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Although the story of Japan goes back to prehistoric age, thousands years before Christ’s born, Japanese people didn’t have the necessity to record it in writings before the beginning of the 8th century; consequently for a long period the story, myths and legends were conveyed only in oral form from a generation to another.

Myths and legends we will treat in this lesson belong mostly to the Kojiki, a masterpiece of the Japanese history and the most ancient literary work of Japan. It’s a collection in three books of mythological tales, and the legends we will study belong to the first one, the most ancient, that is about the Gods and of the born of Japan.

THE BEGINS OF THE WORLD

Even before the born of the sky and earth, the three Celestial Gods of Creation, who created the most part of the universe, begin to exist in the Plain of the High Sky. After them, in the celestial grasslands, born seven generations of Gods, who dedicated to the various elements of the universe.

For all that time the Earth remained shapeless and was like oil that fluctuated in the oceans like a jellyfish. Therefore the Gods consulted themselves on the way in which the world under them could be solidified and modifyed, and they said:
“For this duty, why we don’t send down a couple of the most young and energetic Gods?”
Everybody agreed in the choose of the God Izanagi and the Goddess Izanami. They gave them the Celestial Spear, adorned with jewels, called Amenonuhoko and said:
“The world under us is not finished yet. Go there and together solidified the earth and complete the work of creation.”

Izanagi and Izanami’s mission

Izanagi and Izanami, the first with the Celestial Spear in a hand and the second with her dress floating in the air, left, hand in hand, for their mission.
Almost immediately a white cloud directed toward them and stopped; as soon as the two were get on it, the extraordinary cloud chariot began to move and brought there till the Celestial Bridge, a magnificent floating bridge that like a rainbow united the sky to the earth.

Izanagi and Izanami go down on the bridge and observed the world under them: although the end of the bridge was hide by fog, they were able to see dimly the shiny ocean below them.
Izanagi thought of what to do: he put down the Celestial Spear until it dip in the ocean, and then he began to mix; when Izanagi lifted the Spear the drops remained on it united in an only drop of salted water that fell and for miracle turned into a small white Island, Onogoro.

After checked the dimensions of the Island, the two young Gods built a palace there, and in the centre they built the Celestial Pillar that rising until the sky.

The first children of Izanagi and Izanami

Then the God Izanagi asked to the Goddess Izanami if she agreed on bringing life on that earth; Izanami smiled and said:
“Let’s walk around the Celestial Pillar in opposite directions, and when we will meet again we will lie together.”
So they did. When they met Izanami said:
“What a charming guy!”
and Izanagi exclaimed:
“Oh! What an enchanted girl!”
They felt that there was something wrong, anyway they lied together anyway, but the creature they begot, Hiruko, was like a leech. Grieved the two put the baby in a ship made with grass that they left in the sea.

The following time they begot Awashima, a little isle similar to a bubble; also this one was not a good son, and with sorrow they had to forsake him too.

But it couldn’t go on this way. So, after a discussion, Izanagi and Izanami decided to ask counseil to the Gods of the Sky. They got again on the Celestial Bridge and came back in their old home to tell what was happened. The Celestial Gods told them:
“Your sons were not well-made because to the Celestial Pillar the woman spoke for first. Come back down and try again”

The born of Japan

The two young Gods returned to their Island and once again the walked around the Celestial Pillar; when they met was Izanagi to speak first:
“Oh! What an enchanted girl!”
and Izanami then replied:
“Oh! What a charming guy!”
After it the two young Gods lied together one more time. At dawn were born the eight Islands of Japan: Awazi, Iyo (later Shikoku), Ogi, Tsukusi (later Kyushu), Iki, Tsushima, Sado and Yamato (later Honshu). *Note that Hokkaido, Chishima, and Okinawa were not part of Japan in ancient times.

While they observed the great just born Islands, Izanagi said to Izanami:
“They have a very loner appearence! These islands are all desert! I would like to have other children who can enrich them. What do you think about it?”
Izanami smiled happily and the two begot 35 vigorous Gods, each one with different powers: there was the God in charge of the earth, the God in charge of the mountain, the God in charge of the rocks and the sand, the God in charge of the houses, the God who controlled the rain and the winds, the God who regulated the fogs, the God who controlled the waters, the God in charge of the harvests and the one in charge of the fields and many other more.

