Shinto

It must not be inferred from this narrative that unions between brothers and sisters of the full blood were permitted by ancient Japanese custom. Cain and Abel must have married their own sisters, but this proves nothing against the morality of the Jews. The necessity of the story is the compelling motive in both cases. It is true that marriages were allowed between a man and his sister by the father's side only, but we learn from the Nihongi[63 - I 324.] that in the case of full brothers and sisters such connexions were considered criminal. The fact that imo, younger sister, is also used in addressing a wife proves no more than the "How fair is thy love, my sister, my bride!" of the Song of Solomon. The author of the myth of the Sun-Goddess endeavours to smooth over the difficulty of her conjugal relations with her brother Susa no wo by giving them a miraculous character.

The story of the abandonment of Hiruko by his parents, like the similar legends of Sargon and Moses, is evidence that the custom of casting away weakly or deformed infants was known to the authors. The real significance of the Hiruko myth will be shown hereafter.

The two deities next gave birth to the islands of Japan. Of the birth of Tsukushi, now called Kiushiu, the Kojiki says: -

"Next they gave birth to the island of Tsukushi. This island likewise has four faces, and each face has a name.So the land of Tsukushi is called Shira-bi-wake (white-sun-youth); the land of Toyo is called Toyo-bi-wake (rich-sun-youth); the land of Hi is called Take-hi-mukahi-toyo-kuji-hine-wake (brave-sun-confronting-rich-wondrous-lord-youth); the land of Kumaso is called Take-bi-wake (brave-sun-youth)."

At this point the Nihongi inserts the rationalistic observation that the islands of Tsushima and Iki with the small islands in various parts were produced by the coagulation of the salt water.

Izanagi and Izanami then procreated a number of deities, among whom were Iha-tsuchi-biko (rock-earth-prince), Oho-ya-biko (great-house-prince), the Wind-Gods, a variety of marine deities, Ame no Mikumari (the heavenly water distributor), the God of Moors (who is also the God of Herbs and Grasses), the God of Trees, the Gods of Mountains and Valleys, and the Goddess of Food. The last deity to be produced was the God of Fire, Kagu-tsuchi, also called Ho-musubi (fire-growth). In giving birth to him Izanami was burnt so that she sickened and lay down. From her vomit, fæces, and urine were born deities which personify the elements[64 - A strong suspicion of Chinese origin attaches to these elemental gods.] of metal, water, and clay, while from the tears which Izanagi shed when she died there was produced a deity called Naki-saha-me, or the Weeping Female. In his rage and grief, Izanagi drew his sword and cut Kagu-tsuchi to pieces, generating thereby a number of deities. Of these two were widely worshipped in later times. One, named Take-mika-tsuchi (brave-awful-father), is the God of the famous shrine of Kashima in the east of Japan. The other, named Futsunushi, is worshipped under the form of a sword at Kadori in the same neighbourhood. Izanami, by one account, was buried at the village of Arima at Kumano, in the province of Kiï.

"In the time of flowers the inhabitants worship her mitama by offerings of flowers. They also worship her with drums, flutes, flags, singing and dancing."

When she died Izanami went to the land of Yomi, or darkness.

"Thereafter Izanagi went after Izanami, and entered the land of Yomi. When he rejoined her, they conversed together. Izanami said: 'My lord and husband, why is thy coming so late? I have already eaten of the cooking-furnace of Yomi. But I am about to lie down to rest. Do not thou look on me.' Izanagi did not give ear to her, but secretly took his many-toothed comb, and breaking off its end-tooth[65 - The significance of the wo-bashira, or end-tooth, is explained elsewhere. See Index.]made of it a torch and looked at her. Her body was already putrid, maggots swarmed over it, and the eight thunder-gods had been generated in her various members. Izanagi, greatly shocked, exclaimed, 'What a hideous and polluted land I have come to unawares!' So he speedily ran away. Izanami was angry, and said, 'Why didst thou not observe that which I charged thee? Now am I put to shame.' So she sent the Ugly Females of Yomi to pursue and slay him. Izanagi, in his flight, threw down his many-toothed comb, which forthwith became changed into bamboo-shoots. The Ugly Females pulled them up and ate them. When they had done eating them they again gave chase. He then threw down his headdress, which became changed into grapes, and so once more delayed his pursuers. On reaching the foot of the 'Even Pass of Yomi' he gathered three peaches[66 - See Index-'Peach.']that were growing there, and smote his pursuers with them, so that they all fled back. Moreover, he said to the peaches, 'As ye have helped me, so must ye help all living people in the Central Land of Reed-plains when they are in trouble.' And he gave them the title Oho-kamu-dzu-mi no mikoto (their augustness great-divine fruit). This was the origin of the custom of exorcising evil spirits by means of peaches.

