p a n e s e

J a
th o l o g y
M y
Japanese were NOT
THE ORIGINAL
inhabitants of the
place.
MONGOLOID
people invaded
these islands and
brought their Shinto
religion with them.
 China influenced
Japan: religion,
literature and arts.
KOJIKI and
NIHON SHOKI
are the major
sources of
Japanese
Mythology.
 AMATERASU myth is part of the
Shinto religious tradition.
It reflects the importance of the role of
WOMEN in early JAPANESE LIFE.
It also reflects the Shinto interest in
FERTILITY AND RITUALS
ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
 The optimistic view of nature was
supported by the abundance of
PLANT LIFE, WILD ANIMALS,
AND FISH in Japan.
Ok! Lets go to the
story…

The Myth
of
Amaterasu
 AINU PEOPLE were first to arrive in
the land of Japan before the Mongoloid
people. Lived in the River valley, had
abundant
food supply
to feed
their small
population.
 They settled in
the island of
Hokkaido.
When Japanese
people invaded
their land, they
cleared land
forests and took
over the land.
 They became MIGRANT FARM
WORKERS.
They had a superb command of oral
traditions. They have produced numerous
of them and one of them is
 Kotan Utunnai
is…
…an unusual
adventure story.
… a blending of
the divine with
the human
(surprise, magic
and mystery).
…having a human
hero possessing
god-like power.
…simple.
 It reminds us of how similar human
beings are to one another… need to
prove their excellence and to acquire
fame that the characters in other major
epics have.
The major characters possess courage,
affection, loyalty,and perseverance.
Men and women are equal since they
have both great power and skills.
 Ladies and Gentlemen!!!

Kotan Utunnai
 yt h of
Th e M
e al an d
Ne w Z
 Ancestors of Polynesian people
originated in Asia.
One group of the Polynesians first
inhabited New Zealand (Aotearoa –
long white cloud and themselves –
Maori – a person of themselves)
Maori mythology shows little Christian
influence.
Maori Creation Myth

nonbeing
thought
creation of the universe
human beings
It focuses more on the relationship
between man and nature.
 Welcome to the
The Creation Cycle
 y th o f
The M
a w a i i
H
Same background as the Mauris.
Hawaiian Islands was divided into
social classes.
Chiefs and royalty
Priests
Common people
slaves
 Life for Polynesians are easy.
Bards sang or recited poetic stories.
They worshipped
nature gods who
are important in
their legendary
history. The gods
are often depicted
as chiefs who live
in distant lands or
in the heavens.
In Hawaiian Mythology,
divine power flows from
the gods to their human
relatives
 Under the
direction of the
Christian
missionaries, the
Hawaiian chiefs
discarded their
native religion
and adapted
Christianity.
The Legends and Myths of Hawaii
by His Hawaiian Majesty King
David Kalakuya.
 Series of books and articles
by William Drake Westervelt.
 His first book,
Legends of Ma-ui
(1910), tells the
myth of Maui’s
capture of the sun
and also includes
Polynesian sources
of the tale from such
islands as Samoa
and New Zealand.
 “The Taming of the Sun”
is another of the demigod Maui’s
great deeds and it provides an
accurate depiction of this trickster-
hero at work.
Maui has both divine and human
relatives.
A hero saving the
world from a great
threat.
The Taming of
the Sun