Japanese Legends And Myth
The exciting and mysterious Japanese legends reveal much about the culture and way of life of this fascinating country. We invite you to know them in this post.
Japanese legends
The millennial Japan, a country of so many riches in terms of myths and legends, offers us through its stories the opportunity to know its culture, its moral foundations and its way of conceiving the world.
Based on these foundations, the Japanese people have managed to build a mythology that fascinates the Western world, by virtue of the different perspective with which they approach the situations that arise daily. This has been the case for a long time and the myths of antiquity reflect it and are still valid in the legends of today.
A particularity of Japan is that it is one of the places where everything related to terror is enjoyed and it is assumed in a very different way from other latitudes, especially in Latin America. This particularity is also found in Celtic mythology.
This has generated that the Japanese legends in which not only ghosts abound, but also spirits, which are always immersed in the plots of the stories. In them, the psychological factor plays a very important role, since through suggestion it is possible to create tension in who hears or reads them.
Such a peculiarity, of course, produces curiosity in our western society, which has encouraged its popularity and increased the interest of the audience in this part of the world.
In the past, there were numerous
Japanese myths and legends that were transmitted from the ancient inhabitants of the island, who tried to explain the world from its primitive approach, until today, with a plot that continues to inspire multiple writers and artists.
In this post we want to invite you to meet Japan through its various legends with themes that deal with love, terror, moral principles, urban customs, among others.
Characteristics
Regarding the characteristics, it is important to keep in mind that the legends of Japan include stories with distinctive aspects that identify them culturally with the country, of course keeping the particularities of the moment in which they were written and of the genre developed. The Mexican mythology also presents indigenous aspects of the country. Let's look at some of those features:
At first they were an important part of the oral tradition of the country, in the absence of writing.
They are imaginary stories that people create by mixing fantastic and supernatural elements, which in many cases come from folklore.
A combination of authentic information is made with fictional data, which cannot be verified.
They are based on their customs and folk beliefs.
Questions are raised about the existence of elements of nature.
They include gods, creatures and spirits typical of their mythological creation.
Likewise, the personification of animals, trees, flowers or any other object is used.
Some of the Japanese legends are fables that leave a sobering message.
Many of them are dedicated to highlighting important elements of the geography of your country.
Categories of Japanese legends
The most popular categories that we normally find in the mythology of Japan are presented below. In each of them it is possible to identify ancient legends and other more modern ones. There are several types of categories that could be pointed out, but we have wanted to include them into four main types; namely:
Japanese legends of love
Japanese horror legends
Japanese Urban legends
Pretty Japanese legends
A succinct description of the category follows and the best-known Japanese legends are noted for the reader's enjoyment and to encourage them to inquire and read others.
Japanese legends of love
This is a very common theme in Japanese legends due to the interest that this feeling arouses in the population. Some are so famous that writers, playwrights and film producers have taken them to make books, plays, films, series and cartoons in which they seek to exalt and promote this beautiful feeling.
Certainly, there are many Japanese legends inspired by love in which its creators have captured it as the central element, evidencing their own experiences or those of their closest ones, sometimes with a certain tinge of veracity, others invented.
A peculiarity in the Japanese tradition about these stories is that the couple or lovers involved can be represented by men and women, but also by animals, trees, flowers or any other object.
In general, we can say that Japanese mythology is emotional and romantic and its legends reflect its opinion regarding the predestination of love when it has to occur.
There are many short Japanese myths that have become popular and become world famous, and in this sense. some of the most relevant are presented below.
Examples
These stories have been selected considering their popularity for being the most requested by lovers of Japanese mythology and, also, because they reflect the uniqueness of Japanese on this subject.
Sakura and Yohiro
This is one of the Japanese legends that explains, from a love story, the birth and development of one of the most beautiful and symbolic trees of the Japanese Nation: the cherry tree.
This story began hundreds of years ago in ancient Japan at a time of many bloody strife. In it we are told that in a certain region there was a forest in which beautiful trees grew with abundant crowns full of flowers, which gave them great splendor.