"At the Even Pass of Yomi, Izanagi was overtaken by Izanami herself. He took a great rock[67 - Deified as Chi-gaheshi no Oho-kami (road-send-back-great-deity).]Land blocked up the pass with it, pronouncing at the same time the formula of divorce-namely, 'Our relationship is severed.' He also said, 'Come no further,' and threw down his staff, which was called Funado no Kami (pass-not-place-deity), or Kunado no Kami (come-not-place-deity). Moreover, he threw down his girdle, which was called Nagachiha no Kami. Moreover, he threw down his upper garment, which was called Wadzurahi no Kami (God of disease). Moreover, he threw down his trowsers, which were called Aki-guhi no Kami. Moreover, he threw down his shoes, which were called Chi-shiki no Kami."

The Kojiki represents Izanami as assuming the position of the "Great Deity of Yomi," a personification of death. In this character she says to Izanagi, "If thou dost so (divorce me), I will in one day strangle to death a thousand of the people of thy land." To which he replied "If thou dost so, I will in one day build a thousand and five hundred parturition houses."

The fatal consequences of tasting the food of the lower regions are well known to mythologists. Proserpine's return to the upper world became impossible when once

Puniceum curvâ decerpserat arbore pomum
Sumpta que pallenti septem de cortice grana
Presserat ore suo.

The same principle is recognized in Indian myth:

Three nights within his (Yama's) mansion stay,
But taste not, though a guest, his food.[68 - Muir's 'Sanskrit Texts,' v. 320.]

The natural aversion of human beings from touching or even looking on the dead is made a characteristic of the Gods in Greek mythology as well as in Japanese myth. Artemis, in the 'Hippolytus' of Euripides, says, "It is not themis for me to look upon the dead."

The "Even Pass of Yomi" takes the place of the water to be crossed of other mythologies. Grimm, in his 'Teutonic Mythology,' says that "to Death is ascribed a highway levelled, smooth, and kept in repair, on which the dead travel."

On returning from Yomi, Izanagi's first care was to bathe in the sea in order to purify himself from the pollutions which he had contracted by his visit to the Land of Yomi. A number of deities were generated by this process, among whom were the Gods of Good and Ill Luck, and certain ocean deities held to be the ancestors of some families of local chieftains and worshipped by them. The Sun-Goddess was born from the washing of his left eye, and the Moon-God from that of his right, while a third deity, named Susa no wo, was generated from the washing of his nose. To the Sun-Goddess Izanagi gave charge of the "Plain of High Heaven," and to the Moon-God was allotted the realm of night. Susa no wo was at first appointed to rule the sea, but he cried and wept till his beard grew down to the pit of his stomach. He wept the green mountains bare and the seas and rivers dry. Izanagi inquired of him, "Why dost thou continually weep?" He answered, "I wish to follow my mother to the Nether Land." Izanagi said, "Go, as thy heart bids thee," and drove him away.

Another account of the birth of these three deities says that they were born to Izanagi and Izanami on earth before the descent to Yomi. The Sun-Goddess was sent up to Heaven by the "Pillar of Heaven," which then served as a means of communication. Heaven and earth were still "not far separated." Ame no mi-hashira (Heaven-august-pillar) is one of the names of the Wind-God. An island is described as "Heaven's single pillar." Other myths speak of the Ama no iha-bune, or Rock-boat of Heaven, as used for communication by the deities. There is also mention of an Ama no hashidate (Heaven-bridge-erection) which is distinguished by Hirata from the "Pillar of Heaven." He thinks the former was a sort of pier used by the Rock-boat of Heaven. A spit of land two miles long and 190 feet broad near Miyadzu in Tango is now called by this name.[69 - See Murray's 'Japan,' fifth edition, p. 408.]

Ame, or the firmament, where the Gods live, is to be distinguished from Oho-sora, the Great Void, which is the space between heaven and earth.

