Princess Mononoke By Kojiki Essay
Over the years, the views on how Japan was created has changed drastically. In the past, the ideas were based on stories and not facts. These stories were influenced greatly by religious thoughts. It Today, historians have a clearer picture of how Japan came to be.
Being written in early 8th century Japan, Kojiki is one of the oldest accounts of Japanese mythology. It was written Yasumaro in 712 C.E. (Philippi, 1968, 43). Kojiki is still regarded today as an important book in the Shinto religion, which is the ethnic religion of the Japanese people. The first section of the book explains how heaven and earth came into existence and the formations of divine gods, or deities. According to the book, there is a heaven that the spirits occupy, called …show more content…
Takama-No-Para. Originally, three invisible deities came into existence as separate beings. Then three more also appeared. These five deities are referred to as the “Separate Heavenly Deities”. Next, two more separate deities and five couples of deities came into existence. These deities are cited as the “Seven Generations of the Ages of the Gods”.
Two to the deities, Izanagi-No-Mikoto and Izanami-No-Mikoto, created the Island Onogoro by standing on the “Heavenly Floating Bridge” and stirring below with a “jeweled spear.” This, in turn, created a “heavenly pillar and a spacious palace.” (Philippi, 1968, 49-50). In this palace they have intercourse in order to give birth to a leech child and the island of Apa. Both “children” are seen as failures. In order to explain their failures, they go to the heavenly deities to ask their opinions only to find out it was “Because the woman spoke first,” (Philippi, 1968, 52) when they were initiating the intercourse. With this information the couple goes on to bere many more “children” who end up being many islands and deities. In the end, they create fourteen islands and thirty-five deities.
One of these deities is a god of fire which causes Izanami-No-Mikoto’s genitals to burn and eventually kill her. Izanagi-No-Mikoto then “unsheathed the sword ten heads long which he was wearing at his side and cut off the head of his child Kagu-Tuti-No-Kami,” (Philippi, 1968, 59) who was the fire deity. The blood from this act created multiple more deities. After, he wishes to see his spouse again so he goes to the land of Yomi. She greets him but requests that he doesn’t come in her room, for she does not wish to be seen. He ignores her warnings and he sees her, crawling with roaring and squirming maggots. He is afraid and flees. Seeing this, Izanami-No-Mikoto concludes that he has shamed her and she sends hags, and eventually eight thunder deities out to get him. They fail at reaching him so eventually she pursues him herself. In the end, she promises that she will kill one thousand people and he promises that everyday he will build one thousand five huts. This is how the book explains people being born and dying every day. Izanagi-No-Mikoto goes on to create many more deities, three of which are noble. He commands them to rule.
Chapters 47-50 of the book explain how the emperor and his family gained power in Japan. Throughout these chapters a man leaves his home and occupies many lands where he builds up an army. Eventually an emperor comes into power named Nipe-Moni-No-kno, an earth deity.
Today, there is a much more in depth and accurate sense of how Japan got to where it is today. According to Anne Walthall the first humans to inhabit what is now known as Japan “probably arrived from Micronesia or Southeast Asia over twenty thousand years ago.” (Walthall, 2006, 8). The first recordings of rulers in where modern Japan is is found in Chinese sources. Walthall references these sources to conclude that there were small kingdoms starting around 57 C.E. (Walthall, 2006, 9). Many people in this time did believe that their rulers were gods and all rulers claimed to share a common ancestor, even if that ancestor was very distant (Walthall, 2006, 9-10).
The current Japanese family in power, known as the Tenno has held power for at least 1700 years. Originally, Japan was made up of smaller communities which each had their own governments but by 500 C.E. the people who claimed power tapered down until eventually there was a more centralized power.
This, more realistic idea of Japanese history is drastically different from the old Japanese mythology. Even so, there are some similarities between the two ideas. For example, both sides think that the beings in power all came from one place and have kept their power since. In Kojiki, the deities rule the land. In the modern world, the Tenno family holds power, and has held power for close to two thousand years. Since Kojiki is merely a story, the similarities end there. Kojiki is entirely based off of spirits and supernatural things happening to explain society while the modern story told is based off of artifacts and primary sources from the past that paint a picture of how things happened. In the end, the emperor is ultimately made into power through deities and the supernatural world.
