Throughout the twentieth century, folklorists and ethnographers have been collecting stories and folklore from Japan. However, these scholars have not always agreed about where these stories have originated. Folklorist James Mullins argues that Japanese folklore is derived primarily from the rich religious traditions of Buddhism and cultural traditions from continental Asia, predominantly India and China that arrived in Japan centuries before. By contrast, scholars like Tsuneo Ayabe claimed that while the Buddhist and continental influences on Japanese folklore are undeniable, folklore today has been more heavily influenced by the traditions of Shintoism that teaches about spiritual powers in the natural world. Which finding, if true, would most directly support Ayabe’s argument? Many of the literary collections come from medieval manuscripts. eliminateMuch of the folklore and stories that the ethnographers collected were from oral traditions in rural villages of a more recent origin.  eliminateMuch of the folklore the scholars collected was previously unknown to scholars. eliminateThe folklore collected by the ethnographic team contained similar elements despite geographic differences. eliminate

The East Asian Belief Systems and Religions SHINTOISM Unlike the two East Asian beliefs, Shintoism is a legitimate religion with creationist theories, multiple gods and goddesses, and a moral code. Though the moral code of Shintoism has been altered, the core of its beliefs have remained throughout history remains to be an essential part of Japanese life. Origins of Shintoism Most of what we know about Shintoism is based on two books: the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. Both details how gods and goddesses of the Shintoist belief were created, leading to man and woman's eventual creation. THE ORIGINS OF JAPAN While the Nihon Shoki presents a slightly different creation story, most have accepted both versions as Shintoism's creation myths. Kojiki remains to be the more familiar one. According to the Kojiki, there were seven pairs of kami than were born and were scattered throughout the universe. After some time, a brother-sister pair of kami was born: "Izanagi," the brother, and "Izanami," the sister. The original gods resided in the High Plain of Heaven. They tasked Izanagi and Izanami in creating the islands of Japan. To do this, they were given a bejeweled spear to stir the ocean with which they made the islands. The two then proceeded with the creating of other kami. They failed at first but succeeded later on. That was until Izanami gave birth to the fire kami, which burnt and killed Izanami. Saddened by this, he killed his fire-child, which resulted in more kami. In his grief, Izanagi went to the underworld to see Izanami but was mortified by her deathly appearance. Izanagi returned to the living world dirty. As he rinsed himself in a river, the dirt that came off became kami: the sun goddess "Amaterasu" was born as he washed his left eye; the moon god "Tsukuyomi" was born as he washed his right eye; and the god of wind, thunder, and storms, "Susano'o" who was born as he washed his nose. Out of the three, Amaterasu became the most important as she became the future ruler of Heaven's High Plain. Susano'o eventually did a lot of terrible things, which angered Amaterasu. She decided to live alone in a cave and, in so doing, deprived the world of her light. The kami of the High Plain of Heaven became worried and decided to perform acts to persuade Amaterasu to come out of the rock-cave. But, these acts failed until a kami, Uzume, danced that made the other kami laugh. Curious, Amaterasu came out of the cave, and the world was bathed in her light once more. To prevent the same darkness from consuming the world, the cave was sealed with a rope. Uzume, for her efforts, became the kami of dance, culture, and literature. This creation story explains why Japan was known as the "Land of the Rising Sun" (due to Amaterasu's legend), why dance, culture, and literature were of sheer importance to the Japanese (due to the acts of Uzume) Basic Shintoist Beliefs They generally believe in the 'kami,' or the 'gods.' Mentioned in the tale above are essential kami in Japanese culture. For almost anything in Nature, human existence, and events, the Japanese believe that a kami has something to do with it. But, most significantly, there plentiful of kami in Nature. Some have grouped the kami to understand further its diverse pantheon of gods. 1. Nature Kami • They include the kami residing in trees, animals, mountains, geological and astronomical entities such as clay, stones, lightning, stars, moon, minerals, food, and water forms. 2. Mythic Kami • They consist of all the kami in the Shinto myth, including Izanagi, Izanami, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susano'o. 3. Clan Kami SH1910 05 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 2 of 2 • They include the kami that serve as protectors of divine clans, the highest among Amaterasu. The members of the imperial family are believed to be descendants of Amaterasu. 4. Guild Kami • They consist of the kami worshipped by various guilds (craftsmen and artists). Similar to Chinese beliefs, the Japanese believed their emperors to be divine. This is because the Japanese believe that the first human Japanese emperor, a descendant of Amaterasu, inherited the goddess's divinity. Thus, all of his descendants are divine as well. Process of Purification and Worship For Shintoists, their central value is the purity of the human soul. Thus, anything related to cleaning has some form of religious significance in it. When one commits a wrongful act, purification must be done to atone for the sins. This process usually includes praying in their shrines and must show respect towards themselves and Nature, depending on the kind of misdeed done. Other practices involve washing oneself in a river or a waterfall. They believe the spirit of these water forms will cleanse your transgressions, similar to how Izanagi washed after being dirtied in the underworld. Challenges to Shintoism • Up until World War 2, the Japanese held their emperor as divine. After World War 2, the Japanese government dropped the emperor's divinity, leading to the decline in Shintoist belief and the spread of Zen Buddhism, Christianity, and many other religious beliefs in Japan. • There is also a concern about the relevance of nature worship in the current state of the world. With the more predominant belief of Nature bearing no soul, Shintoist views clash with the more modern philosophy. • With the popularity of Japanese manga and anime, which feature the Japanese legendary gods and goddesses, there is a distortion of the meaning of 'kami' and what the gods and goddesses represent. For example, Amaterasu was the main reason why the Japanese flag symbolizes the rising sun. Nowadays, mention Amaterasu, and most kids will say the famous anime "Naruto," which used Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susano'o, Izanagi, and Izanami, its fictional world and altered their meanings.

If you're familiar with myths from different cultures, can you identify any common themes or elements?

Japan borrowed cultural elements from its neighbors, but during the Heian period a national culture developed. An example of this was A. political customs, such as the title, "Heavenly Emperor." B. architecture, such as the capital buildings at Nara. C. crafts, such as ceramic pottery, for use in Shinto ceremonies. D. important works of literature, such as The Tale of Genji.

With 80% of the landmass of Japan being forested mountains or steep valleys, the population of Japan has always been primarily located along the coastline. The sea provided a way to exchange goods, information, ideas and beliefs among the spread out Japanese population. This led to the Japanese having which of the following?A) A diet, religion and culture built on resources from the sea and one which honours the sea and the gods of the sea above all things.B) Several different, distinct cultural groups which each developed their own language, traditions and culture.C) A 'maritime worldview' which sees the sea as the center of the world, and all life on the edge of a great ocean which connects all people.D) A shared, collective worldview of beliefs and values, and a similar culture.

In ancient storytelling, the term mythos refers to traditional stories, often involving deities, supernatural elements, heroes, and explanations for the origin of the forces acting behind universal phenomenon.