Izanagi's ablutions (harahi)[70 - See Index.] represent a wide-spread rite. They remind us of Juno's lustration by Iris after a visit to Hades, and of Dante's immersion in Lethe when he had completed his ascent through Purgatory and was preparing for admission to the circles of Paradise. Alcestis, after her rescue by Herakles from Thanatos, had to be purified, and was not allowed to speak for three days. We have in the Japanese myth the counterpart of a custom described by Chinese travellers to Japan centuries before the Kojiki and Nihongi were written. It was then, we are informed, the practice, when the funeral was over, for the whole family of the deceased to go into the water and wash. Lustration is a wide-world practice,[71 - See Dr. Tylor's 'Primitive Culture,' ii. 435.] and the myth was clearly suggested by it, not vice versâ.

Izanagi's career having come to an end, he built himself an abode of gloom in the island of Ahaji, where he dwelt in silence and concealment. Another account says that he ascended to Heaven, where he dwelt in the smaller Palace of the Sun.

It will be observed that Izanagi was not immortal, and that he did not go to Yomi when he died.

Susa no wo. – The mythical narrative now turns to the doings of the Sun-Goddess and her brother Susa no wo (the rainstorm personified).

Susa no wo, before proceeding to take up his charge as Ruler of the Nether Region, ascended to Heaven to take leave of his elder sister, the Sun-Goddess. By reason of the fierceness of his divine nature there was a commotion in the sea, and the hills and mountains groaned aloud as he passed upwards. The Sun-Goddess, in alarm, arrayed herself in manly garb, and confronted her brother[72 - As Horus, in Egyptian myth, confronts the powers of darkness.] wearing her royal necklace of jewels, and armed with sword and bow and arrows. The pair stood face to face on opposite sides of the River of Heaven.[73 - The Milky Way: a Chinese expression.] Susa no wo then assured his sister of the purity of his intentions, and proposed to her that they should each produce children by biting off and crunching parts of the jewels and swords which they wore and blowing away the fragments.[74 - This is one of several miraculous births and pregnancies in Japanese myth. Mankind have a rooted propensity for imagining that it is possible to improve on the means ordained for this purpose by Divine Providence. See Mr. Hartland's 'Legend of Perseus' for numerous examples.] Eight children born in this way were worshipped in after times as the Hachôji, or eight princely children. They figure largely in the Shôjiroku genealogies of Japanese noble families. Through one of them, named Masa-ya-a-katsu-kachi-haya-hi-ama-no-oshi-ho-mi-mi, the Mikados trace their descent from the Sun-Goddess. A-Katsu means I conquer. The allusion is to Susa no wo's having triumphantly proved the purity of his intentions by producing male children.[75 - The Kiujiki makes Masa-ya, &c., the son of the Sun-Goddess by Takamusubi.]

Susa no wo's subsequent proceedings were very rude and unseemly. He broke down the divisions between the rice-fields belonging to his sister, sowed them over again, let loose in them the piebald colt of Heaven, and committed nuisances in the hall where she was celebrating the solemn festival of first-fruits. The climax to his misdeeds was to flay a piebald colt of Heaven with a backward flaying and to fling it into the sacred weaving-hall where the Sun-Goddess was engaged in weaving the garments of the deities. She was so deeply indignant at this last insult that she entered the Rock-cave of Heaven and left the world to darkness.

The piebald colt of Heaven may be compared to Prisni, the speckled cow of Indian myth, which is explained as a personification of the variegated appearance of the starry heavens.

The retirement of the Sun-Goddess to the Rock-cave of Heaven produced great consternation among the heavenly deities. They met on the dry bed of the River of Heaven and took counsel how they should entice her from her seclusion. By the advice of Omohi-kane no Mikoto (the Thought-combiner or Counsellor deity) the long-singing birds of the Eternal Land (cocks)[76 - Represented at Ise by dancers called tonako (bird-cry).] were made to utter their prolonged cry before the door of the cave. Ame no Koyane no Mikoto, ancestor of the Nakatomi and Futodama no Mikoto, ancestor of the Imbe, dug up by the roots a five-hundred branched true Sakaki tree of Heaven and hung on its higher branches strings of jewels, on its middle branches a mirror, and on its lower branches pieces of cloth. Then they recited their liturgy in her honour. Moreover, Ame no Uzume (the Dread Female of Heaven) arrayed herself in a fantastic manner, kindled a fire and standing on a tub which resounded when she stamped upon it, performed a (not very decent) mimic dance and gave forth an inspired utterance. The Plain of High Heaven shook, and the eight hundred myriad deities laughed together. The Sun-Goddess wondered how Ame no Uzume and the other gods could be so jolly while the world was wrapped in complete darkness, and peeped out from the half-opened door of the cave. She was at once seized by Ta-jikara no wo (Hand-strength-male) and prevented by main force from re-entering, to the great joy of all the deities.