Princess Mononoke tells the story of the last prince, named Ashitaka, in an Emishi village. A demon attempts to attack the village but Ashitaka kills it before it gets there. During this process, the prince is injured and put under a curse that will eventually kill him. A wise women in the village tells Ashitaka that he can be cured if he visits the lands in the west where the demon, who is a boar god, came from. He decides to travel west in order to survive.
While travelling west he meets a monk who tells him about a forest spirit who may be able to help him. He goes to the forest and meets a pack of wolves, who are gods, and a human named Princess Mononoke. Princess Mononoke was raised by the wolves and hates humans because of they destructed part of the forest. The wolves and the princess go on there way when they see Ashitaka, not paying much attention to him.
Outside of the forest there is a town, lead by a women named Eboshi. Princess Mononoke despises Eboshi and the town and tries to stop them any chance she gets. As a result, Eboshi has very advanced systems set up to defend the town. The Princess tries to kill Eboshi but Ashitaka steps in and tries to take her back to the forest but is shot down by a villager before he can leave. Eventually both Ashitaka and the princess make it out alive. Ashitaka almost doesn’t survive but the forest spirit helps him.
A clan of boar gods set out to attack the town while Eboshi leaves to capture the forest spirit's head, which she intends to give to the emperor of Japan.
After many battles, Eboshi gets the forest spirit’s head. Princess Mononoke and Ashitaka manage to return the spirit’s head and the spirit heals the land and the prince’s curse. The princess goes back to the forest and the forest starts to grow back after the whole ordeal.
Spirits are the main focus in both Princess Mononoke and Kojiki. Both stories are based around these “spirits” and are seen as the guiding force of their worlds. An example of this can be seen when the spirits fight back against the humans in Princess Mononoke. Similarly, in Kojiki Izanami-No-Mikoto, who is a “spirit”, promises to kill a thousand people a day. In both situations, the “spirits” are guiding forces in the human world.
There are also many differences between the two stories.. For example, the way the spirits take form is very different Kojiki and Princess Mononoke. In Princess Mononoke, spirits are usually in animal form and live in the forest. In contrast, the spirits in Kojiki take form as land masses, such as islands, and invisible gods of specific things. They tend to be single or in pairs while the spirits in Princess Mononoke are typically in
clans.
Throughout the years, the Japanese people have held many ideas on religion and how Japan and the Earth came to be. Consequently, as time moved on, these ideas became more and more backed by real evidence rather than made up stories.
Being written in early 8th century Japan, Kojiki is one of the oldest accounts of Japanese mythology. It was written Yasumaro in 712 C.E. (Philippi, 1968, 43). Kojiki is still regarded today as an important book in the Shinto religion, which is the ethnic religion of the Japanese people. The first section of the book explains how heaven and earth came into existence and the formations of divine gods, or deities. According to the book, there is a heaven that the spirits occupy, called …show more content…
Takama-No-Para. Originally, three invisible deities came into existence as separate beings. Then three more also appeared. These five deities are referred to as the “Separate Heavenly Deities”. Next, two more separate deities and five couples of deities came into existence. These deities are cited as the “Seven Generations of the Ages of the Gods”.
Two to the deities, Izanagi-No-Mikoto and Izanami-No-Mikoto, created the Island Onogoro by standing on the “Heavenly Floating Bridge” and stirring below with a “jeweled spear.” This, in turn, created a “heavenly pillar and a spacious palace.” (Philippi, 1968, 49-50). In this palace they have intercourse in order to give birth to a leech child and the island of Apa. Both “children” are seen as failures. In order to explain their failures, they go to the heavenly deities to ask their opinions only to find out it was “Because the woman spoke first,” (Philippi, 1968, 52) when they were initiating the intercourse. With this information the couple goes on to bere many more “children” who end up being many islands and deities. In the end, they create fourteen islands and thirty-five deities.
One of these deities is a god of fire which causes Izanami-No-Mikoto’s genitals to burn and eventually kill her. Izanagi-No-Mikoto then “unsheathed the sword ten heads long which he was wearing at his side and cut off the head of his child Kagu-Tuti-No-Kami,” (Philippi, 1968, 59) who was the fire deity. The blood from this act created multiple more deities. After, he wishes to see his spouse again so he goes to the land of Yomi. She greets him but requests that he doesn’t come in her room, for she does not wish to be seen. He ignores her warnings and he sees her, crawling with roaring and squirming maggots. He is afraid and flees. Seeing this, Izanami-No-Mikoto concludes that he has shamed her and she sends hags, and eventually eight thunder deities out to get him. They fail at reaching him so eventually she pursues him herself. In the end, she promises that she will kill one thousand people and he promises that everyday he will build one thousand five huts. This is how the book explains people being born and dying every day. Izanagi-No-Mikoto goes on to create many more deities, three of which are noble. He commands them to rule.
