [36] He was able to gather eight vineShoki.* [32]* [33]
like trees and eight spear-like trees. But by the time he
returned, the Emperor was dead. The Kojiki identies the
fruit as the tachibana, a type of small, sour citrus.

11.4

Human sacrice and haniwa

Tajimamori has later been hailed as the Kami of wagashi

revered at Nakashima
Nihon shoki (Suinin 28; 2 B.C.) states that when his un- (Japanese confection and sweets),
*
in
Toyooka,
Hygo,
[37]
though this is little
Shrine
cle died, all his closer retainers were buried around in
known
trivia
to
the
average
Japanese.
perimeter around the kofun tumulus, but their wailings
could be heard for days. (Note: the word junshi ( The Nihon shoki dates Tajimamori's travel to Suinin 90
) also includes such deaths compelled upon retainers. (purportedly 61 A.D.), and makes him out to be the greatcf. similar forced sacricial burials were evidenced from grandson of Amenohiboko, a Korean prince who came
Shang Dynasty grave sites in China.) This emperor al- to Japan just two years earlier.* [32]* [38] However this is
legedly decided this practice was cruel and must cease; anachronistic according to Kojiki, which places Amenoand, four years later, he adopted the idea forwarded by hiboko in a much later era.

14

11.6

Yamato Takeru

Main article: Yamato Takeru

SEE ALSO

13 Spelling of proper nouns

Spelling of proper nouns

Much of the book of the 12th Emperor Keik is taken up Many deities appear in Japanese mythology, and many of
by the heroic deeds of his prince, Yamato Takeru.
them have multiple aliases. Furthermore, some of their
names are comparatively long. This article therefore lists
only the most prominent names, and gives them in one of
12 Creatures
their abbreviated forms, other abbreviated forms are also
in use.
See List of legendary creatures from Japan for a broad (For
instance,
Ninigi,
or
Ame-Nigishikunispectrum of creatures potentially classiable as being Nigishiamatsuhiko-Hikono-no-Ninigi-no-Mikoto
in
mythological creatures. Ykai or animals that interact full, may also be abbreviated as Hikoho-no-Ninigi or
with humans in Japanese folklore are discussed in those Hono-Ninigi.)
pages.
In some parts of this article, proper names are written
in a historical manner. In this article, underlined h, y,
It is probably more typical to nd lists of items and and w denote silent letters; they are omitted from modweapons that appear in the Japanese mythology. How- ern spelling. Other syllables are modernized as follows
ever, here is a tentative list of creatures:
(see also Japanese romanization systems). Note that some
blend of these conventions is also often used.
(Creatures in mythological tracts)
Yamata no Orochi, the eight-headed serpent,
discussed above.
The rabbit aided by kuninushi, and the wani
(crocodile, modern scholars assume it to be a type
of shark) that ayed it.
Yatagarasu, a three-legged crow which guided the
way to Emperor Jimmu. (In China, such a bird
is said to dwell in the sun, and may be related to
sunspots; cf. Moon rabbit)
Kinshi, blindingly bright golden kite that aided
Jimmu; it may be a double of the crow.
Watatsumi, sea god, often called Ryjin or Dragon
God.
Yato-no-kami
(Creatures in legendary tracts)

hu is modernized as fu.
zi and di are modernized as ji. (distinction disappeared)
oo is modernized as o or oh.
For instance, various spellings of Ohonamuji
include Oonamuji, Ohnamuji, and others.

14 See also
Ainu mythology
Kami
Kamui
Okami
Fukujin luck deities

Mizuchi
Nanase Haruka, 2nd sea god, often depicted as a
dolphin.
(Creatures associated with Shinto deities)

Hsshin demon
Japanese Buddhism
Japanese folklore
Japanese mythology in popular culture

the Oni folklore legend

Japanese urban legends

namazu or Giant Catsh; said to dwell underground causing earthquakes, said to be quelled by
the god Takemikazuchi

Shinto

Shinigami, a Japanese god of death.

Yurei

Yokai

15

Bibliography

[15] Takeda 1977, p.59-62

[16] Takeda 1977, p.64

Primary sources
Chamberlain, Basil Hall (1919).
Kadokawa. sacred texts

The Kojiki.

