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[size=16][b]Lesson One: Introduction to Greek and Roman Mythology[/b][/size]
[list][list][list][list] [b]What is Mythology?:[/b]
[list][list]• Definition of Mythology: Either the study of myths or a collection of myths taken from a specific source, be it a time period, culture or location.
• So, what's a myth? The term myth refers to a sacred narrative usually explaining how the world or humankind came to be in its present form. This term we will discuss the myths of various muggle cultures, and the magical forces that wizarding historical society believe may have been involved in the forming of these mythologies.
• In the past, muggles have attributed anything beyond their understanding to higher beings or inhuman creatures. Questions raised by both magical occurrences and everyday ones were given answers, many of which died out over the centuries. Those that remain are known as myths. Of course, many of the creatures that modern muggles believe are mythological are in fact magical.[/list][/list]

[b]Greek Mythology:[/b]
[list][list]• Greek Mythology is a collection of stories from ancient Greece that have survived the centuries. It placed an emphasis of importance on the telling of stories.
• Most of the stories were originally thought up as an explanation for natural, everyday occurrences, such as the rising and setting sun being attributed to the sun god Apollo and his sister Artemis, goddess of the moon.
• Other myths relate to the magical realm and things that the witches and wizards of Greece may have done or the existence of magical beings, which have been labelled myths by modern muggles as the magical world has been hidden away from them.
• Greek mythology covers an ancient period of history, from times prior to when man began keeping an actual record of time and historical events. In the times when the stories were told, they were, in fact, already myths, stories that were passed on as history but had been invented by man to explain their existence and aspects of their lives. It, like most mythologies, begins with the creation of the Universe, and continues on into Greek history.
• Greek Mythology includes stories of gods and goddesses, epic heroes and magical creatures. [/list][/list]
[b]Roman Mythology:[/b]
[list][list]• The storytelling aspects of Roman Mythology are mostly inspired or even taken directly from the Greeks, with very little originality beyond the names of their gods. But, unlike Greek mythology, the emphasis in Roman life was placed on ritual rather than storytelling.
• When the Renaissance hit Europe, the prevalence of the Latin language ensured that the Roman versions of tales were those that were most often used to inspire paintings and retellings, but most everything from Roman mythology was inspired by the Greeks.
• The most notable difference between the two is that Roman mythology placed more of an emphasis on human characters in their tales than their Greek counterparts, as they were less concerned with the actual actions of the gods and more concerned about how those actions affected humankind. [/list][/list]
[b]Homework:[/b] Give a brief summary of elements of Greek and/or Roman mythology that you are already familiar with. Then, read the Greek Creation Myth and be prepared to discuss it next class.[/list][/list][/list][/list]

[size=16][b]Lesson Two: The Greek and Roman Creation Myths[/b][/size]
[list][list][list][list][b]Summary:[/b] From Chaos was born Gaia, the Earth, who went on to birth Uranus and Oceanus, the skies/heavens and the oceans. From Gaia and Uranus came Eurynome, who sought to make order out of Chaos and mated with the North Wind to create Eros, the god of love. Gaia and Uranus also gave birth to a race of giants known as the Titans. One Titan named Cronus was told that he would be overtaken by his son, and so he ate his own children until Gaia intervened and saved the youngest, Zeus, who went on to cause him to throw up his other children, Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Posideon. They then went on to trap their father, and the other Titans, in the Dark World. Zeus then divided the dominion of the world to among his siblings, taking the title of ruler upon himself. In dividing the ruling of the world among his siblings, he brought order to chaos, as Eurynome had set out to do when she created Eros. But, Zeus did not care for many of the beings that dwelled on Earth, finding them ugly and imperfect. So, he left them to suffer in the elements of the world, to freeze through a cold winter. But, Prometheus, a Titan who was spared Zeus' wrath in the battle against Cronus, who was the creator of Man, did not like Zeus' treatment of his children, and stole fire from the gods to bring it to Man. To punish Prometheus, Zeus chained him to a mountain to have his insides pecked out daily, and created the beautiful Pandora to torment him. Pandora was given a box, and told that she must never open it. Unable to deny her curiosity, she opened it anyway, and released suffering upon the children of Prometheus. The only saving grace was that, hidden in the box with all the evils of the world, the box also contained the gift of hope.