Chapters 47-50 of the book explain how the emperor and his family gained power in Japan. Throughout these chapters a man leaves his home and occupies many lands where he builds up an army. Eventually an emperor comes into power named Nipe-Moni-No-kno, an earth deity.
Today, there is a much more in depth and accurate sense of how Japan got to where it is today. According to Anne Walthall the first humans to inhabit what is now known as Japan “probably arrived from Micronesia or Southeast Asia over twenty thousand years ago.” (Walthall, 2006, 8). The first recordings of rulers in where modern Japan is is found in Chinese sources. Walthall references these sources to conclude that there were small kingdoms starting around 57 C.E. (Walthall, 2006, 9). Many people in this time did believe that their rulers were gods and all rulers claimed to share a common ancestor, even if that ancestor was very distant (Walthall, 2006, 9-10).
The current Japanese family in power, known as the Tenno has held power for at least 1700 years. Originally, Japan was made up of smaller communities which each had their own governments but by 500 C.E. the people who claimed power tapered down until eventually there was a more centralized power.
This, more realistic idea of Japanese history is drastically different from the old Japanese mythology. Even so, there are some similarities between the two ideas. For example, both sides think that the beings in power all came from one place and have kept their power since. In Kojiki, the deities rule the land. In the modern world, the Tenno family holds power, and has held power for close to two thousand years. Since Kojiki is merely a story, the similarities end there. Kojiki is entirely based off of spirits and supernatural things happening to explain society while the modern story told is based off of artifacts and primary sources from the past that paint a picture of how things happened. In the end, the emperor is ultimately made into power through deities and the supernatural world.
Princess Mononoke tells the story of the last prince, named Ashitaka, in an Emishi village. A demon attempts to attack the village but Ashitaka kills it before it gets there. During this process, the prince is injured and put under a curse that will eventually kill him. A wise women in the village tells Ashitaka that he can be cured if he visits the lands in the west where the demon, who is a boar god, came from. He decides to travel west in order to survive.
While travelling west he meets a monk who tells him about a forest spirit who may be able to help him. He goes to the forest and meets a pack of wolves, who are gods, and a human named Princess Mononoke. Princess Mononoke was raised by the wolves and hates humans because of they destructed part of the forest. The wolves and the princess go on there way when they see Ashitaka, not paying much attention to him.
Outside of the forest there is a town, lead by a women named Eboshi. Princess Mononoke despises Eboshi and the town and tries to stop them any chance she gets. As a result, Eboshi has very advanced systems set up to defend the town. The Princess tries to kill Eboshi but Ashitaka steps in and tries to take her back to the forest but is shot down by a villager before he can leave. Eventually both Ashitaka and the princess make it out alive. Ashitaka almost doesn’t survive but the forest spirit helps him.
A clan of boar gods set out to attack the town while Eboshi leaves to capture the forest spirit's head, which she intends to give to the emperor of Japan.
After many battles, Eboshi gets the forest spirit’s head. Princess Mononoke and Ashitaka manage to return the spirit’s head and the spirit heals the land and the prince’s curse. The princess goes back to the forest and the forest starts to grow back after the whole ordeal.
Spirits are the main focus in both Princess Mononoke and Kojiki. Both stories are based around these “spirits” and are seen as the guiding force of their worlds. An example of this can be seen when the spirits fight back against the humans in Princess Mononoke. Similarly, in Kojiki Izanami-No-Mikoto, who is a “spirit”, promises to kill a thousand people a day. In both situations, the “spirits” are guiding forces in the human world.
There are also many differences between the two stories.. For example, the way the spirits take form is very different Kojiki and Princess Mononoke. In Princess Mononoke, spirits are usually in animal form and live in the forest. In contrast, the spirits in Kojiki take form as land masses, such as islands, and invisible gods of specific things. They tend to be single or in pairs while the spirits in Princess Mononoke are typically in
clans.
Throughout the years, the Japanese people have held many ideas on religion and how Japan and the Earth came to be. Consequently, as time moved on, these ideas became more and more backed by real evidence rather than made up stories.