50 Fun Facts About Japanese Mythology

Which two 8th-century texts are the oldest sources of Japanese mythology?

They were completed in 712 and 720 under the Yamato state.

Who wrote down the Kojiki in 712 at the request of Empress Genmei?

He recorded what the courtier Hieda no Are had memorised on Emperor Tenmu's orders.

Which court attendant of 'exceptional memory' was told to memorise the imperial records?

Emperor Tenmu commissioned the feat; the writing-down came decades later.

The Nihon Shoki was completed in 720 under whose editorial supervision?

It was written in classical Chinese so it could stand beside the Chinese annals.

Which Edo-period scholar's Kojiki-den commentary shaped modern understanding of the myths?

Before his work the Kojiki was widely seen as inferior to the Nihon Shoki.

Izanagi and Izanami created the first island by stirring the sea with what?

The brine dripping from its tip congealed into the island of Onogoro.

What is the name of the first island formed from the brine off Izanagi's spear?

The couple then descended to it and built a pillar and a hall.

Izanami died after giving birth to which god?

His flames killed her; Izanagi then cut the child down in grief and rage.

What is the name of the underworld Izanagi entered to retrieve Izanami?

He disobeyed her order not to look at her, and fled from what he saw.

With what did Izanagi permanently seal the entrance to Yomi?

The Kojiki places the entrance in Izumo province.

Amaterasu was born when Izanagi washed which part of his face?

Tsukuyomi came from the right eye and Susanoo from the nose.

Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo are known collectively as what?

They are the most important offspring of the creator god Izanagi.

Which heavenly realm does Amaterasu rule?

The name means the High Plain of Heaven.

Which animal did Susanoo flay and hurl into Amaterasu's weaving hall?

The skinned horse killed one of her weaving maidens; he had also defecated in her palace.

Where did Amaterasu hide after Susanoo's rampage, plunging the world into darkness?

The Ame-no-Iwato, 'Heavenly Rock-Cave Door', was sealed with a straw rope once she was out.

Which goddess danced on an overturned bucket to lure Amaterasu from the cave?

The gods' laughter made Amaterasu peek out; Ame-no-Tajikarao then pulled her free.

Which god, the deity of counsel and thought, led the plan to draw Amaterasu from the cave?

The plan involved crowing birds, a mirror hung in a sakaki tree and Uzume's dance.

What startled Amaterasu as she emerged from the cave?

The mirror hung outside became one of the Three Sacred Treasures.

Amaterasu's chief place of worship is the Grand Shrine at which town?

It lies in Mie Prefecture and is among Shinto's holiest sites.

Tsukuyomi angered Amaterasu by killing Ukemochi, the deity of what?

He was disgusted that she produced a banquet from her mouth and body; Amaterasu never saw him again.

After his banishment, Susanoo came down to which land of Japan?

There he met the elderly couple Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi and their last daughter.

How many heads did the serpent Yamata no Orochi have?

It also had eight tails and spanned eight valleys and eight peaks.

How did Susanoo hide Kushinadahime from the serpent?

He stuck the comb in his hair, then had her parents brew eightfold-refined sake for the monster.

What did Susanoo find in the serpent's tail?

He found it in the fourth tail and named it Ame-no-Murakumo, 'Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds'.

What does the name Kusanagi no Tsurugi mean?

Yamato Takeru used it to cut back burning grass when a warlord tried to trap him in a fire.

Which warrior received the sword from his aunt, the priestess of Ise, for protection?

He discovered the blade could control the wind in the direction of his swing.

The original sword is considered entrusted to which Nagoya sanctuary?

Replicas of the sword and mirror were made as early as the 9th century.

Which three objects make up Japan's Imperial Regalia?

They stand for valour, wisdom and benevolence respectively.

In the regalia's symbolism, the mirror represents which virtue?

The sword stands for valour and the jewel for benevolence.

Emperor Hirohito's greatest fear when the Allied command arrived in 1945 concerned what?

He dreaded the regalia falling into enemy hands.

Amaterasu's grandson who descended to rule the earth was called what?

He brought the Three Sacred Treasures and is great-grandfather of the first emperor.

Amaterasu's grandson descended to Mount Takachiho on which island?

The Imperial Household Agency designates Nitta Shrine in Kagoshima as his official burial site.

What is the name of the event in which Ōkuninushi surrendered the land to heaven?

It may reflect the Yamato state's absorption of Izumo; Ninigi's descent followed.

Ōkuninushi is enshrined above all at which grand shrine in Shimane?

Before Meiji he was syncretised with the Buddhist deity Daikokuten.

Emperor Jimmu's legendary ascension is traditionally dated to which year?

Japan marks it as National Foundation Day on 11 February.

Which three-legged bird guided Jimmu from Kumano to Yamato?

The name means 'eight-span crow'; his grave is traditionally near Mount Unebi in Kashihara.

Inari is the kami of foxes, prosperity and, above all, which crop?

The name literally means 'rice-bearer'; Shiseido keeps an Inari shrine atop its headquarters.

Roughly what share of Japan's Shinto shrines are dedicated to Inari?

Some 40,000 shrines; Inari's messenger foxes are pure white.

What is the maximum number of tails a kitsune may grow in folklore?

Some tales say a fox gains a new tail only after living 100 years.

The nine-tailed vixen whose death produced the 'murder stone' is called what?

Kuzunoha, by contrast, gave birth to the magician Abe no Seimei.

What do kappa keep in the dish-like depression on their heads?

Spill it and the kappa is severely weakened; they love cucumbers and sumo.

Which vegetable do kappa famously favour?

They are also said to love sumo wrestling and to steal a mythical organ called the shirikodama.

The tengu's famous long nose is thought to have developed in which century?

It humanised the original bird's bill; tengu are dressed as yamabushi mountain ascetics.

Tengu are usually depicted in the garb of which mountain ascetics?

The association with Shugendō practitioners began in the 13th century.

What does the thunder god Raijin beat to make his noise?

His twin brother Fūjin is the god of wind.

Who is Raijin's twin brother?

Raijin is also shown with his son Raitarō or his animal companion, a Raijū.

Momotarō, the 'Peach Boy', recruited which three animal companions?

He paid them in millet dumplings to help fight the oni of Demon Island.

Which prefecture's claim that Momotarō is its local hero was invented in modern times?

The old woman found the peach floating down a river while washing clothes.

What happens to Urashima Tarō when he opens the forbidden jewelled box?

Princess Otohime gave him the tamatebako when he left the Dragon Palace.

Urashima Tarō was carried to the Dragon Palace on the back of which animal?

The turtle-riding image dates only to the early 18th century; older versions had him row to Hōrai.