[b]Homework:[/b] Write a short paragraph on your thoughts on the Greek and Roman's idea of the creation of the world. Then, read about the Greek/Roman gods and be prepared to discuss them next class.[/list][/list][/list][/list]

[size=16][b]Lesson Three: The Greek and Roman Pantheons[/b][/size]
[list][list][list][list][b]The Old Gods:[/b] Gods who were a part of the Greek and Roman Creation myth and largely disappeared after their appearances in it.
[list][list][u]Chaos:[/u] Chaos was believed to be an empty void, or nothingness, from which all originated.
[u]Gaia:[/u] Born of Chaos, Gaia is the personification of the Earth, also known as Mother Earth, and is the source of life. She is the mother of Eros, Uranus and Oceanus.
[u]Uranus:[/u] Born of Gaia, Uranus went on to become her mate and with her gave birth to the Titans.
[u]Oceanus:[/u] The ruler of a vast ocean and the eldest of the Titans.
[u]Eurynome:[/u] Daughter of Oceanus, she sought to make something out of Chaos. From her and the North Wind came Eros. She is the goddess of all things.
[u]Eros:[/u] The god of love, also known as 'firstborn.' It is from him that the gods mated and gave birth to their many offspring.
[u]The Titans:[/u] A race of godlike giants who personified the forces of nature. They were the six sons and daughters of Gaia and Uranus, and each son would go on to pair with one daughter to birth children. Of most importance is the pair of Cronus and Rhea, who would birth the Gods of Olympus. The others include; Iapetus and Themis, Oceanus and Tethys, Hyperion and Theia, Crius and Mnemosyne, and Coeus and Phoebe.[/list][/list]

[b]The Gods of Olympus:[/b] Gods who, under the rule of Zeus, lived on or were associated with the gods who lived on Mt. Olympus.
[list][list][u]Zeus/Jupiter:[/u] King of the gods and ruler of Mt. Olympus. He is lord of the skies and weather, noted for often being depicted holding or hurling lightning bolts. He is also the god of law, order and fate. His sacred animals were the eagle and the bull. He was also famous for being a ladies man and many of the Heroes of Greek and Roman mythology are the result of his indiscretions. He was the father of many of Greek mythology's greatest heroes, including Heracles and Perseus. He was also the youngest of the sons of Cronus, and the only one to escape being eaten by his father. His leading the war against their father gained him the title of king of the gods.
[u]Poseidon/Neptune:[/u] God of the sea, rivers, lakes, and, interestingly, earthquakes, and is the creator of horses. Horses, along with dolphins, were his sacred animals. He was typically depicted as being a strong, mature man with dark hair and holding his now famous trident. He is the middle child of Cronus and one of the original six gods of the Greek pantheon.
[u]Hera/Juno:[/u] Queen of the gods and the goddess and protector of marriage, women, childbirth, heirs, kings and empires. Her sacred animals were the cow, the lion, the peacock, and the cukoo. She was also noted as being insanely jealous of her husband's many mistresses and affairs, and was often very vindictive towards his illegitimate offspring. She is the mastermind behind the Trials of Heracles and the strife many of the Grecian heroes famously suffered.
[u]Hades/Pluto:[/u] God of the Underworld and husband to Persephone. Hades is the eldest of the original offspring of Cronus. He is the guardian of the realms of the dead in Greek and Roman Mythology. Unlike many modern depictions would have you believe, Hades was not evil; rather, he was a passive force, much more concerned with maintaining the land of the dead than being hurt over his lot in life. His one act of rebellion was to kidnap Persephone and bring her to live with him, an act he committed out of intense loneliness. The screech owl is his sacred animal.
[u]Athena/Minerva:[/u] The goddess of wisdom, warfare, battle strategy, heroic endeavor, reason and, interestingly, handicrafts. Athena was conceived when Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought and wisdom, and swallowed her to prevent her from fulfilling a prophecy. It stated that Metis was destined to birth to a child who would be more powerful than the sire. After swallowing Metis, he began to suffer a terrible headache, and then had his head cleaved. From the wound, Athena sprang, fully grown and armored. Her sacred animal was the owl.
[u]Apollo/Phoebus Apollo:[/u] God of the Sun, music, prophecies, poetry, and conversely, both plague and healing. He was thought to represent light and truth. He was the younger twin brother of Artemis, goddess of the Moon. He and his sister were born on the island of Delos after Hera, jealous of her husband's mistress, their mother, Leto, cursed her not to give birth on 'terra firma.' Leto escaped this and birthed the children on Delos, which was neither on the mainland or a true island as it was not connected to the sea floor. The island was believed to be favored by Apollo.
[u]Artemis/Diana:[/u] Goddess of the hunt, wilderness, animals, young girls, the plague (like her brother), and childbirth. This last association was born of the belief that she assisted in the birth of her brother Apollo. Her close association with her brother led to the later belief that she was also goddess of the Moon. She was a virgin goddess, blessed with chastity after asking her father to grant her a wish. She was seduced by many men and gods, but guarded her virginity fiercely.
[u]Hermes/Mercury:[/u] God of travel, messengers, trade, thievery, cunning wiles, language, writing, diplomacy and athletics. He is best known for being messenger of the gods, but he also leads the souls of the dead into Hades, being one of the few beings who could move at will between the realms of gods and man. He is often portrayed as being a trickster and was known for playing pranks on the other gods, outwitting them either for his own amusement or, on occasion, for the benefit of Man. He is often portrayed as carrying a winged staff and wearing winged sandals. His sacred animals are the rooster and the tortoise.
[u]Aphrodite/Venus:[/u] The goddess of love, beauty and desire. There are many stories told of how Aphrodite was born. The most famous is that the god Cronus tore off his father Uranus' testicle and threw it into the ocean, and she was born from this and the sea foam and floated to shore on a scallop shell. In another, she was the daughter of Zeus and the goddess Dione. In both versions, she was born fully grown. Aphrodite was married to the god Hephaestus, though it was a loveless marriage as every story depicting it shows that it was not her choice to wed him. In one, her father Zeus thought that her beauty would cause conflict among the gods and wed her to Hephaestus, a humorless god whom he thought would control her. In another, Hera, the single parent of Hephaestus, was disgusted by his ugliness and cast him from Olympus. In retaliation, he caught her in a magic throne and demanded the hand of the most beautiful goddess in return for releasing her. As the goddess of love, Aphrodite's affections were quite flighty, and she had many affairs, producing many children, the most famous of whom was Eros, better known by his Roman name, Cupid.
[u]Ares/Mars:[/u] The god of war, bloodshed, violence, manly courage and civil order. He is one of the few gods born of Zeus and Hera's marriage bed. Many Greeks viewed this god as more of a necessary evil than one worthy of devotion and worship, with the exception of the war-mongering Spartans, who often offered him human sacrifices before beginning a battle. Ares' Roman counterpart was more respected by the Roman people, because they added a few other areas for him to preside over that lessened the dangerous figure he possessed in Greece, making him the god of Agriculture and a guardian. His hot-headedness led to many myths involving him depicting him as being humiliated or defeated, such as when he and Athena sent their best warriors, from Sparta and Athens respectively. Her level-headed thinking and strategics led her troops to victory, while Ares' were crushed by his lack of planning and bloodthirst. The sacred animals of Area are the vulture, venomous snakes, alligators, dogs and boars.
[u]Hephaestus/Vulcan:[/u] The god of fire, metalworking, stone masonry, sculpture and volcanoes. In a few stories, Hephaestus is the son of Hera and Zeus, but in another, more common one, Hera bore this god alone, as revenge over Zeus for birthing Athena without her. Due to being born of only a mother, he is weak and deformed, and thus was initially rejected from Olympus. In anger for this slight, he then trapped Hera in a golden throne, from which she could not sit up. He was begged to return to Olympus but initially refused and was later coaxed by wine and the promise of Aphrodite's hand by Dionysus.
[u]Dionysus/Bacchus:[/u] The god of wine, parties and festivals, madness, chaos, drunkenness and ecstasy. He is often portrayed in opposite lights, sometimes as a wise, older, bearded man, while others depict him as being very young and effeminate. In many versions of his history, he is depicted as being an outside god who joined the Olympians, rather than being born of their family, being from anywhere to Asia to Thrace to Ethiopia. He was the last god to be welcomed to Olympus and the only one to have a human mother. [/list][/list]

