Today, in the 35th episode of Stories That Made Us, we talk about the Creation Myth of the Japanese. This is a story of the creation of the Shinto Gods and Goddesses, who then created our world, and us.  

Before we delve into the story, it is worthwhile to note that our understanding of the Japanese Creation myth is based on two ancient texts. Whilst the stories must have circulated orally since long before, it was first put to prose in 682 A.D. - commissioned by Emperor Temmu as a "history of the Emperors and of matters of high antiquity". It wasn't to be completed, however, until A.D. 712 and was compiled by the court scholar Ono Yasumaro. The book, of course, isn't exactly supposed to be an accurate historical record but is to be seen more as a text that establishes a clear line of descent for the Japanese rulers and nobility from the 7th and 8th century A.D to the Shinto gods, and ultimately, the Supreme Goddess - The Sun Goddess - Amaterasu.

Two years after the completion of the Kojiki, Empress Gemio commissioned the preparation of a "national history". Not much is known about this project, other than that the book was completed and laid before the Empress in 720 A.D. by Prince Toneri and Yasumaro Futo no Ason. This is The Nihon Shoki, or the Nihongi, and is best considered a sequel to the Kojiki. 

It is more complete, elegant, and goes a long way in addressing many of the discrepancies in the Kojiki. It also reasserts the history and genealogies of some of the clans who are not mentioned in the Kojiki.

So it is these two books that are the pillars of our understanding of the Japanese or the Shinto creation myths. 

In this episode, we cover just the first part of the Japanese creation myth, focussing on the beginning of all, on Genesis. Stay tuned for the conclusion of this magnificent and intricate tale in the later episodes.

I hope you enjoy the tale. If you do, please leave a rating and feedback. Share and subscribe! Your patronage would help us immensely! 

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The music used for the episodes is either free to use or under creative commons license. Below are their links and attributions:

Laendler in C Minor Hess 68 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/?keywords=laendler&Search=Search

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Anguish by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1400047

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Deep Space by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Artist: http://audionautix.com/

What Does Anybody Know About Anything by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/dtv/

Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/