History Lessons

By Glenn I. Masuda

Here is as best I can make out through what sources I could locate. This should provide enough relevant background history to help fans enjoy reading the GRASSCUTTER saga in Usagi Yojimbo. The material covers the period of time from the mythological creation of Japan, to approximately 1200 A.D. Many sources were consulted, and with much materials regarding mythology and ancient history, there are many versions and interpretations. Stan Sakai himself may be using different sources and interpretations of the ancient texts. I attempted to put together as much as I could in a readable form, one that I hope would be interesting and helpful. One disclaimer I must make is that mythological history has many versions and has been interpreted by many who are far more qualified than I. This very brief summary is solely for the purposes of helping Dojo members enhance their enjoyment of reading about the exploits of Usagi Yojimbo, and have a fuller appreciation for the depth of thought and artistry that Stan Sakai puts into his stories. Sakai-san himself may have a different interpretation of historical events, as they are portrayed in Usagi Yojimbo.

A Brief History of the Mythological Creation of Japan,
and Background Material for the Grasscutter Saga

The Age of the Gods

In the beginning, the heaven and earth were not yet separated, and were in a chaotic mass, known as "In" and "Yo".(Much like the Chinese concept of Yin and Yang.) The clearer and pure part first separated, and formed heaven. The heavier part settled down and formed the earth. A reed-shoot appeared between the Heavens and Earth, then transformed into the deity known as Kuni-toko-tachi (lit. Land-eternal-stand of august thing).

The gods were produced and many generations of various deities were born. In the seventh generation there came Inazagi no Mikoto, and his wife Inazami no Mikoto. ("Mikoto" is the honorific term for any deity or royalty descended from the gods. In Japanese mythology, royalty and deity are considered to be one and the same.) Inazagi and Inazami stood on the Floating Bridge of Heaven and looked down upon the earth. They thrust a spear down, and found the ocean. The drops of water that dripped down coagulated, and formed the island of Onogoro-jima (lit. Spontaneously-congealed-island). They descended from heaven to dwell upon the island. They were born as mates, and known as the first "human" couple on earth. They married, and gave birth to the islands of Japan, to the sea, the rivers, mountains, and trees. Afterwards they gave birth to their first child, Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami (Lit. Heaven-Shining-Great -Deity).

Amaterasu "Sun Goddess" was the eldest daughter of the first couple, Izanagi and Izanami. Her beauty and brightness was so great that they sent her up to heaven to shine upon all of the earth and heavens. The second child was Tsuki-yumi, the Moon God. Tsuki-yumi was also sent up to live in the heavens to be with Amaterasu, but they quarreled, and Tsuki-yumi was sent away to live apart, so that the siblings were separated by day and night. The next child born was Susano-o ("Impetuous male" aka "the god of storms").

Susano-o, the God of Storms, brother of Amaterasu, had a very bad temper, which resulted in many cruel deeds. He was known to have a tendency to continuously wail and weep. Because of his bad behaviors, he was banished by his parents to the Land of Yomi. Before he was to go, he requested a chance to visit his sister Amaterasu in heaven. The request was granted, and he ascended to heaven. The ten-span sword which was originally Izanagi's was given to Susano-o by Amaterasu. Although at first the visitation was amicable, Susano-o quickly resorted to his general nature. He destroyed Amaterasu's rice fields, and ran horses through them. Finally, while Amaterasu was weaving garments for the Gods, he made a hole in the roof of the sacred Weaving Hall, and threw down a flayed horse. Amaterasu became frightened, then very angry. She left the heavens and went into a cave, closing the entrance with a large boulder. The world was plunged into darkness. The gods gathered together, and discussed how to draw Amaterasu back out of the cave, and back into the heavens. At the entrance of the caves they gods began a party with birds singing, and displayed much jewelry and beautiful mirrors. Ama-no-Uzume "heavenly-alarming-female" started to dance in a very provocative manner, until all the gods were roaring with laughter. Amaterasu became very curious, and using a "star mirror" peeped out the cave. After seeing the revelry, she was drawn out, and the light that shone was called the dawn. She returned to her place in the heavens, and the world became light and golden again. Susano-o was immediately chastised and banished to the land of Yomi.

<>Susano-o and the Dragon

Susano-o descended from heaven to earth. He arrived at the river Hi, in the province of Idzuno. He heard the sound of weeping. He came upon an old man and old woman who were pitifully saying their farewells to their daughter. The old man was named Ashi-nazuchi, and his wife, Te-nazuchi. He asked them the nature of their grief, and they explained that they formerly had eight daughters. The other seven daughters had been devoured by an eight-headed serpent. Susano-o fell in love with the young woman, (named Kushi-nada-hime) and offered to save her, in exchange for her hand in marriage. They immediately granted his request. Susano-o changed Kushi-nada-hime into a comb and stuck her into his hair. He asked the old couple to brew and bring him a large amount of sake, poured it into eight buckets, then waited for the serpent. Finally, the serpent arrived. It indeed had eight heads, and red eyes like winter-cherries. It also had eight tails. Upon finding the sake, the each of the heads eagerly drank the sake, became drunk and fell asleep. Then Susano-o drew his ten-span sword and chopped the serpent into little pieces. When he struck one of the tails, his weapon became notched. He cut open the tail and within it is found a magnificent sword. After the battle, Susano-o gives the sword to his sister Amaterasu, as he feels he is unworthy of the sword. The sword is known here as the Murakumo-no-tsurugi, (lit. Sword of gathering clouds of heaven) it belongs to the insignia of the Imperial House of Japan.

Read more about MURAKUMO-NO-TSURUGI

Treasures of the Imperial Regalia?

Below are jpeg's of what is believed to be the three imperial heirlooms of Japan. Keep in mind that these may not be that actual treasures. No one knows for sure!

YATA-no-KAGAMI "The Star Hand Mirror"... One of the Imperial Treasures, legend has it that Susano-o used it to lure Kushi-nada-hime out of the cave to rescue her from the serpent. The back side of the mirror is shown here, decorated with flower petals. This is a copper mirror and was said to have been made 1700 years ago, and gave off a golden gleam at that time.

YASAKANI-no-MAGATAMA The sacred jewel of the Imperial Regailia. This jade is said to have been one of the jewels of the eight-foot long necklace used to lure Kushi-nada-hime out of the cave by Susano-o. Magatama are tear-shaped jades.

After much time had passed, Prince Ninigi no Mikoto ("Celestial Grandson" of the Goddess Amaterasu) was sent down to govern the earth. He is sent down as the gods are not pleased with the behavior of the humans dwelling on the land. He was given the imperial jewels, the star mirror and the Murakumo-no-tsurugi. He alighted on Mt. Takachiho (Kyushu) and married the Princess Kono hana no Sakuya (Sakura) upon seeing her. They had three children, one, Ho-no-Ori-no Mikoto became the grandfather of Jimmu, the first of the Imperial line in Japan. Jimmu later was known as the "First Emperor."

600 B.C. (February 11th) Enthronement of Emperor Jimmu. (Real name was Prince Kamu-Yamato-Iware-Hiko.)

The Story of Prince Yamato-Dake:

81 A.D. Prince Ousu is born to the Emperor Keiko (12th). He is reportedly one of 80 children. The Prince, reportedly stood 9.94 feet tall, according to the "Kojiki". This height was reportedly common for people of this age. The "Kojiki" (Record of Ancient Matters) the oldest known record of Japanese history and prehistory. It is reported to go back thousands of years. It is believed to have been compiled by Futo-no-Yasumaro. He started the record in 711 A.D. It was completed on January 28th, 712 A.D., and consists of 3 books (or 48 volumes). It is said to cover the history of Japan from its early prehistory to the year 628 A.D. (The Nihongi - a contemporary work in Chinese

"Chronicles of Japan"- is considered a more accurate historical record)

97 A.D. Prince Ousu, son of the Emperor Keiko (12th) when only 16 years old, subdued Kawakami Takeru, a rebellious chief of the Kumaso in Kyushu. After receiving a beautiful robe from his Aunt, the high priestess of Ise temple, he disguised himself as a serving girl at a banquet where Takeru was in attendance. While Takeru was drinking wine to the point of drunkenness, Prince Ousu stabbed Takeru with a sword. The dying chieftain, amazed at the Prince's courage and cunning, dubbed him with his dying breath, "Yamato-take" (lit. Brave hero of Japan.)