[b]Homework:[/b] Write a short essay explaining which of the Greek and/or Roman gods we discussed in class is your favorite, or is the most interesting to you, and why. Then, read about the Greek/Roman heroes and be prepared to discuss them next class.[/list][/list][/list][/list]

[size=16][b]Lesson Four: The Greek and Roman Heroes[/b][/size]
[list][list][list][list][b]The Grecian Heroes:[/b]
[list][list][u]Heracles/Hercules:[/u] Brave and powerful Hercules is perhaps the most loved of all Greek heroes. The son of Zeus and Alcmene (a granddaughter of Perseus), Heracles grew up to become a famed warrior. But Zeus's jealous wife, Hera, made him temporarily insane, and he killed his wife and children. As punishment Heracles performed twelve seemingly impossible labors (see The Twelve Labors of Hercules), which have been the subject of countless works of art and drama. Heracles is often depicted wearing a lion skin and wielding a club.
[u]Achilles:[/u] Achilles was the strongest and most fearless warrior in the Greek war against the Trojans. As an infant his mother dipped him into the River Styx, which made him invulnerable everywhere but the heel by which she held him. For ten years Achilles was a great hero in the Trojan War. But in the end Paris, son of the Trojan king, fatally wounded Achilles in the heel. Today, the tendon that connects the calf muscles to the heel bone is called the Achilles tendon, and a small but dangerous weakness is known as an “Achilles heel.”
[u]Jason:[/u] Jason was the leader of the Argonauts, the 50 heroes who sailed in search of the Golden Fleece. Jason's uncle, Pelias, had stolen the kingdom that should belong to Jason. He promised to return it only if Jason would bring home the Golden Fleece—the wool from the magical winged ram that became the constellation Aries. On their journey Jason and the Argonauts faced down such dangers as the deadly singing Sirens. They ultimately captured the fleece with the help of the sorceress Medea, who became Jason's wife.
[u]Odysseus:[/u] .King of Ithaca and a celebrated warrior, Odysseus helped the Greeks triumph in the Trojan War. Afterward he journeyed nearly ten years to return home to Ithaca and his wife Penelope. Along the way Odysseus's courage and cleverness saved him and his men from such monsters as the Cyclops Polyphemus, the Sirens, and Scylla and Charybdis. Back in Ithaca, Odysseus proved his identity to Penelope and once again ruled his homeland. These adventures are told in Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey.
[u]Perseus:[/u] The son of Zeus and Danaë, Perseus completed dangerous feats with his quick thinking and talents as a warrior. Most famous was his slaying of the Gorgon Medusa. Because looking directly at the monstrous Medusa would turn a man to stone, Perseus killed her while watching her reflection in a mirror. After beheading the Gorgon with his sword he kept her head in his satchel. Later, to save the princess Andromeda from being eaten by a sea monster, Perseus pulled out Medusa's head and turned the creature to stone.
[u]Theseus:[/u] Theseus was known for his triumph over numerous monsters, especially the Minotaur, which lived in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. Every year the people of Athens had been forced to send fourteen young people for the Minotaur to eat alive. But Theseus, using a ball of magic thread from the princess Ariadne, found his way in and out of the labyrinth and killed the beast. Theseus was the son of either Aegeus, king of Athens, or the sea god Poseidon. In later life he became king of Athens and a famous warrior.[/list][/list]

