|
|
|
 |
| |
THEME:
日本の神話
- Japanese myths
/ LEVEL: Junior
Secondary |
| |
Do
you know the story of the birth of Japan?
Myths give us insights into ancient peoples' lives and beliefs, and
give meaning to many customs and ceremonies practised today. Students
may have studied the creation stories of other cultures, such as the
Aboriginal story of the 'rainbow snake', or the Hebrew creation story.
The first written record of Japan's myths is found in the Kojiki
(712, Records of Ancient Matters). In this issue we have put
one of Japan's creation myths into manga form to enable students to
access it through simple Japanese. |
| |
|
| |
THE
STORY |
| |
Once
upon a time, when the world was yet young, floating like oil, two
gods, Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami
no Mikoto were commanded by the primal gods to make the land
and fix it in place. The two stood on the Floating Bridge of Heaven
and thrust the Heavenly Jewelled spear into the sea. The brine that
dripped from the spear became an island where the two performed a
marriage rite around a pillar. Izanami gave birth to the islands of
Japan and their deities, the gods of the sea, river, mountain, field,
tree, stone, fire and many others. But in giving birth to the fire
god, she was burned and died. Izanagi followed Izanami to Yomi
no Kuni (the Land of Dead) to urge her to return. She agreed
to consult with the gods of Yomi, but warned him not to look at her.
Impatient for Izanami's return, he entered the palace of the gods
of Yomi, only to find her corpse horribly transformed. He fled, pursued
by the shamed Izanami, and escaped by blocking the exit of Yomi with
a large boulder. He then went to the river to purify himself by bathing
(misogi). From his left eye when he cleansed it was born
Amaterasu Omikami (Goddess of the Sun); Tsukushi
no Mikoto (God of the Moon) was born from his right eye, and
Susanoo no Mikoto (God of Storms) was
born from his nose. Izanagi charged Amaterasu with the rule of the
High Plain of Heaven, Tsukushi no Mikoto with the Realm of Night,
and Susanoo no Mikoto with the Plain of the Seas. Thus was born Japan
and its surrounding world. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
TEACHING
SUGGESTIONS |
| |
|
Junior
secondary students usually learn the past tense of verbs in connection
with their personal life, such as talking about what they did on the
weekend, in the holidays etc. Once they are familiar with the past
tense, they can read narratives such as this story. The discourse
between the characters includes other forms of verbs students may
know. To raise their awareness, you may ask students to list up verbs
according to their different forms, eg. 〜ました、〜ましょう、〜てください、〜てもいいですか.
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
 |
Read the story and answer the questions |
|
| |
|
| 1 |
Who
were the gods who gave birth to Japan according to the story? |
| 2 |
Give the names of the 4 main islands of Japan |
| 3 |
Where do you think Izanami was sent to after she died? ( No.
11) |
| 4 |
Why do you think Izanagi bathed? What do you think the water
symbolizes? |
| 5 |
According to the story, who was born from Izanagi's left eye?
|
| 6 |
Do you know any creation myths from other cultures? Are there
similarities with this myth? |
|
| |
|
|
|
