Outline Lecture Sixteen—Early Japanese Mythology and Shinto Ethics General Chronology: Jomon: 11th to 3rd century B.C.E. Yayoi: 3rd B.C.E. to 3rd C.E. Tomb: 3rd to 6th C.E. Yamato: 6th to 7th C.E. I) Prehistoric Origins a) Early Japanese history shrouded in obscurity i) Writing did not develop in Japan until 6th century C.E. ii) No remains of cities or other large scale settlements iii) Theories of origins of earliest settlers b) Jomon (Roughly 11th to 3rd century B.C.E.) i) “Rope-pattern” pottery ii) Hunter-gathering settlements iii) Lack of social stratification? c) Yayoi (3rd B.C.E. to 3rd C.E.) i) Simultaneous introduction of irrigation, bronze, and iron contributing to revolutionary changes (1) Impact of change in continental civilizations tend to be more gradual (2) In Japan, effect of changes are more dramatic due to its isolation (a) Foreign elements trickle in, then blend with indigenous elements (b) Creating a distinctive synthesis in “petri-dish” (pea-tree) environment ii) Increasing signs of specialization and social stratification (1) Objects of art—less primitive, more self-conscious (2) Late Yayoi burial practices d) Tomb or Kofun Period (3rd to 7th) i) Large and extravagant tombs in modern day Osaka ii) What beliefs about the afterlife do they reflect? (1) Two strains in Japanese religious cosmology iii) Emergence of a powerful mounted warrior class iv) Regional aristocracies each with its clan name (1) Uji vs. Be (2) Dramatic increase in social stratification e) Yamato State (6th to 8th C.E.) II) Yamato’s Constructions of Mythology and Religion a) Function of Mythologized History i) Political legitimacy required having a “history” ii) Kojiki or Record of Ancient Matters (712) and Nihongi or Chronicles of Japan (720) b) Yamato Clan’s Kami—Amaterasu i) Symbiosis between mythological and political authority (1) Myth of Izanagi and Izanami (2) Contest between Amaterasu and Susano-o (a) Transgressions of Susano-o ii) Political significance of myth (1) Mythical contest reflects clan rivalry (a) Amaterasu—Sun-goddess, the kami of the Yamato clan (b) Susa-no-o—Storm god, the kami of the rival Izumo clan (2) Lingering legacy of myth III) Shinto—The Way of the Gods a) Indigenous Japanese spiritual beliefs and rituals i) The omnipresence and proliferation of Kamis (1) Patron kamis like Amaterasu and Susa-no-o (2) Spiritual powers found in nature (3) Varley: “everything that is strikingly impressive, possessing a quality of excellence, or inspired a feeling of awe was called kami” ii) Reflects the ubiquitous sense of religiosity and sacredness in Shinto b) Simple life-affirming code of conduct i) Makoto: Sincerity of feeling and actions ii) Poems from the Man’yoshu (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves) (1) “In the sea of Iwami…” (p.34) (2) “Since in Karu lived my wife…” (p.37) (a) Tama—animating spirit that gives life to body (3) Love poems of great simplicity and authenticity .