[b]Homework:[/b] Which of the Greek Heroes do you believe has the most interesting story? Write a short essay explaining who and why. Then, turn in a separate paper, telling me what you thought the most interesting thing you learned this term was and why.[/list][/list][/list][/list]

[size=16][b]Lesson One: Introduction to Japanese Mythology[/b][/size]
[list][list][list][list] [b]What is Mythology?:[/b]
[list][list]• Definition of Mythology: Either the study of myths or a collection of myths taken from a specific source, be it a time period, culture or location.
• So, what's a myth? The term myth refers to a sacred narrative usually explaining how the world or humankind came to be in its present form. This term we will discuss the myths of various muggle cultures, and the magical forces that wizarding historical society believe may have been involved in the forming of these mythologies.
• In the past, muggles have attributed anything beyond their understanding to higher beings or inhuman creatures. Questions raised by both magical occurrences and everyday ones were given answers, many of which died out over the centuries. Those that remain are known as myths. Of course, many of the creatures that modern muggles believe are mythological are in fact magical.[/list][/list]

[b]Japanese Mythology:[/b]
[list][list]• Japanese mythology embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculturally based folk religion. The Shinto pantheon comprises innumerable kami (Japanese for "gods" or "spirits").
• Japanese myths, as generally recognized in the mainstream today, are based on the Kojiki, the Nihon Shoki, and some complementary books. The Kojiki, or "Record of Ancient Matters", is the oldest surviving account of Japan's myths, legends and history. The Shintōshū describes the origins of Japanese deities from a Buddhist perspective, while the Hotsuma Tsutae records a substantially different version of the mythology.
• One notable feature of Japanese mythology is its explanation of the origin of the imperial family which has been used historically to assign godhood to the imperial line. The Japanese title of the Emperor of Japan, tennō (天皇), means "heavenly sovereign". [/list][/list]

[b]Homework:[/b] Give a brief summary of elements of Japanese mythology that you are already familiar with. Then, read the Japanese Creation Myths and be prepared to discuss them next class.[/list][/list][/list][/list]

[size=16][b]Lesson Two: The Japanese Creation Myth[/b][/size]
[list][list][list][list][b]Summary:[/b] Long ago all the elements were mixed together with one germ of life. This germ began to mix things around and around until the heavier part sank and the lighter part rose. A muddy sea that covered the entire earth was created. From this ocean grew a green shoot. It grew and grew until it reached the clouds and there it was tranformed into a god. Soon this god grew lonely and it began to create other gods. The last two gods it made, Izanagi anf Izanami, were the most remarkable.
One day as they were walking along they looked down on the ocean and wondered what was beneath it. Izanagi thrust his staff into the waters and as he pulled it back up some clumps of mud fell back into the sea. They began to harden and grow until they became the islands of Japan.
The two descended to these islands and began to explore, each going in different directions. They created all kinds of plants. When they met again they decided to marry and have children to inhabit the land. The first child Izanami bore was a girl of radiant beauty. The gods decided she was too beautiful to live in Japan, so they put her up in the sky and she became the sun. Their second daughter, Tsuki-yami, became the moon and their third and unruly son, Sosano-wo, was sentenced to the sea, where he creates storms.
Later, their first child, Amaterasu, bore a son who became the emperor of Japan and all the emperors since then have claimed descent from him.