Susa no wo was then tried by a council of Gods, who mulcted him in a fine of a thousand tables of purification offerings. They also pulled out the nails of his fingers and toes, and banished him to the land of Yomi. Finally Ame no Koyane, the ancestor of the Nakatomi, recited his Oho-harahi or "Great purification" liturgy.

The above episode is the kernel of the mythical lore of Japan. Belonging to the class of light and darkness myths, it professes to give the origin of some of the principal ceremonies of the Shinto religion as they were practised at the Mikado's Court at the time when they became current. In addition to the Nakatomi and Imbe, some versions of the story show the Sun-Goddess surrounded by other officials, such as jewel-makers, mirror-makers, &c., obviously borrowed from the actual functionaries of the Court, and introduced with an eye to genealogical requirements. By a curious coincidence, the Smith-God attached to her train, like the Cyclops of Greek myth, has but one eye.

Ame no Uzume, the Dread Female of Heaven, who danced and gave forth an inspired utterance before the Rock-cave where the Sun Goddess was hidden, is the supposed ancestor of the Sarume (monkey-women) or female mimes attached to the Mikado's Court, whose performances were the origin of the pantomimic religious dances still kept up in Japan and known as Kagura, while her divinely inspired utterance is the prototype of the revelations of the Miko, or Shinto priestesses. One version of the story gives us the actual words used by Uzume on this occasion-namely, Hi, fu, mi, yo, itsu, mu, nana, ya, kokono, towo. A Japanese baby knows that these are simply the numerals from one to ten. But they have given much trouble to later Shintoists, who have endeavoured to read into them a deep mythical signification.

The fire kindled by her is the prototype of the nihabi, or "courtyard fire," of Shinto ceremonial. It is plainly one of those numerous imitative magic devices for making sunshine, of which Mr. Frazer has given several examples.[77 - 'The Golden Bough,' second edition, i. 115.]

Modern Shinto explains the darkness produced by the Sun-Goddess's retirement as emblematic of the darkness of sin. The renewal of light typifies repentance. Of course, this was far from the thoughts of the original myth-makers.

Susa no wo did not at once proceed to the land of Yomi. He went and begged food of the Food-Goddess, who produced dainty things of all kinds from various parts of her body, and offered them to him. But Susa no wo took offence at her proceedings, which he considered filthy, and at once slew her. Whereupon there were produced in her head silkworms, in her eyes rice, in her ears millet, in her nose small beans, in her genitals barley, and in her fundament large beans. These Musubi, the God of Growth, took and caused to be used as seeds.

The above is the Kojiki version of the story. The Nihongi makes the Moon-God the culprit, and gives it as the reason of his alienation from the Sun-Goddess, who had sent him to visit the Food-Goddess. This is not the only attempt of myth-makers to account for the aloofness maintained by these two deities. The same variant of this episode makes the Sun-Goddess the recipient of the various seeds produced in the body of the Food-Goddess: -

"She was rejoiced, and said, 'These are the things which the race of visible men will eat and live.' So she made the millet, the panic, the wheat and the beans the seed for the dry fields, and the rice she made the seed for the water-fields. Therefore she appointed a Mura-gimi (village-lord) of Heaven, and forthwith sowed for the first time the rice-seed in the narrow fields and in the long fields of Heaven."

Probably in the slaying of the Food-Goddess we have an echo of some of those practices so fully examined by Mr. Frazer, in which the Corn-maiden, or other representative of the corn, is slain-a tragedy of perennial interest to mankind. Witness the rape of Persephone and the death of John Barleycorn. Susa no wo then visited Corea, but not finding that country to his liking, returned to Japan, and went to the province of Idzumo.

