Japanese Mythology

Author : Joshua Frydman
Publisher : Thames & Hudson
ISBN 13 : 0500777349
Total Pages : 291 pages
Book Rating : 4.43/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Japanese Myths written by Joshua Frydman and published by Thames & Hudson. This book was released on 2022-04-07 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a smart and succinct guide to the rich tradition of Japanese mythology, from the earliest recorded legends of Izanagi and Izanami, their divine offspring and the creation of Japan, to medieval tales of vengeful ghosts, through to the modern-day reincarnation of ancient deities as the heroes of mecha anime. While many around the world love Japans cultural exports, few are familiar with Japans unique mythology - enriched by Shinto, Buddhism and regional folklore. Mythology remains a living, evolving part of Japanese society, and the ways in which the people of Japan understand their myths are very different today even from a century ago, let alone over a millennium into the past. Offering much more than any competing overview of Japanese mythology, The Japanese Myths not only retells the ancient stories but also considers their place within the patterns of Japanese religions, culture and history, helping readers to understand the deep links between past and present in Japan, and the ways these myths live and grow. Joshua Frydman takes the very earliest written myths in the Kojiki and the Nihonshoki as his starting point, and from there traces Japans mythology through to post-war State Shinto, the rise of the manga industry in the 1960s, J-horror and modern-day myths. Reinventions and retellings of myth are present across all genres of contemporary Japanese culture, from its auteur cinema to renowned video games such as Okami. This book is for anyone interested in Japan, as knowing its myths allows readers to understand and appreciate its culture in a new light.

Author : Michael Ashkenazi
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 1576074684
Total Pages : 396 pages
Book Rating : 4.88/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Handbook of Japanese Mythology written by Michael Ashkenazi and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2003-11-05 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An introductory guide to the mythology of Japan—one of the most pervasive yet least understood facets of Japanese culture. Handbook of Japanese Mythology makes it easy to travel this vast yet little-known mythological landscape. The book reveals the origins of Japan's myths in the very different realms of Buddhism, Shinto, and folklore, and explores related mythologies of the Ainu and Okinawan cultures and recent myths arising from Japan's encounters with modernization. It then offers vivid retellings of the central Shinto and Buddhist myths, plus descriptions of major historical figures, icons, rituals, and events. For students or long-time enthusiasts, it is the ideal guide for investigating Japanese reverence for the sun, the imperial family, and the virtues of purity and loyalty. Readers will also learn why sumo wrestlers stomp before each match, how a fussy baby creates thunder, why Japan has a god for soccer, and much more.

Author : Juliet Piggott
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780600021131
Total Pages : 137 pages
Book Rating : 4.30/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Japanese Mythology written by Juliet Piggott and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Japanese mythology is an amalgam of dashing heroes, supernatural beings and intelligent animals-of love and hate, gratitude and resentment, gentleness and cruelty.

Author : Tammy Gagne
Publisher : ABDO
ISBN 13 : 153217070X
Total Pages : 51 pages
Book Rating : 4.06/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Japanese Gods, Heroes, and Mythology written by Tammy Gagne and published by ABDO. This book was released on 2018-12-15 with total page 51 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The hero Momotaro, the sun goddess Amaterasu, and the Buddha are important subjects of Japanese mythology. Japanese Gods, Heroes, and Mythology explores the gods, heroes, creatures, and stories of Japanese mythology, in addition to examining their influence today. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Core Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Author : Jeremy Roberts
Publisher : Infobase Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1438128029
Total Pages : 163 pages
Book Rating : 4.23/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Japanese Mythology A to Z written by Jeremy Roberts and published by Infobase Publishing. This book was released on 2009 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Suitable for those with an interest in mythology or Japanese culture, this title covers: the early Japanese deities who created the world and the later deities who protect it; Kami, the spirits of all aspects of the living world; animals and mythological creatures; demons and bogeymen; and, shrines and other sacred places.

