Japanese Mythology A to Z

Contents8Acknowledgments viiIntroduction ixMap of Japan xxMap of Asia xxiA-to-Z Entries 1Major Shinto Gods and Goddesses 130Major Buddhist Deities 132Selected Bibliography 133Index 134Introduction8Where do we come from? What will happen to us when we die? How should welive our lives? We still ask these questions today. In fact, the desire to ask them maybe one of the things that makes us human.All societies ask these questions, but not every society answers them in the sameway. In most ancient human societies, the means of answering these importantquestions was religion. One way that ancient religions tried to answer basicquestions about life and what it means to be human was through telling stories,specifically myths. A myth, in the original sense of the word, is a story whose truthis unquestioned.The History SettingBecause myths reflect the culture that produces them, it is often useful to know abit about that culture when studying them. This is especially true in Japan, wherea number of influences came together to produce a rich and complex set of myths,or mythology.Ancient JapanArchaeologists are still working to discover the very early origins of human culturein Japan. There is definite evidence of humans at least 30,000 years ago, but littleinformation about these people has survived. Probably about 10,000 b.c. peoplewhom we now call the Jōmon were living in Japan. The name Jˉo mon (“ropepattern”)comes from a type of pottery they made. It looks as if rope was pressedonto it to make markings, or it was made by coiling strips of clay.