Japanese Mythology Trivia Quiz

Answer: Shinto is a spiritual practice which honors ancestors and native spirits.

Buddhism was brought to Japan around 552 A.D. ("Japanese Mythology" by Juliet Piggott) from China, via Korea, and many Japanese people incorporated the religious practice of Buddhism along with Shinto.

Answer: Source of the sun.

The country of many islands we know as Japan was called Yamoto and was not known as a whole territory until around 593 to 621 A.D. when ruler Shotoku Daishi endorsed Buddhism and Chinese culture ("Japanese Mythology", Piggott).

Answer: "Kojiki" and "Nihongi"

"Kojiki" means, "Records of Ancient Matters" and was written around 712 A.D. "Nihongi" means, "Chronicles of Japan" and was created around 720 A.D. Both texts were the first imperial records of stories and beliefs of the ancient Japanese people. It is believed that they where recorded to establish the divine nature of the Empress Gemmio and the Yamato people of Japan ("Japanese Mythology", Juliete Piggott).

Answer: Izanagi and Izanami

The "Kojiki" begins by describing the creation of Japan and its primary kami, or deities. The beginning of the creation myth describes how there was nothing but invisible generations of kami who came from a formless void. Izanagi was the "August Male" and his sister Izanami was called the "August Female." They created Japan and mated to create many other deities, but later in the mythology Izanagi was the deity who created Japan's main imperial kami named Amaterasu.

She came out of his left eye when purifying himself in the Hi River ("Shinto" by C. Scott Littleton).

Answer: They dipped a jeweled spear into an ocean of formless chaos.

Izanagi and his divine sister wife Izanami descended from a heavenly realm to the "Floating Bridge of Heaven", believed to be a rainbow, to dip the spear into the mirky ocean. Izanagi and Izanami had offspring that became the Japanese islands and its mountains, trees, winds, and other majestic geographic wonders of nature.

The wind helped them to discover their new offspring by blowing away the fog to reveal the Japanese archipelago ("Shinto" by C. Scott Littleton).

Answer: He fled in terror to run back to the surface of earth.

Once Izanagi reached the surface of earth, he needed to purify himself of the darkness that he encountered in the underworld. The terror of seeing Izanami as a demon and her rage at him caused him to seek purification by bathing in the Hi River. He created three more offspring magically from the water which fell from his body. Purification is a very important practice in Japanese Shinto and shrines will have pools of water where worshipers wash their hands and lightly rinse their mouths so that they can be pure for the gods before they enter the shrine ("Shinto" by Scott C. Littleton).

Answer: Amaterasu

Tsukiyomi is the moon god born of Izanagi's right eye. Uke-mochi was a deity, or kami, who was in charge of all of Earth's food sources. Amaterasu sent her brother Tsukiyomi to earth to see if Uke-mochi was performing her duties. Uke-mochi tried to impress the moon god by serving him a meal by regurgitating boiling rice, fish, and game animals from her mouth.

The moon god was disgusted by her manner of serving him and killed her. Even in her death her body continued to provide silkworms, cows, plants, and other food sources. Oh-Kuni-nushi is the storm god's son-in-law and became "the Great Land Master" who ruled the Earth as the sun goddess Amaterasu ruled the sky.

Answer: He destroyed her rice fields and threw a horse at her loom.

Susano was a tempestuous kami who was always competing with his beloved sister Amaterasu. He was angry and jealous of her so he pretended to make amends for a previous insult. Amaterasu invited him to her domain in the sky and he released wild horses which destroyed her rice fields and property. She was fed up with his malevolence and decided to hide herself in a cave.

Answer: They created a mirror that lured the sun goddess to her brilliantly shining reflection.

All the gods, except Susano of course, and minor kami gathered around the outside of her cave and hung a sacred mirror on the tree at the entrance to the cave. It was the first mirror created and Amaterasu looked upon the image reflected in the mirror with curiosity and awe at the beauty of her shining radiance.

She was delighted and eventually agreed to join the other gods in their revelry. After their celebration she returned to her domain in the sky to shine her brilliance upon the Earth once more.

Answer: The imperial family is said to be her earthly descendents.

The first Emperor of Japan, Jimmo Tennu, became Amaterasu's earthy descendent and divine ruler of the earthy territories of Japan. He is said to be her great-great-grandson and a child of the gods. Patriotic Japanese worshiped their emperor and created the imperialist practice of "State Shinto" to stress Japanese nationalism in 1872 when the rule of the shoguns came to an end.