![]() ![]() When She Emerged – There was a straw rope at the opening of the cave preventing her from going back inside.īeing one of the most important Goddesses in Japanese culture, Amaterasu deserves her very own temple of worship and she has such a thing in the Mie Prefecture in Japan. The other Gods had to have a celebration in order to get her to come out and she became so curious as to what was going on that she came out to investigate. She fought with him and afterwards, fled to a cave where she hid, resulting in the whole world being plunged into darkness. There are many stories surrounding Amaterasu but one of the most well known involves her brother, named Susano-O. ![]() I mentioned earlier, Izanami and Izanagi were the mother and father of all the Gods.Īnd it’s thought that Amaterasu came from Izanagi’s left eye which he took out and washed away after finding his beloved wife in the Land of Death. There is a legend that the Imperial Family of Japan is directly descended from Amaraterasu. In the Shinto religion, Amaterasu is known as one of the most important deities. Known also as Amaterasu Omikami, this is the Goddess of the Sun. Instead of Saving Her – Iznami had no other choice but to leave her where he found her so he sealed up the door and left her.īut this enraged her spirit and she swore that she would kill 1000 souls every day as a way of punishing the world for the humiliation of being deserted.īut Izanagi was one step ahead and pledged that 1500 births would happen every day. However, upon arriving at the Land of Death, he discovered her corpse, rotten and infested with maggots. Izanagi became so deeply grief stricken that he attempted to bring her back from Death. Izanami the Mother of Gods, had a baby called Kagutsuchi but she died during childbirth. This spear was used to stir up the sea and any drops that fell from the spear turned into the land. 7–34.It is said that these two Gods inserted a spear, encrusted with jewels into the space between earth and heaven. “Transfiguration: Man-Made Objects As Demons in Japanese Scrolls.” Asian Folklore Studies, vol. Original research on the hyaki y akkō scrolls can be found in the article: Yokai: Strange beasts & weird spectres: 100 Japanese triptychs: Among these, popular titles (including those mentioned above) available at OSU Libraries are: Yōkai-related materials can be found in the OSU Library catalog ( ) by simply searching the term “ yōkai” as a key word. ![]() Come by to see and hear all about Japan’s monsters, past and present, in Room 165! ![]() On November 19, 2019, OSU Libraries will partner with the Institute of Japanese Studies and the Department of East Asian Languages and Literature to hold a lecture on Godzilla, a modern-day monster, by distinguished guest, Professor William Tsutsui. At that time, we look forward to presenting a small pop-up exhibit on monsters including Yōkai, Godzilla, and Pokémon. Yōkai are just one of many types of popular Japan monsters–such as Godzilla and Pokémon –that have had tremendous global appeal. Original manga by Mizuki Shigeru: Gegege no Kitarō (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎) According to art historian Elizabeth Lillehoj, the hyakki y akkō scrolls, with their mischievous and sometimes hostile yōkai, have been reproduced by various artists since the fourteenth century - and perhaps even earlier - and document a great reverence for tools in Japan (Lillehoi, 8). Eventually, they transformed into animate objects, paraded around at night, committed pranks, and sought revenge. Depicted over many years, the strange yōkai in these various scrolls were once manmade objects (such as musical instruments, kitchen utensils, and human clothing) who were discarded by their owners. Some of the most famous examples of early depictions yōkai can be found in the illustrated handscrolls ( emaki, 絵巻) called “Night Parade of One Hundred Demons” ( Hyakki Yakkō, 百鬼夜行), which feature numerous creatures. While the history of yōkai stretches back to the 8th century, visual representations of them only started to appeared in Japan’s medieval period (1185-1600 CE). Some were evil, and others were simply mischievous. Most y ō kai were also believed to have supernatural abilities that surpassed human understanding. Featured in the book Ukiyoe de miru! obake zukan (浮世絵でみる! お化け図鑑) by Noriko Yamamoto (author) and Ei Nakau (editor)(pages 10-11) Woodblock images representing the “paper lantern ghost” or chōchin-obake (提灯お化け) as depicted by traditional Japanese artists. ![]()
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