[b]Homework:[/b] Write a short paragraph on your thoughts on the Japanese's idea of the creation of the world. Then, read about the Japanese gods and be prepared to discuss them next class.[/list][/list][/list][/list]

[size=16][b]Lesson Three: The Japanese Pantheons[/b][/size]
[list][list][list][list][b]Major Kami:[/b] ...
[list][list][u]Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami:[/u] (天照大神 or 天照大御神) Commonly called Amaterasu, she is the goddess of the sun as well as the purported ancestress of the Imperial Household of Japan. Her full name means "Great Goddess" or "Great Spirit Who Shines in the Heavens"; she may also be referred to as Ōhiru-menomuchi-no-kami (大日孁貴神). Due to her ties to the Imperial family, she is often considered (though not official) to be the "primary god" of Shinto.
[u]Ame-no-Uzume:[/u] (天宇受売命 or 天鈿女命) Commonly called Uzume, she is the goddess of dawn and revelry, instrumental to the "missing sun motif" in Shinto. She is also known as The Great Persuader and The Heavenly Alarming Female.
[u]Fūjin:[/u] (風神) Also known as Kami-no-Kaze, he is the Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto gods, said to be present at the creation of the world. He is often depicted as an oni with a bag slung over his back.
[u]Hachiman:[/u] (八幡神) Also known as Hachiman-shin or Yawata no Kami, he is the god of war and the divine protector of Japan and its people. Originally an agricultural deity, he later became the guardian of the Minamoto clan. His symbolic animal and messenger is the dove.
[u]Inari:[/u] (稲荷) The god or goddess of rice and fertility. His/her messengers and symbolic animal are foxes. He/she is often identified with the Buddhist deity Dakiniten.
[u]Izanagi:[/u] (伊弊諾 or 伊邪那岐) The forefather of the gods, he is the first male as well as the god of creation and life. He and his wife, Izanami, were responsible for the birth of the islands of Japan and many kami, though she died in childbirth. Later, after his failed attempt to retrieve her from the underworld, he sired Amaterasu, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi.
[u]Izanami:[/u] (伊弉冉 or 伊邪那美) Izanagi's wife and sister, she is the first female as well as the goddess of creation and death. She died shortly after the birth of Kagu-tsuchi, and Izanagi followed her to the underworld, but failed to bring her back to the living world. A marital spat between the pair caused the cycle of life and death for all living beings.
[u]Ninigi-no-Mikoto:[/u] (瓊瓊杵尊) Commonly called Ninigi, he was the grandson of Amaterasu. His great-grandson was Kamuyamato Iwarebiko, later to be known as Emperor Jimmu, first emperor of Japan.
[u]Omoikane:[/u] (思兼) The deity of wisdom and intelligence, who is always called upon to "ponder" and give good counsel in the deliberations of the heavenly deities.
[u]Raijin:[/u] (雷神) Commonly called Raiden (雷電), he is the god of thunder and lightning, and is often paired with Fūjin. As with the latter, Raijin is usually depicted as an oni.
[u]Ryūjin:[/u] (龍神) Also known as Ōwatatsumi, he is a dragon, as well as god of the sea. He resides in Ryūgū-jō, his palace under the sea built out of red and white coral, from where he controlled the tides with magical tide jewels. His great-grandson would become Emperor Jimmu.
[u]Suijin:[/u] (水神) The God of Water.
[u]Susanoo-no-Mikoto:[/u] (須佐之男尊) Alternately romanized as Susano-o, Susa-no-o, and Susanowo. Reportedly called "Futsushi". He is the god of storms as well as in some cases the god of the sea. He is also somewhat of a trickster god, as Japanese mythology extensively documents the "sibling rivalry" between him and Amaterasu. Susanoo also was responsible for the slaying of the monster Yamata no Orochi and the subsequent discovery of the sacred sword Kusanagi.
[u]Tenjin:[/u] (天神) The god of scholarship, he is the deified Sugawara no Michizane (845–c903), who was elevated to his position after dying in exile and subsequent disasters in Heiankyo were attributed to his angered spirit.
Toyotama-hime (豊玉姫) Also known as Otohime (乙姫), she was the daughter of Ryūjin and the grandmother of Jimmu. It is said that after she gave birth to her son, she turned into a dragon and disappeared.
[u]Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto:[/u] (月読の命 or 月夜見の尊) Also known as Tsukiyomi, Tsuki no Kami, Tsukiyomino Mikoto, and Tsukiyumi no Mikoto, he is the god of the moon. He killed the goddess of food, Uke Mochi, out of disgust and anger in the way she had prepared a meal. This caused Amaterasu to never face him again, causing the sun and moon to be in different parts of the sky.[/list][/list]

