Week 6 Essay: Battle Without Honor or Humanity

Where does Japanese mythology fall into with the other mythologies that have been studied throughout the semester so far? Well, that is a very interesting question. Thanks so much for asking. Here is the deal with Japanese mythology: there are multiple gods and everything, but they aren't that important. The focus of the mythology is on the heroes of that time. It appeals to a sense of "the gods will bless you if you are a stand-up individual, and if you don't believe me, here's a story to prove it" as a mentality. So there are gods, and they are responsible for creation and the weather and other things of that sort, but they are just there. It's not like it is "The Young and the Restless - Mt. Olympus Edition", because these deities are not simply above the world, they are of the world, and are only there to assist warriors of a pure heart.

This brings me to the real crux of what Japanese mythology is all about - the hero. Especially in the collections of stories available to read for this class, it all focuses on what the heroic warrior can do for other people. He goes on many adventures and he helps out those in need because he has the skill and the means to be of assistance. The gods are intermingled into the stories, but they are either the ones in need, or they are there to help out the hero because he is so virtuous. This, of course, is the key to everything. Virtue, honor, and integrity line each Japanese story to the point that good things happen to those with these qualities, and bad things happen to those who would undermine such gallantries.

It seems as though the battle of good and evil relies solely on the mindset of the individual and destiny is what you make it. The outcome of the hero will always be good if he desires to do good with what is given to him, and vice versa for whomever is obsessed with self-preservation or some other selfish desire. Because of this, there can probably be many comparisons made to other heroic folktales such as Robin Hood, as the semester progresses and the mindset of overly-dramatic gods begins to be abandoned.

The Balances of Good and Evil

Author's Note
This week I read the section on Japanese Mythology, and I loved it a lot! Great reads all throughout and I would recommend it to anyone. Again, the main focus of the reading was on the hero, Yamato, and I wanted to reflect that in my essay and how the focus had shifted from prior readings.

Week 6 Storybook: A Stiff Drink

Thomas stood in the corner with an empty cup in his hand. The music was loud and the people were trying to compete, and no one said a word to him. This was the kind of stuff he was used to, but that didn't mean he liked it any more. He had actually just decided to leave when he spotted someone out of the corner of his eye. It was the girl from his Psych class. He couldn't remember her name, but she sat just a few seats away from her and thought she might be fun to talk to.

He began to walk toward her, but before he took two steps, a guy was walking over with a shirt that said, "Soccer moms are easy". He came bowling over, and Thomas could tell she was uninterested. She would avert her eyes and didn't seem to respond well to his advances. Thomas thought he might seize his chance. He walked over and tapped the guy on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir. I see you don't have a drink. Want me to get you one?" Thomas asked.

What'll It Be?

 

The guy shrugged him off, so Thomas took initiative and grabbed him off. Every time the guy ran out of beer, Thomas would go get him a refill. This happened several more times. On the 8th time, the alcohol was starting to show effects. The guy took a step forward and crashed to the ground. He had passed out completely. Thomas stepped over his body and approached the girl.

"I'm sorry about him. Would you like to go someplace else and talk?"

She nodded and grabbed the arm he extended out to her. They walked out and left all of the music and people behind. They went out to an IHOP and shared a cup of coffee and some Never-Ending Pancakes. They talked well into the morning, and when it was time to leave, she gave him her phone number. Thomas would later recall it as one of the best nights he ever had.

Author's Note
I took my storybook from the story, The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi. This story follows a man who kills an 8-headed snake by getting it all liquored up and cutting off its heads. I didn't want to have 8 snake-like jerks, so I just did the one and have it take him 8 drinks to collapse instead. The good guy still gets the girl, so I say it all works out.

Week 6 Reading Diary: Japanese Mythology

Gross. Brothers and sisters marrying each other. That's right - Japanese myth spawned from incest. George R.R. Martin would be proud. Izanagi and Izanami are the siblings. God of the Air and Goddess of the Clouds, respectively. Together, they will manipulate the world as they see it and desire it. I won't even attempt to spell their kids' names.

Various gods and goddesses are born and created to have various roles in the world's workings. There is a god of water and the moon and etc. The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi may be the coolest title ever for anything. It has eight heads and eight tails. That's a lot of snake. Of course, because this is Japanese mythology, I'm pretty dang sure this is more accurately a dragon. Anyway, Susa-no-wo tempts it with alcohol and then kills it by using this ridiculously large sword.

Admittadly, the rest of the stories are kind of boring until you get to the adventures involving Yamato, like the Rescue of the Princess. This story has to be inspiration for an Akira Kurosawa film. It's such a similar story. Very good read, and full of fun adventure.

As the readings continue, it seems the highlight of everything is Yamato and his adventures. And I really enjoyed yet another story involving a dragon. I really love this character. He is unlike any other character I've read so far and I think it has to do with the virtue and honour he contains. Regardless of the reason, Yamato makes for a great mythic character that I absolutely love to read and hope to dive a little deeper into.

Japanese mythology has become a staple of my myth study, and I look forward to what else I might be able to uncover throughout the course of this class.