When Tsukuyomi saw how Uke Mochi prepared food for her guests, however, he was disgusted. Amaterasu was not able to attend so she sent Tsukuyomi to represent both of them. One day Uke Mochi, the goddess of food, invited all the kami to a great feast at her palace. Susanoo was eventually sent to Yomi, the Underworld, while Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi ruled together. Izanagi proclaimed that they, along with Susanoo who had been born from his nose, were the most important kami and would rule the heavens. They were born from the eyes of Izanagi, the creator god, when he was purified after his journey to the Underworld. The moon god was married to his sister, Amaterasu, who was the goddess of the sun. This strict belief in maintaining etiquette at all costs is the basis for Tsukuyomi’s most well-known myth. He would even kill, a violation of etiquette itself, to ensure that proper order was maintained. While he valued order and etiquette, he would go to extreme lengths to enforce these ideals. While this was a serene pastime for the nobility, Tsukuyomi himself was often regarded as less peaceful. Moon reading was a popular pastime in the court of Imperial Japan in which nobles would read poetry and gaze at the moon during parties that lasted through the night. Tsukuyomi’s name reference the way in which the moon was used to mark the passage of time. Tsuku can be translated as “month” as well as referring to the moon itself. Tsukuyomi’s name is commonly translated as “Moon Reading” or “Moon Watching.” The moon would always chase the sun, never able to catch her, because of Tsukuyomi’s crime. Tsukuyomi’s crime was so horrible that his wife declared him to be a being of evil and banished him forever. They would not remain together, however, because Tsukuyomi committed a terrible act to promote his idea of proper etiquette and order. The two were siblings and, according to many sources, married. Even more unusually, the Japanese saw the sun as being a goddess of great power. This was rare in ancient cultures it was far more common for the moon to be personified as female. In Japanese mythology, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, who is often simply referred to as Tsukuyomi, was the god of the moon.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |