5 Famous Japanese Legends 有名な日本の説話

Des mythes appréciés de tous les Japonais

Les légendes sont depuis tout temps un moyen de rationaliser le monde et d'apporter des explications aux us et coutumes d'une culture. Que ce soit sur l'origine de l'univers, l'établissement politique du pays, ou la naissance de festivités encore célébrées aujourd'hui, les mythes suivants ont façonné la cosmogonie japonaise et font partie intégrante du folklore local.

 

The history of the creation of Japan goes back to the time when the universe was in chaos and the birth when the children of the first gods were born. Among them, Izanagi and his sister and the wife, Izanami were ordered to organize the world.

Shortly after the invention of their fertility ritual, several kami (Japanese deities) and islands were born from the union of the two gods, including the Japanese archipelago and some major deities of Shintoism such as the god of fire, Kagutsuchi (or Homasubi).

The birth of the latter is also a fundamental element of the story since Izanami died of burns from childbirth and went to the kingdom of the dead. The sequel recalls the myth of Orpheus.

Izanagi, saddened by the disappearance of his wife, travels to the underworld to try to bring her back to life. 

Izanami et Izanagi

Izanami and Izanagi

Wikimedia

Back in the world, the god made ablutions to heal his wounds. This is how, according to legend, the purification ritual, still used today in Shinto rites was born.

Stains from which he purified himself were then born from other deities highly honored in Japan, such as the sun goddess Amaterasu, the god of storms Susanoo, and Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon.

Ema at an Amaterasu shrine

Flick/ jmurawski

Literally "Divine Power", Jinmu would be a direct descendant of the gods since he would be the great-great-great-grandson of Amaterasu.

His grandfather, the great-great-grandson of the goddess, would have married Princess Toyotama, the daughter of Owatatsumi, the god of the sea and brother of Amaterasu, with whom he would have had a son. The latter would then have married his mother's sister with whom he would have had four children including the future Emperor Jinmu. A complicated family history, which serves as legitimacy that the Emperor Jinmu is a direct line as a contender to the throne of the Chrysanthemum for almost 14 centuries!

The Emperor would have received Amaterasu's three mythical objects allowing it to have absolute power over Japan: a magic mirror allowing him to see the entire Pacific islands, the Kusanagi sword to defeat its enemies, and the Magatama, a necklace to increase fertility. These three objects are said to be hidden today in three temples across the country, and the exact locations are said to have been kept secret by the imperial family for generations.

 

L'Empereur Jinmu

L'Empereur Jinmu

Wikimédia

Momotaro and his friends in Okayama

Flick/ jpellgen (@1179_jp)

Últimos artículos

Torii Gates

Sintoísmo y santuarios

Una guía para viajeros a Japón sobre el sintoísmo y la visita a santuarios con información procedente de una sacerdotisa sintoísta de la 17ª generación.

Los deseos se cuelgan de ramas de bambú durante el festival de Tanabata

La fiesta de Tanabata en Japón

Alrededor del 7 de julio o del 7 de agosto, según la región, los japoneses celebran la Fiesta de las Estrellas, el matsuri Tanabata, nacido de la fusión de leyendas japonesas y chinas

Vista desde un tanhokutei, sede de la ceremonia del tè, hacia los musgos del tempio Saihoji de Kyoto.

La casa japonesa tradicional

Estructuras de madera, habitaciones de tatami, paredes de papel: en Japón, las casas son diferentes a las de Occidente, que están más acostumbradas a las paredes de hormigón y los suelos de baldosa

Ver todos los artículos (80)