Fortunately, there was no fighting in this forest, which allowed all the trees to remain intact. Except for one, who was a young specimen whose flowers never bloomed.
He looked like he was dead, which caused no one to approach him because of his dry and decrepit-looking appearance, resulting in him always being alone. Even the animals did not approach because their appearance caused fear and around them did not grow grass, which increased their loneliness.
One good day a compassionate fairy, seeing the sad and deplorable situation of the tree, was moved and decided to help him. He proposed to her that he would cast a spell on her whereby she could feel the same as a human heart for twenty years.
In this way, the fairy hoped that with the experience of this emotion the tree would manage to bloom again. In addition, the fairy told him that during that period he could transform into a human being, if he so desired.
However, he pointed out that there was a condition to fulfill and that was that, if after those years he did not manage to regain his vitality and flourish, he would die immediately.
The tree accepted the proposal to have the ability to feel and transform and for a time it became human. but, by virtue of the war and death that he found in the mortal world, disappointed he decided to become a tree again.
The years went by slowly and the tree could not feel any emotion to bloom again, so I was losing hope. However, one afternoon, the tree died of boredom, decided to become human again and went to a stream, where he met a beautiful and sweet young woman, named Sakura, who greeted him and treated him with kindness.
Impressed by its beauty, the tree approached and to reciprocate it helped her carry water to her home. They talked about many topics and thus the friendship between them began.
Sakura asked the tree its name and it managed to stammer Yohiro, which means hope. They began to see each other every day to talk, laugh and sing. They also read books with wonderful stories. A deep friendship was emerging that little deepened until it became love.
Yohiro felt the need to always be by her side, so one day he confessed his love to Sakura , along with the fact that she was a tree about to die. The young woman was very impressed and was silent for a few minutes. She loved him too much, so she couldn't stop looking at the tree.
Time passed and the end of the twenty years of the spell came and Yohiro became a tree again. But even though he didn't expect it, Sakura confessed her love to him and hugged him.
It happened, at that moment, that the moved fairy appeared and asked Sakura that she had to choose if she wanted to remain a woman or be part of the tree and be united forever with Yohiro. She thought about it for only a few seconds and chose to forever merge with Yohiro.
Thus the miracle was done and, instantly, the dry tree in the middle of the forest grew green, filling with splendorous flowers. Since then it has been called the Sakura tree , which means "cherry blossom". Since then, the love of both can be seen during the cherry blossom. perfuming the fields of Japan.
The red thread of destiny
In Japanese mythology it is taken as a reliable fact that every human being is predestined, from birth, to have an affective bond with the love of his life, which is carried out by means of a red thread that unites the couple regardless the years how long it takes to materialize it.
In fact, there is a popular belief among the Japanese who asserts that this red thread really exists regardless of when and how the couples are to meet and that said thread cannot be broken, although it sometimes seems to be very tense.
That thread leaves our little finger, which receives blood from the same artery that leads to the middle finger, and then it arrives and is tied to the little finger of the person we are destined to meet and establish a close bond with.
The legend that we present to you now tells us about predestination applied to love and specifically refers to that link that is established by the red thread.
She tells us that many years ago, an emperor received the news that in one of the provinces of his kingdom lived a powerful sorceress with the ability to visualize the red thread of destiny.
The emperor ordered the witch to be brought before him to ask her to help him find what was to be his wife. When the sorceress arrived, the emperor ordered her to find the other end of the thread tied to her little finger and take it to the place where her future wife would be.
The witch agreed to this request and began her search, which led them to a market. There he went to a stall for selling products run by a peasant woman who was holding a baby in her arms.
The sorceress then told the emperor that her thread ended there. But upon hearing this and seeing that it was a poor peasant, the emperor thought that the sorceress was mocking and enraged pushed the peasant who still had her little laden. The push made the baby fall to the ground and make a large wound on her forehead.