Takeda, Yukichi() (1977). Shintei

Kojiki(

). Kadokawa. ISBN 4-04400101-4., annotated Japanese.

Aston, William George (1896). Nihongi: Chronicles
of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. 1.
London: Japan Society.
Ujiya, Tsutomu( ) (1988). Nihon
shoki (
). . Kodansha. ISBN 9780-8021-5058-5., modern Japanese translation.
Secondary sources
Komukai, Shoji(), ed. (1992).
(Shinto no hon). Books Esoterica. 2. Gakken.(
66951-07; T10-6695107-1000)

[17] Chamberlain 1919, p.120, " Herb-Quelling-GreatSword, etc.

[18] Keene, Donald (1955). Anthology of Japanese Literature.
Grove Press. ISBN 4-06-158833-8., p.54, citing Kojiki
XXXIX-XLII.
[19] Takeda 1977, p.66-74 (old Ja.); p. 250-7 (modern Ja.)
[20] Aston 1896, Nihongi, p.88-9 (birth of Ho-no-susumi and
Ho-no-ori) [formal names of the gods dier in the Nihongi] p.92- (Luck of the Sea and Luck of the Mountains
story)
[21] Komukai 1992,p.202
[22] Takeda 1977, Kojiki, p.71,255; Nihongi (Ujiya 1988) does
not mention the animal as sending him back, but involves the 1-hiro croc and 8-hiro croc-sh when he initially reached the Sea God's realm. Aston 1896's Englished Nihongi either emended the passage to conform
with Kojiki or followed a dierent manuscript.
[23] Aston 1896 tr. as dragon

16

References

[1] A Brief History Of The Immortals Of Non-Hindu Civilizations. Aryavart Sanatan Vahini 'Dharmraj'. p. 21. ISBN
9781329586079.
[2] Chamberlain 2008, p. 72

[24] Fairchild, 1965, p. 94.

[25] Metevelis, Peter (1983). A Reference Guide to the Nihonshoki Myths, Asian Folklore Studies. Vol 52, No 2,
p. 3838.
[26] Ujiya 1988, p.111-3

[3] Yang, Je, Dina Gan and Terry Hong. Eastern Standard
Time. p. 222. Metro East Publications, 1997.

[27] Aston 1896, p.138-141

[4] Chamberlain 2008, p. 75

[28] Ujiya 1988, Book IV, p.111-120

[5] Chamberlain 2008, p. 77

[29] Aston 1896, Book IV, p.138-149

[6] Yang, 2005, p.222.

[7] Japanese creation myth. Public wsu. Retrieved 20
January 2016.
[8] Kelsey, W. Michael (1983). Untitled, Asian Folklore
Studies Vol 42, No 1, p. 1423.

[30] Ujiya 1988, Book V, p.121-133

[31] Aston 1896, Book V, p.150-164
[32] Ujiya 1988, Book VI, p.134-151

[9] Littleton, C. Scott, (May 1983). Some Possible [33] Aston 1896, Book VI, p.165-183
Arthurian Themes in Japanese Mythology and Folklore
, Journal of Folklore Research. Vol 20, No 1, p.6781.
[34] Ujiya 1988, pp.145[10] Fairchild, William (1965).Mika: Jar Deities in Japanese
Mythology, Asian Folklore Studies. Vol. 24, No 1, p.
81101.

[35] Aston 1896, pp.178[36] Chamberlain 1919, Sect. LXXIV, p.245- ""

[11] Littleton, 1983, p. 72.

[13] Aston 1896, pp. 64108

[37] Tobe, Tamio() (2004). [

]

(preview). PHP . ISBN 978-456963978-9.,p.45

[14] Chamberlain 1919, p.121

[38] Aston 1896, Book VI, p.165-187

[12] Chamberlain 1919, p.82

10

17

17

External links

Kojiki, Records of Ancient Matters:

Takeru Slays the Kumaso Brothers

Yamato-

Romance stories from old Japan, pre-1919Free to

read and full text search.
A Multilingual Electronic Text Collection of
Folk Tales for Casual Users Using O-the-Shelf
Browsers

EXTERNAL LINKS

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