[b]Minor Kami:[/b] .
[list][list][u]Amatsu-Mikaboshi:[/u] (天津甕星), the kami of all evil and stars who existed before the Kotoamatsukami. Mentioned under Takemikazuchi.
[u]Ame-no-Koyane:[/u] (天児屋命 or 天児屋根命) A male deity, he is considered the "First in Charge of Divine Affairs", as well as the aide to the first Emperor of Japan [1]. He is also considered to be the ancestor of the Fujiwara family.
[u]Ame-no-naemasu:[/u] (天苗加命) reportedly called "Futsushi" and said a son or elder brother of "Futsu".
[u]Futsunushi:[/u] (経津主神) Main deity at Kashima Shrine.
[u]Iwai-nushi-no-kami:[/u] (斎主尊), god name whose identiy is obscure. Nihon shoki calls him Iwai-no-ushi (斎之大人?) and locates him in Katori[disambiguation needed] which suggest the god might be Futsunushi. But there is reason to believe he might be Takehazuchi (建葉槌命?) (See Takemizuchi), and there are others who say this might even be Amaterasu.[1]Futsunushi (経津主神?)
[u]Nigihayahi-no-mikoto:[/u] (饒速日尊, 天照国照彦天火明櫛玉饒速日尊) reportedly called "Furu" and said a sone of "Futsushi". Only Nigihayahi (Furu) has the name of "Amateru (天照)" among Japanese deities. It is clearly described that Nigihayahi was ruling Yamato (ancient name of the capital and the center of Japan) before conquest war of emperor Jinmu in the two oldest official history books of Japan, "Kojiki" (712) or "Nihon Shoki" (720).
[u]Konohanasakuya-hime:[/u] (木花之開耶姫), the wife of Ninigi and daughter of Ohoyamatsumi, and great-grandmother of Jimmu. She is also known as the goddess of Mount Fuji. She is also known by the name Sengen.
[u]Ōhoyamatsumi:[/u] (大山積神), an elder brother of Amaterasu, and an important god who rules mountain, sea, and war, as well as the father of Konohanasakuya-hime.
[u]Sukuna-Biko-Na:[/u] (少名毘古那) A small deity of medicine and rain, who created and solidified the land with Ōkuninushi.
[u]Sarutahiko Ōkami:[/u] (猿田毘古神), a kami of the Earth that guided Ninigi to the Japanese islands.
[u]Tajimamori:[/u] (田道間守), god who obtained the tokijiku no kagu no mi and hailed as "god of wagashi" (sweets, confections).
[u]Uke Mochi:[/u] (保食神), sometimes called Ogetsu-hime-no-Kami, a goddess of food. After she had spat a fish, vomited or defecated game and coughed rice, she had been killed by a disgusted Tsukuyomi, or in some other versions, Susanoo.[/list][/list]

[b]Homework:[/b] Write a short essay explaining which of the Japanese gods we discussed in class is your favorite, or is the most interesting to you, and why. Then, read about the Japanese heroes and be prepared to discuss them next class.[/list][/list][/list][/list]