Author : J.K. Jackson
Publisher : Flame Tree Collections
ISBN 13 : 9781839648892
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.99/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Japanese Myths & Legends written by J.K. Jackson and published by Flame Tree Collections. This book was released on 2022-04-12 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gorgeous Collector's Edition. Legends of the Sea, Bells, Mirrors and Tea, Japanese mythology is delightful and enigmatic, full of spirits, gods and legendary creatures. It draws on Buddhist and Shinto traditions to explain the nature of the world of the island of Japan, the mystical Mount Fuji and the heavenly status of the long line of emperors. The warrior class of the imperial court, and the natural spirits of the countryside represent parallel and interdependent aspects of Japanese society, explored through ancient legend and folklore. Flame Tree Collector's Editions present the foundations of speculative fiction, authors, myths and tales without which the imaginative literature of the twentieth century would not exist, bringing the best, most influential and most fascinating works into a striking and collectable library. Each book features a new introduction and a Glossary of Terms.

Author : Frederick Hadland Davis
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 502 pages
Book Rating : 4.46/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Myths & Legends of Japan written by Frederick Hadland Davis and published by . This book was released on 1928 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Yoshiko Okuyama
Publisher : Lexington Books
ISBN 13 : 0739190938
Total Pages : 263 pages
Book Rating : 4.37/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Japanese Mythology in Film written by Yoshiko Okuyama and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2015-04-09 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A cyborg detective hunts for a malfunctioning sex doll that turns itself into a killing machine. A Heian-era Taoist slays evil spirits with magic spells from yin-yang philosophy. A young mortician carefully prepares bodies for their journey to the afterlife. A teenage girl drinks a cup of life-giving sake, not knowing its irreversible transformative power. These are scenes from the visually enticing, spiritually eclectic media of Japanese movies and anime. The narratives of courageous heroes and heroines and the myths and legends of deities and their abodes are not just recurring motifs of the cinematic fantasy world. They are pop culture’s representations of sacred subtexts in Japan. Japanese Mythology in Film takes a semiotic approach to uncovering such religious and folkloric tropes and subtexts embedded in popular Japanese movies and anime. Part I introduces film semiotics with plain definitions of terminology. Through familiar cinematic examples, it emphasizes the myth-making nature of modern-day film and argues that semiotics can be used as a theoretical tool for reading film. Part II presents case studies of eight popular Japanese films as models of semiotic analysis. While discussing each film’s use of common mythological motifs such as death and rebirth, its case study also unveils more covert cultural signifiers and folktale motifs, including jizo (a savior of sentient beings) and kori (bewitching foxes and raccoon dogs), hidden in the Japanese filmic text.

Author : Michael Dylan Foster
Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520271017
Total Pages : 330 pages
Book Rating : 4.12/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Book of Yokai written by Michael Dylan Foster and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2015-01-14 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monsters, ghosts, fantastic beings, and supernatural phenomena of all sorts haunt the folklore and popular culture of Japan. Broadly labeled yokai, these creatures come in infinite shapes and sizes, from tengu mountain goblins and kappa water spirits to shape-shifting foxes and long-tongued ceiling-lickers. Currently popular in anime, manga, film, and computer games, many yokai originated in local legends, folktales, and regional ghost stories. Drawing on years of research in Japan, Michael Dylan Foster unpacks the history and cultural context of yokai, tracing their roots, interpreting their meanings, and introducing people who have hunted them through the ages. In this delightful and accessible narrative, readers will explore the roles played by these mysterious beings within Japanese culture and will also learn of their abundance and variety through detailed entries, some with original illustrations, on more than fifty individual creatures. The Book of Yokai provides a lively excursion into Japanese folklore and its ever-expanding influence on global popular culture. It also invites readers to examine how people create, transmit, and collect folklore, and how they make sense of the mysteries in the world around them. By exploring yokai as a concept, we can better understand broader processes of tradition, innovation, storytelling, and individual and communal creativity. Ê

Author : Jun'ichi Isomae
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134949014
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.14/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Japanese Mythology written by Jun'ichi Isomae and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before the westernisation of Japan, mythological events were treated as national history. Two key documents have contributed to this history, both written over 1300 years ago: 'Kojiki', the Tale of Old Age, and 'Nihonshoki', the Chronicle of Japanese History. Both the Imperial Court and the general public searched for the origin of their identity in these documents, which took on the central and sacred role of scripture. Through the act of commentary and interpretation, the sacred books connected interpreters to their historical origins, authenticating where they came from, the emergence of the Japanese archipelago, and the uniqueness of the Japanese people. 'Japanese Mythology' explores the nation's attraction to this act of historical grounding and the varying identities that emerged during different historical periods. The study reveals that, rather than having any clear and unified substance, Japanese mythology has always been the result of a nostalgic desire to retrieve historical origins.