The really annoying emperor ordered his guards to arrest the witch and execute her by cutting off her head and returned to the palace.
Years later, the moment came, that according to what was indicated by the advisers, the emperor should marry and his court recommended that the best thing was that he marry the daughter of a very powerful general of the country, whom he could not see until today. of the wedding. He accepted.
On the day of the wedding, it was time to see for the first time the face of his wife, who entered the temple dressed in a beautiful and elegant outfit and a veil that covered her completely.
When he saw her face for the first time, the emperor realized that his future wife had a scar on her forehead, the product of a fall when she was a baby, with which the prediction of the sorceress was evidently fulfilled; In other words, the woman who was going to share his life was the peasant's baby.
The legend of the weaver princess, origin of Tanabata
Japanese legends surprise us both for the beauty or terror they produce, as well as for the depth and sensitivity with which they treat their themes. In the story that we present to you below that reflects that quality. It refers to the celebration of Tanabata , which is one of the most popular festivals in Japan.
From this festival, exciting legends have been derived that have given rise to rituals and traditions, in which the streets and houses of Japan are adorned, once a year, with colorful colored papers, always coinciding with the seventh day of the seventh month of the calendar lunar.
This story of the weaver princess tells us about the young Orihime, daughter of Tentei , the heavenly king, who wears a monotonous and routine, since her only task was to weave beautiful fabrics always on the banks of the Amanogawa River. She was, yes, the best weaver in the whole kingdom and her fabrics were truly magnificent, which filled her father with great pride.
This Tentei king had the power to control the weather at will, so that it was always clean and clear, if he was in a good mood, but if he got angry, the whole sky would turn overcast and a torrential rain would fall.
The responsibility of always knitting to keep her father pleased took up most of Orihime's day. This, of course, prevented him from meeting other people, much less falling in love.
Her father, worried for her seeing her so sad, arranged a meeting with a shepherd who lived on the other side of the river. This one was called Hikoboshi, who was a good boy, of noble feelings, hard-working and, in addition, attractive.
Upon seeing each other, the young people fell in love immediately and were soon married. But once they were married, they both began to neglect each other's work by taking care of each other and their relationship. Orihime stopped weaving and no longer remembered her obligation to the king, and Hikoboshi no longer tended to her flock, which dispersed throughout the field.
Such was the abandonment of the couple that made the king enraged, so he made the decision to separate the lovers. He ordered each one to stand to one side of the Amanogawa River , unable to see each other, speak to each other, or touch each other.
Poor Orihime , desperate to no longer have her husband with her, crying uncontrollably, begged her father to let her see him at least once more. Even if it was only once a year.
The king agreed with a single condition, that she continue doing her work as a weaver, only then would she allow them to see each other once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
However, there was a small trap in that agreement and that is that they could only see each other, but not touch, because there was the river that separated them, which they were forbidden to cross, because the bridge there was not very safe and you could fall.
This, of course, caused Orihime great sorrow , which again made her cry bitterly for not being able to be near her beloved, that a flock of magpies passing by took pity and came to her aid. They formed a bridge with their wings a bridge so that the lovers could embrace.
And they continue to do so every year, because the magpies promised to return to form the bridge, as long as it did not rain, because if it did rain, they would have to wait until the following year.
Tradition in Japan
That day scheduled for Orihime and Hikoboshi to meet is the day of Tanabata or the "festival of the stars", which is celebrated in Japan on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Japanese circumsolar calendar.
For this tradition, people in Japan usually celebrate it by writing their wishes on small strips of colored paper, called tanzaku . They are then hung on the branches of bamboo trees near rivers.
Japanese horror legends
These legends are an important part of Japanese mythology, they are truly chilling and due to their strong content and the way they are told, they are preferred by people who are passionate about horror literature and because of this they have gained popularity.
They have spread throughout the world thanks to the making of very famous films such as The Ring and The Curse of the Mummy and many others that are based on these legends. The appearance of ghosts, dead and ghosts are essential to capture the attention of the reader or viewer.