[size=16][b]Lesson Four: The Japanese Heroes[/b][/size]
[list][list][list][list][b]The Japanese Heroes:[/b]
[list][list][u]Yamato Takeru:[/u] Prince Ōsu slew his elder brother Ōusu (大碓命, おおうすのみこと). His father, the emperor Keikō, feared his brutal temperament. To keep him at a distance, the father sent him to Izumo Province, today the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture, and then the land of Kumaso, today Kumamoto Prefecture. However, Ousu succeeded in defeating his enemies, in the latter case by cross-dressing as a maid attendant at a drinking party (see image left). One of the enemies he defeated praised him and gave him the title Yamatotakeru, meaning The Brave of Yamato. But Emperor Keikō's mind was unchanged.
Keikō sent Yamato Takeru to the eastern land whose people disobeyed the imperial court. Yamatotakeru met his aunt Princess Yamato-hime, the highest priestess of Amaterasu at Ise Grand Shrine (in Ise Province) and grieved, "my father wishes I would die?" Princess Yamato-hime showed him compassion and lent him a holy sword named Ame no Murakumo no tsurugi (Kusanagi no tsurugi), which Susanoo, the brother god of Amaterasu, found in the body of the eight-headed great serpent, Yamata no Orochi. Yamatotakeru went to the eastern land. He lost his wife Ototachibana-hime during a storm when she sacrificed herself to soothe the anger of the sea god. He defeated many enemies in the eastern land, and legend has it that he and a local old man composed the first sedōka in Kai Province with Mount Tsukuba (now in Ibaraki Prefecture) as its theme. On his return he blasphemed a local god of Mount Ibuki, which sits on the border of Ōmi Province and Mino Province. The god cursed him with disease and he fell ill.
The story above is found in the Kojiki. In the Nihonshoki version, the father and Yamatotakeru keep a good relation.
According to traditional sources, Yamato Takeru died in the 43rd year of Emperor Keiko's reign (景行天皇43年). The possessions of the dead prince were gathered together along with the sword Kusanagi; and his widow venerated his memory in a shrine at her home. Some time later, these relics and the sacred sword were moved to the current location of Atsuta Shrine.
Yamato Takeru is believed to have died somewhere in Ise Province. According to the legend, the name of Mie Prefecture was derived from his final words. After death his soul turned into a great white bird and flew away. His tomb in Ise is known as the Mausoleum of the White Plover. A statue of Yamato Takeru stands in Kenroku-en in Kanazawa, Ishikawa.
[u]Momotarō:[/u] According to the present form of the tale (dating to the Edo period), Momotarō came to Earth inside a giant peach, which was found floating down a river by an old, childless woman who was washing clothes there. The woman and her husband discovered the child when they tried to open the peach to eat it. The child explained that he had been sent by Heaven to be their son. The couple named him Momotarō, from momo (peach) and tarō (eldest son in the family).
Years later, Momotarō left his parents to fight a band of marauding oni (demons or ogres) on a distant island. En route, Momotarō met and befriended a talking dog, monkey, and pheasant, who agreed to help him in his quest. At the island, Momotarō and his animal friends penetrated the demons' fort and beat the band of demons into surrendering. Momotarō and his new friends returned home with the demons' plundered treasure and the demon chief as a captive. Momotarō and his family lived comfortably from then on.
Momotarō is strongly associated with Okayama, and his tale may have its origins there. The demon island (Onigashima (鬼ヶ島?)) of the story is sometimes associated with Megijima Island, an island in the Seto Inland Sea near Takamatsu, due to the vast manmade caves found on that island.
[u]Urashima Tarō:[/u] One day a young fisherman named Urashima Tarō is fishing when he notices a group of children torturing a small turtle. Tarō saves it and lets it to go back to the sea. The next day, a huge turtle approaches him and tells him that the small turtle he had saved is the daughter of the Emperor of the Sea, Ryūjin, who wants to see him to thank him. The turtle magically gives Tarō gills and brings him to the bottom of the sea, to the Palace of the Dragon God (Ryūgū-jō). There he meets the Emperor and the small turtle, who was now a lovely princess, Otohime.
Tarō stays there with her for a few days, but soon wants to go back to his village and see his aging mother, so he requests Otohime's permission to leave. The princess says she is sorry to see him go, but wishes him well and gives him a mysterious box called tamatebako which will protect him from harm but which she tells him never to open. Tarō grabs the box, jumps on the back of the same turtle that had brought him there, and soon is at the seashore.
When he goes home, everything has changed. His home is gone, his mother has vanished, and the people he knew are nowhere to be seen. He asks if anybody knows a man called Urashima Tarō. They answer that they had heard someone of that name had vanished at sea long ago. He discovers that 300 years have passed since the day he left for the bottom of the sea. Struck by grief, he absent-mindedly opens the box the princess had given him, from which bursts forth a cloud of white smoke. He is suddenly aged, his beard long and white, and his back bent. From the sea comes the sad, sweet voice of the princess: "I told you not to open that box. In it was your old age ..."
[u]Kintarō:[/u] Several competing stories tell of Kintarō's childhood. In one, he was raised by his mother, Princess Yaegiri, daughter of a wealthy man named Shiman-chōja, in the village of Jizodo, near Mt. Kintoki. In a competing legend, his mother gave birth to him in what is now Sakata. She was forced to flee, however, due to fighting between her husband, a samurai named Sakata, and his uncle. She finally settled in the forests of Mt. Kintoki to raise her son. Alternatively, Kintarō's real mother left the child in the wilds or died and left him an orphan, and he was raised by the mountain witch Yama-uba (one tale says Kintarō's mother raised him in the wilds, but due to her haggard appearance, she came to be called Yama-uba). In the most fanciful version of the tale, Yama-uba was Kintarō's mother, impregnated by a clap of thunder sent from a red dragon of Mt. Ashigara.