"Here he observed a chopstick floating down the river Hi, so thinking that there must be people living further up the stream, he went in quest of them, and found an old man and an old woman weeping, with a young maiden set between them. He asked of them, 'Who are ye?' The old man replied, 'Thy servant is a deity of earth, and his name is Ashinadzuchi, son of the great God of the Mountain. My wife's name is Tenadzuchi, and my daughter is called Kushinada hime.' He further inquired, 'Why weep ye?' He answered, saying, 'I have had eight children, girls; but the eight-forked serpent of Koshi came year after year and devoured them. It is now the time of its coming, and therefore do we weep.' 'Describe to me this serpent,' said Susa no wo. 'Its eyes are as red as the winter cherry. It has one body with eight heads and eight tails. Moreover, its body is overgrown with moss, pines and cedars. Its length extends over eight valleys and eight hills. Its belly is always all bloody and inflamed to look upon.' Then Susa no wo said to the old man, 'If this be thy daughter, wilt thou give her unto me?' 'With reverence be it said,' replied the old man, 'I know not thy honourable name.' 'I am the elder brother of the Sun-Goddess, and have now come down from heaven,' replied Susa no wo. Then the deities Ashinadzuchi and Tenadzuchi said, 'In that case, with reverence we offer her to thee.' Susa no wo straightway took that young maiden and changed her into a many-toothed comb, which he stuck into his hair, and said to the deities Ashinadzuchi and Tenadzuchi, 'Do ye brew some saké of eight-fold strength. Also make a fence round about, and in that fence let there be eight doors, at each door let there be eight stands, on each stand let there be a saké-tub, and let each saké-tub be filled with the saké of eight-fold strength. Then wait.' So having prepared everything inaccordance with his august bidding, they waited. Then the eight-forked serpent came, indeed, as had been said, and bending down one head into each of the tubs, lapped up the saké. Hereupon it became drunken, and all the heads lay down to sleep, when straightway Susa no wo drew his ten-span sword from his girdle and slew the serpent, so that the river had its current changed to blood. Now, when he cut the middle part of the tail the edge of his august sword was broken. Wondering at this, he pierced it and split it open, when he found that within there was a great sharp sword. He took this sword, and thinking it a wonderful thing, reported his discovery to the Sun Goddess. This is the great sword Kusanagi (Herb-queller)."

On the occasion of his marriage to Kushinada hime, Susa no wo composed the following verses: -

Many clouds arise,
On all sides a manifold fence:
To receive within it the spouses,
They form a manifold fence,
Ah! that manifold fence!

Eventually he entered the Nether Land.

Few of my readers will require to have pointed out to them the striking resemblance of this story to that of Perseus and Andromeda, or will need to be referred to Mr. Sidney Hartland's 'Legend of Perseus,' in which everything relating to its numerous variants has been so thoroughly examined. I would direct special attention to chapter xviii (#pgepubid00017). of this work, where the hypothesis is offered, "that we have in this incident a reminiscence of the abolition of human sacrifices to deities in the shape of the lower animals… In certain stages of civilization, sacrifices of the kind are practised, and are frequently offered to water-spirits conceived in animal form… It may, of course, be that the monster sent to devour Andromeda is to be regarded simply as the personification of water, or of specific rivers in their sinister aspect."[78 - See Index-'River-deities.']

The circumstance that the scene of this episode in Susa no wo's career is the bank of a river is therefore by no means immaterial. Indeed, we may plausibly conjecture that the description of the serpent with its eight (or many) heads and eight tails, its length extending over eight valleys and eight hills, its body overgrown with moss, pines, and cedars, and its propensity for devouring human beings is nothing more than a fanciful representation of the river, with its serpentine course, its numerous tributaries and branches, its wooded banks, and the danger by drowning in its pools or at its fords.

The poem ascribed to Susa no wo cannot be older than the sixth or seventh century. The word translated "on all sides," is idzumo. There is therefore a punning allusion to the province of that name. The "manifold fence," is the "nuptial hut," already referred to.[79 - See above, p. 90. (#Page_90)]

Ohonamochi. – Susa no wo had numerous children, among whom were Oho-toshi (great harvest), and Uka no mitama[80 - Another authority makes Uka no mitama a daughter of Izanagi and Izanami.] (food-spirit). The most famous of his progeny was a God called Ohonamochi. This is the Great Deity of Idzumo, a place second only to Ise for sanctity.

Ohonamochi's eighty brothers went to pay court to a female deity named Yakami-hime, taking him with them as porter "to carry the bag." On arriving at Cape Keta, they found a naked hare lying on the ground. The brothers maliciously advised the hare to bathe in the sea, and then expose himself to the wind on the slope of a high mountain. The hare did so, with the result that when the sea-water dried, his skin split, and he was weeping with pain, when Ohonamochi came up in the rear of the party. He had pity on it, and taught it remedies which gave relief. The grateful hare promised that he should have the lady Yakami-hime in marriage, and not his brothers. When their suit was accordingly rejected, they devised several plans for the destruction of Ohonamochi, which were all unsuccessful. He was then advised to go to the "Netherdistant land," the abode of Susa no wo.