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05 The Age of the Gods [1] It was about two thousand and some decades ago when Emperor Jinmu founded the Japanese nation. At that time the Japanese people united under him, and moved towards highter ideals. The Japanese people existed before that. The house of Emperor Jinmu, which became the imperiel house, must have had the most splendid power and genealogy. However, thi part of history was somewhat in disarray. We can see the state of confusion from the first volume of Record of Ancient Matters (Kojiki), and the volume of the Age of the Gods in Chronicles of Japan (Nihon Shoki). The latter holds a special interest for us, because it includes all the legends. The variant legends are recorded individually, introduced by the phrase "One Book says"; they were not integrated into one tale. The legends of the Age of the Gods are sometimes discredited as myth, a collection of completely incredible, mysterious tales. If so, then the ancient legends of all foreign countries are the same. For example, the first Chinese king had the body of a snake and the head of a human. His successor was the same. The third king had a human body with a bull head. Similarly in the West, human history is said to begin with Adam and Eve who appeared naked, and the forbidden fruit. If myths are rationally analyzed with contemporary knowledge, they are wildly illogical and incredible, and of little value. But the religion philosophy, history, morals, lifestyles, and customs of antiquity are projected into them. The perspectives of this world and of life, of intelligence and the moral character of a people can be understood through thier myths. In this sense, myth is a precious historical souce. The Japanese myth starts as follows. In the beginning of heaven and earth, which was the time of creation of the universe, the God who appeared first was: Ame no Minaka Nushi no Kami (Heavenly Center Lord Deity) according to Record of Ancient Matters (Kojiki); Kuni no Tokotachi no Mikoto (Earth Eternal Standing Deity) according to Chronicles of Japan (Nihon Shoki); Same, according to One Book (A), Umashi Ashikabi Hikoji no Mikoto (Excellent Reed-Shoots Male Deity) according to One Book (B), Same, according to One Book (C), Kuni no Tokotachi no Mikoto according to One Book (D), Same, according to One Book (E), Ama no Tokotachi no Mikoto (Heaven Enternal Standing Deity) according to One Book (F). The namas and the order of appearance are different, but they are all Gods. This point is extremely important, involving the question of whether we evolved from lower forms of animals, or primitive men. Or perhaps we did not develop, but degenerated. Or did we descend from the Gods? Such views of origins bear heavily on the religion, morals, and politics of a people. Shallow believers in evolution mistakenly tend towarde statements that humans evolved from monkeys. But monkeys remain monkeys forever. Monkeys and humans exist separately. If some people were to misunderstand this point, and regard monkeys as their ancestors, ancestor worship would not exist. There would be no festivals to express gratitude for the care and virtues of the ancestors. The Japanese people believed that their ancestors were Gods; respected them and enshrined them. Their lifestyle was that of service. They thought "humility" and "respect" to be correct, and "arrogance" and "conceit," wrong. This is the first point that can be extracted from the volume of the Age of the Gods. |
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