The legends agree that even as a toddler, Kintarō was active and indefatigable, plump and ruddy, wearing only a bib with the kanji for "gold" (金) on it. His only other accoutrement was a hatchet (ono and masakari). He was bossy to other children (or there simply were no other children in the forest), so his friends were mainly the animals of Mt. Kintoki and Mt. Ashigara. He was also phenomenally strong, able to smash rocks into pieces, uproot trees, and bend trunks like twigs. His animal friends served him as messengers and mounts, and some legends say that he even learned to speak their language. Several tales tell of Kintarō's adventures, fighting monsters and demons, beating bears in sumo wrestling, and helping the local woodcutters fell trees.
As an adult, Kintarō changed his name to Sakata no Kintoki. He met the samurai Minamoto no Yorimitsu as he passed through the area around Mt. Kintoki. Yorimitsu was impressed by Kintarō's enormous strength, so he took him as one of his personal retainers to live with him in Kyoto. Kintoki studied martial arts there and eventually became the chief of Yorimitsu's Shitennō ("four braves"), renowned for his strength and martial prowess. He eventually went back for his mother and brought her to Kyoto as well.
[u]Kaguya-hime:[/u] One day, while walking in the bamboo forest, an old, childless bamboo cutter called Taketori no Okina (竹取翁?, "the Old Man who Harvests Bamboo") came across a mysterious, shining stalk of bamboo. After cutting it open, he found inside it a baby the size of his thumb. He rejoiced to find such a beautiful girl and took her home. He and his wife raised her as their own child and named her Kaguya-hime (かぐや姫 accurately, Nayotake-no-Kaguya-hime "princess of flexible bamboos scattering light"). Thereafter, Taketori no Okina found that whenever he cut down a stalk of bamboo, inside would be a small nugget of gold. Soon he became rich. Kaguya-hime grew from a small baby into a woman of ordinary size and extraordinary beauty. At first, Taketori no Okina tried to keep her away from outsiders, but over time the news of her beauty had spread.
Eventually, five princes came to Taketori no Okina's residence to ask for Kaguya-hime's hand in marriage. The princes eventually persuaded Taketori no Okina to tell a reluctant Kaguya-hime to choose from among them. Kaguya-hime concocted impossible tasks for the princes, agreeing to marry the one who managed to bring her his specified item. That night, Taketori no Okina told the five princes what each must bring. The first was told to bring her the stone begging bowl of the Buddha from India, the second a jewelled branch from the island of Hōrai,[4] the third the legendary robe of the fire-rat of China, the fourth a colored jewel from a dragon's neck, and the final prince the cowrie which was born from swallows.
Realizing that it was an impossible task, the first prince returned with an expensive bowl, but after noticing that the bowl did not glow with holy light, Kaguya-hime saw through his deception. Likewise, two other princes attempted to deceive her with fakes, but also failed. The fourth gave up after encountering a storm, while the final prince lost his life (severely injured in some versions) in his attempt.
After this, the Emperor of Japan, Mikado, came to see the strangely beautiful Kaguya-hime and, upon falling in love, asked her to marry him. Although he was not subjected to the impossible trials that had thwarted the princes, Kaguya-hime rejected his request for marriage as well, telling him that she was not of his country and thus could not go to the palace with him. She stayed in contact with the Emperor, but continued to rebuff his requests and marriage proposals.
That summer, whenever Kaguya-hime saw the full moon, her eyes filled with tears. Though her adoptive parents worried greatly and questioned her, she was unable to tell them what was wrong. Her behaviour became increasingly erratic until she revealed that she was not of this world and must return to her people on the Moon. In some versions of this tale, it is said that she was sent to the Earth as a temporary punishment for some crime, while others say it was for safety during a celestial war, and that all of the gold that Taketori no Okina had been finding had in fact been a stipend that had been sent down to pay for Kaguya-hime's upkeep.
As the day of her return approached, the Emperor set many guards around her house to protect her from the Moon people, but when an embassy of "Heavenly Beings" arrived at the door of Taketori no Okina's house, the guards were blinded by a strange light. Kaguya-hime announced that, though she loved her many friends on Earth, she must return with the Moon people to her true home. She wrote sad notes of apology to her parents and to the Emperor, then gave her parents her own robe as a memento. She then took a small taste of the elixir of life, attached it to her letter to the Emperor, and gave it to a guard officer. As she handed it to him, the feather robe was placed on her shoulders, and all of her sadness and compassion for the people of the Earth were forgotten. The heavenly entourage took Kaguya-hime back to Tsuki-no-Miyako ("the Capital of the Moon"), leaving her earthly foster parents in tears.
The parents became very sad and were soon put to bed sick. The officer returned to the Emperor with the items Kaguya-hime had given him as her last mortal act, and reported what had happened. The Emperor read her letter and was overcome with sadness. He asked his servants, "Which mountain is the closest place to Heaven?", to which one replied the Great Mountain of Suruga Province. The Emperor ordered his men to take the letter to the summit of the mountain and burn it, in the hope that his message would reach the distant princess. The men were also commanded to burn the elixir of immortality since the Emperor did not wish to live forever without being able to see her. The legend has it that the word immortality (不死 fushi?, or fuji) became the name of the mountain, Mount Fuji. It is also said that the kanji for the mountain, 富士山 (literally "Mountain Abounding with Warriors"), is derived from the Emperor's army ascending the slopes of the mountain to carry out his order. It is said that the smoke from the burning still rises to this day. (In the past, Mount Fuji was much more volcanically active.)
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[b]Homework:[/b] Which of the Japanese Heroes do you believe has the most interesting story? Write a short essay explaining who and why. Then, turn in a separate paper, telling me what you thought the most interesting thing you learned this term was and why.[/list][/list][/list][/list]