The death of Izanami

At this point the two Gods noticed that they didn’t beget yet a child who would have be in charge of the fire, and without fire the eight Islands couldn’t go on. But when finally Kagututi the God of fire born, Izanami died in childbirth, burnt. Izanagi cried in desperation for days and days until decided to go in Yomi, the shadowy Land of the dead, to find her again.

When he arrived to Yomi, a figure welcomed him, and although this figure was surrounded by darkness he immediately understood that was Izanami who said:
“Alas! My dear husband, I’m sorry you didn’t come earlier, because now it’s too late: I’ve already ate the food of the Land of the dead. But, since you have been so brave I will ask to the Gods of Darkness if they can allow me to come back with you. But, while I am away please I pray you to not try to see me.”

Izanagi’s mistake

After it Izanami disappeared and the darkness surrounded everything. Izanagi waited, but early became impatient and wanted to know what does the wife was doing to take all this time. So he broke one of the tooth of the wooden comb that he was wearing in the hair, enlighted it and with this torch he entered in the Land of the dead. There, with horror, he saw the body in decomposition of his beloved wife: on his corpse was full of worms and on her there was the Gods of Thunder: Great Thunder, Fire Thunder, Black Thunder and Thunder that break; on her left hand there was Young Thunder and on her right hand there was Earth Thunder; on her left foot there was Resounding Thunder and on her right foot Thunder that incline.

Terrifyed from a so frightining sight, Izanagi ran away without never turning back to look.

The rage of Izanami

When Izanami came back where she left the husband she noticed to have been tricked, she became furious and sent the shikome, evil spirits of hell to pursue the husband. Izanagi saw them; fastly he untied the  vine-shoot that closed his left plait and threw it on the ground: suddenly the vine-shoot grew and filled itself of mature bunch of grapes and the shikome stopped to eat them. Izanagi ran away, but soon the spirits were hunting him again. Izanagi take off the comb from his right plait and threw it on the ground: suddenly bamboos grew up and while the shikome ate them, Izanagi ran away.

Izanami, noticing that the husband get rid easily of the evil spirits, sent the eight Gods of Thunder to hunt him, together with 1500 soldiers of hell. But Izanagi swinged his long sword stopping the hunter.

Izanagi was not safe yet, since now was his own wife who was pursuing him running fastly in anger. Immediately he lifted a huge stone and closed the entrance of the Land of the Dark before the wife reached him. In this way the two remained at the opposite side of the stone and said to each other farewell words:
“My dear husband, if you act this way, then everyday I will strangle to death 1000 people from your young race.”
“My loved wife, if you act this way, then everyday I will build 1500 cradles for the children I will beget.”
And is for this that everyday 1000 people die and 1500 people born.

THE SPIRIT OF WATER

This short legend doesn’t come from the Kojiki, but is a popular legend.

It was summer and, while a man was sleeping on the veranda of a little house, appeared a little man, 1 meter tall, but surely very old, who touched his face. The man noticed it, but he was afraid and he pretend to continue to sleep. Almost immediately the little old man went away, reached the shores of a little lake and suddenly disappeared. The lake seemed very neglected: there was few water, was all filled by seaweed and its aspect was dark and gloomy also in full day.

When the neighbours knew about what was happened began to suspect that was work of some evil spirit who lived in the lake, and began to be terrifyed.

The little old man continued to appear every night and the only thing he did was just touching the face of the men resting in the little house.

Early in all the capital everybody have heard about this story, so one brave warrior said:
“I will capture this little old man who has fun touching the face of people!”
He took a strong hemp rope and went to sleep in the veranda of the little house, waiting for the little old man to appear. It was already passed the midnight when, tired to wait, the warrior doze off a bit; immediately he felt a cold hand on his face and he opened his eyes, stood up, grabbed the delicate creature and tight it with the rope and the called all the people around.

Many arrived and at torches light they saw a little figure wearing pale light blue clothes. dazzled from all the lights, the little old man blinked, looked around shyly and smiled:
“Please” he said “can you bring me a bowl of fresh water?”
They brought a big bowl of water and put it in fron of the little old man, who said:
“I am the water spirit of the lake”
Then he jumped inside the bowl and disappeared.
The rope, still knotted, was floating in the bowl, but the body of the little old man was disappeared.

People, surprised, brought carefully the bowl to the lake and poured there all the water. From that moment on the little old man was never seen again.

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