Examples
There are numerous horror stories that Japanese mythology offers us. In this case we will present two of the best known.
Kuchisake-onna or the woman with the cut face
It is a story that despite time continues to be of public interest, generating fascination for lovers of terror and the supernatural.
It is the legend that says that a long time ago there was a woman of great beauty, but in whose soul there was only vanity. She was married to a samurai, but for her beauty she was courted by many men, whom she accepted and with whom she cheated on her husband. It was called Kuchisake-onna.
The samurai learned of his wife's adventures and infidelities, so one day, rapt by jealousy, in a moment of fury, he cut her mouth from one side of her face to the other, while yelling at her: Do you think you are beautiful? Now who's going to think that you're beautiful?
Since then it is said that at nightfall an enigmatic woman with her face covered with a mask appears wandering the streets of Japan and when she meets a young man she approaches him and asks: Am I beautiful?
In Japan it is normal to wear face masks to avoid diseases and not to breathe polluted air, so when men see the beautiful eyes of this woman and her delicate features, they answer that yes, she is beautiful.
At that moment Kuchisake-onna uncovers her face by removing the mask and showing the horrible slit that extends from ear to ear with a creepy smile. And he asks again: What do you think now? Anyone who answers NO, or who is scared, or shouts or shows their fear, the spirit of the woman cuts off her head immediately with giant scissors.
If the victim tells her again that YES, she is beautiful, then she will only cut her mouth from side to side so that she feels and suffers the same thing that she is suffering.
It should be noted that there are versions that indicate that if the woman answers affirmatively both times, what she does is follow the victim to the front door of the house where she finally murders him.
Most versions say that you cannot escape from Kuchisake-Onna, because, even if you try to run away, she will appear from the other side. However, there are other legends that ensure that there is the possibility of slipping away in various ways.
Some say that the woman can be answered with another question, such as: And me? Am I beautiful ?, in such a way as to confuse her, which will give time to escape. Other versions indicate that you have to have candy to offer her and leave her happy and entertained with the sweets.
The Legend of Yuki-Onna
The story is about a yokai , which is a spirit, in this case in a female form, called Yuki-Onna, which means snow woman, since it appears on nights of snow storms. This yokai seeks, every time it appears, to feed on the vital energy of those who have dared to enter its territory and lose themselves in it.
Once all of their energy has been removed, he transforms their bodies into frozen statues. This is what happened to Mosaku and Minokichi , in the story that we relate below and that shows us death by freezing.
The legend tells us of the day when the two lumberjacks and carpenters, Mosaku, the teacher, and Minokichi , were going back to their house in the forest, when suddenly a heavy snowstorm broke out that blocked the roads, so they had to take refuge in a cabin they found, where they fell asleep.
Suddenly a strong gust opened the door and a woman dressed in white appeared, who approached Master Mosaku directly , absorbing all his life energy, freezing him and killing him. Young Minokichi froze in fear.
Seeing his youth, Yuki-Onna decided to forgive him, as long as he never revealed what happened and, if he did not comply, he would kill him immediately. The young man agreed.
A year later, Minokichi met a young woman named O-Yuki and soon married her. They had children and had a happy relationship. Until one day, the young man decided to tell his wife what he had experienced and, just at that moment, O-Yuki changed his appearance, discovering himself as Yuki-Onna.
She was already willing to kill Minokichi for having broken the pact, but she decided to forgive him because he had been a good father, so she left her children and left never to return.
Japanese Urban legends
These are those stories that the ancient inhabitants of the island told each other, and even wrote them, recounting strange situations in their daily lives, which in turn were exaggerated to attract attention and cause tension to those who listen or read.
Many of them have endured through the years and have served as inspiration for many other writers in the modern world.
Of these urban stories, a compilation has been made of the most outstanding and those that have caused the greatest impact on the reading public. This is the Kojiki , which is a compilation of all those ancient legends. It is considered the oldest book on myths and stories in Japan. There is also the work Nihonshoki , which would be the second book on this subject.
Among these Japanese legends we can mention in this urban genre, and that are already part of the Japanese cultural heritage, the following:
Aka Mantle
There are numerous urban legends that exist and among them the one about Aka Manto stands out, which means "Red Cape" in Japanese, and which tells us the story of the woman murdered in a public bathroom, whose ghost was cloistered in the depths of all the public toilets in Japan where he appears with a long red cloak, in order to identify his murderer and take revenge.
It is said that he usually hides in the last of the toilets to frighten and then murder whoever uses it. Part of the legend reveals that in the past, Aka Manto was always humiliated by her classmates.
To the point that on one occasion they took her to the toilet in the last bathroom and they buried her head in it for several seconds that she almost drowned. This was done to her several times, which created hatred and despair in this girl, until one day she took a rope and hung herself in the last bathroom.
Since then, her spirit hides in the most secluded toilet of the public baths and waits for anyone to enter to approach her. Once inside he asks the person: "Red or blue paper?" showing two rolls of paper with these colors.
If the person chooses red, Aka Manto appears to him and peels off the skin little by little so that he feels the pain as he bleeds out. But if the victim chooses the blue paper, the evil spirit strangles her until her skin turns blue.
According to mystery connoisseurs, there is no way to escape this spirit, as dodging the question does not work, as Aka Manto will harass until a color is chosen.
Likewise, if a color other than red or blue is chosen, a hole will open from one of the walls from which white hands will emerge, dragging the victim into absolute darkness.
In some versions of the legend it is said that to get rid of the diabolical spirit, you have to run away as soon as you hear the voice. But in other stories it is said that if this is done, Aka Manto could appear at the door blocking the exit and ending the person's life in the same way.
Other versions are even more terrifying, since they assert when the spirit appears, the bathroom is hermetically closed so that the victim cannot leave.
Even though it seems that there is no escape from this horrifying apparition, some say that it could be answered calmly that no paper is needed, with the slight hope that Aka Manto will allow the person to continue living.
Teke-teke
This modern-day urban horror story tells us how a young introvert, who was bullied, was transformed into a spirit that roams the country's train stations.
Legend has it that she was the victim of constant humiliation and humiliation and, due to her weak character, she did not know how to defend herself. One day his bullies played a very bad joke on him, which ended worse than expected.
On that occasion the young woman was alone at the train station, absorbed in her thoughts, waiting to board him to return home. Her bullies saw her and taking advantage of the fact that it was the cicada season, they took a cicada from the road and, stealthily, one of them approached her and placed it on her shoulder.
When the shy young woman felt something move on her shoulder and saw that it was an insect, she jumped in fright, shaking it off, but slipped and fell to the track just as the train passed. The girl died dismembered with her body split in two.
Horrified, the bullies fled the place and never said anything and everyone in the town thought that the young woman had committed suicide.
Since then it is said that at night a strange noise that sounded was heard in lonely stations: teke-teke. As the noise grew louder, the dead girl's upper body would appear crawling with her clawed nails, desperately seeking her other half.
When he meets on his way, he asks if he has seen his legs, and sometimes of the hatred that seizes him, he attacks with his claws and it is said that he has tried to push some people to the train track to kill them and transform them into creatures like her.
Pretty Japanese Legends
Japanese mythology also includes among its legends, beautiful stories, many of which have real life foundations. Some of these Japanese legends have become famous for their beauty of content that has even received recognition, not only nationally but also internationally. In addition, that with them it has been possible to exalt and strengthen many human principles and values.
In particular, they have been very well received in the Western world, so much so that they have been used to produce great classics for film and television.
Mirror
It is a beautiful story that tells us the life of a young samurai and his family. He lived in a humble home with his beautiful and shy wife and daughter, in which there was little furniture, only the essentials.
One day, there was a change of king in the kingdom, so all the young samurai were summoned to attend the palace to appear before the new monarch and enjoy a party that he had prepared for them. The samurai attended the meeting, but his wife, who was introverted, stayed home with her daughter.
While in the kingdom, the husband decided to bring his wife and daughter a present from the party, so with all his savings he bought his daughter a beautiful doll and his wife, a small mirror, because he knew that she I did not have.
For the woman it turned out to be a mysterious gift because she had never seen a mirror and when she looked into it for the first time, she asked her husband in surprise:
- Who is this beautiful woman in the mirror,?
- What do you mean, who is it? Are you! It's your reflection, my dear!
The woman felt bad and sorry to know that this was a mirror. She took it and put it in a drawer so that her husband's gift wouldn't break.
Time passed and the girl was already a beautiful young woman, while the woman had aged. A few years passed and the woman fell ill and shortly before dying, she said to her daughter:
- My dear daughter, I know that I have little time left, but I will always be with you. I want to ask you that when I die, you take out an object that is in the drawer of my dresser and when you look in it, you will see me.
Finally, the woman died and the daughter remembered the request that she had made. So he went to the drawer and took out the mirror. Looking at herself, she saw a very pretty young woman who was smiling just like her.
He dedicated himself to looking in the mirror every day and said words of love that came from his heart. One day her father found her talking to the mirror and asked her:
- What are you doing, my daughter?
She excitedly showed him the mirror and said:
- Look dad, it's mom! He laughs with me every time I smile at him. He is here with us. She is beautiful and looks young, right?
His father, surprised and very excited, could not help but smile and replied:
- It certainly is. Is beautiful. You see it in that mirror and I see it in you.
The Bamboo Cutter and the Princess of the Moon
The legend below tells us about a married couple who always wanted to have children, but despite everything they tried to have them, they never succeeded.
They were very poor, but very humble. They both worked collecting bamboo and with this they manufactured various objects, which they later sold in the village market.
One night when the man was doing his routine job of choosing the best bamboo pieces to use, he was suddenly struck by one that had a glow inside. He moved closer to look at her more carefully and found that there was a tiny girl inside.
Exalted, the man took her in his arms and running began to call his wife and gave him the little girl. The emotion was so great that they decided to keep it, because they considered it a reward that the moon had sent them for the great love they had for each other and because they never lost faith. They called her Princess Moonlight. The girl grew up and during all those years she was a good daughter of great company and happiness for the couple.
Furthermore, the bamboo branch where the man found the girl, prodigiously and magically began to produce gold and gems, which made the bamboo cutter a rich man in no time.
The girl grew up and became a beautiful woman of normal size, and over time she became known in the village of her great beauty. so many gentlemen began to claim her, who came to ask for her hand.
On one occasion, five honorable gentlemen came to the house, invited by the bamboo cutter, who wanted to convince his adopted daughter to marry, since he was already very old and did not want to leave her alone. She refused and every time she could, she asked each suitor for things that were difficult to obtain to make them discouraged.
News of the existence of such a beautiful young woman reached the emperor of the region, so he asked her to go to his court. She, of course, refused, so he went to visit her.
When he saw her, he was captivated with love for her, so he tried to make her go with him to his palace and start preparing for the wedding. She again refused and warned that if forced, she would transform into a shadow, disappearing.
Luz de Luna only observed the sky every night and was saddened, because the time was coming to return to her place of origin, so she had to confess to her adoptive father with tears that her stay on earth should end, because she had come from the moon and there he had to return.
The emperor learned of this and wanted to prevent it by sending his guards to the house of the bamboo cutter, to prevent the princess from returning to her home planet.
Some time later, in one night it was observed that the moon was covered with a cloud that descended towards the earth, obscuring the sky. Then a chariot guided by luminous beings looked for the princess.
She left a letter and a small bottle containing the Elixir of Life to be delivered to the emperor, but the emperor, frightened, ordered that both be burned on the highest and most sacred mountain in that region.