110 A.D. Again Eastern rebels rose up to the Imperial Court. On his way to subdue them, Prince Yamato-take stopped at Ise Shrine to pray. At the temple, his Aunt, Princess Yamato-hime, high-priestess of the shrine, gave him a bag of flints and the sacred sword of the Ise shrines, the sword of Murakumo-no-tsugu. When the Prince came to the province of Suguru, the rebels took him under the false pretense of hunting deer, and set fire to the fields with the Prince in the middle of the field. The prince saved himself by cutting the down the high grass with the sword. He found that the sword had magical attributes, as wherever he cut down the grass, the wind would blow in that direction. He made use of this fact, saving himself. He then used the flints given to him by his Aunt and dispatched his would-be assassins with fire. The place is still known as "Yaizo" (lit. burned ord). The sword with which he defended himself henceforth was known as the "Kusanagi no Tsurugi" (lit. grass-cutting sword). It is considered to this day, one of the three items of the imperial regalia. The sword is currently enshrined in a Shinto shrine at Atsuta near Nagoya, in the Owari province.

ATSUTA SHRINE This shrine is one of three major shrines in Japan that house the Sacred Treasures of the Imperial Family. This shrine is dedicated to the Kusanagi ("Grass-cutting" or "Grass-mowing") Sword. Founded in the 3rd century, the shrine, with an area of 190,000 sq.m., is surrounded by hundreds of ancient camphor trees. A total of sixty different traditional festivals and ten religious events are held here every year. The Nohgakuden, within the precincts of the shrine, is a historical structure that includes "Nobunaga Wall", a Noh theater hosting the Japanese Noh dramas and other traditional performing arts. The Houbutsukan (Treasure House) Museum houses national treasures and cultural assets of the Nihon Shoki (the chronicles of Japan), which are all on display. The museum is open 9:00 to 16:30 and closed the last Wednesday and the next day of every month, just in case you wanted to visit and pay homage to the real GRASSCUTTER for yourself! (Admission is only 300 yen).

The OFUDA Talisman of ATSUTA SHRINE

Prince Yamato-take was again sent out by his father, the Emperor Keiko to subjugate the rebels of the North. The Prince took a boat to cross the bay of Sagami (present day Tokyo Bay). A heavy storm came on and his ship was tossed and in danger. His wife, Princess Ototachibana stated "This must be due to the anger of the sea-god. I will go to the bottom to appease him.", then jumped into the sea. The waves subsided, and Prince Yamato-take landed safely on the other side. Kisarazu is the place where he landed, with deep loving memories of his wife. While traveling back in triumph to the imperial capitol, the Prince took ill. He died at age 30 in Owari Province. He lies buried at Nobunu in Ise Province.

405 A.D. Official recognition of the art of writing in Japan.

500 A.D. Ainu, Malay and Mongol elements in the populations have become one nation.

668 A.D. August 5th, Dogio, a Buddhist priest from Korea (AKA Silla, Corea) stole the Grasscutter and tried to take it to Korea. There was heavy resistance from the wind and rain gods, so the was forced to turn back. After throwing the sword into the sea to appease the dragon god. The dragon-king of the sea returned the sword to Atsuta, where it remained for a century.

686 A.D. June 10th, the Emperor's mysterious illness is determined to be due to a curse from The GRASSCUTTER, so it was moved to a shrine at Asuta.

794 A.D. Kyoto becomes the seat of imperial power. The Fujiwara clan assumes a dominant role in the ruling of Japan.

1100 A.D. Crime, corruption and discontent is rampant in the capitol. The Fujiwara clan is forced to engage the Minamoto(Genji) and Taira (Heike) clans to use military force to stabilize society. They eventually are played off against one another, and a long period of warfare between the clans begins. By the middle of the century, the Fujiwara clan is no longer in dominance. A distinct military class is beginning to appear.

1186 A.D The epic war between the Minamoto and Taira Clan comes to a head at the Naval Battle of Dan-no-ura. Minamoto Yoshitsune and Benkei defeat the Taira forces at the by driving them to the sea. The boy emperor, Antoku-Tenno (of the Taira Clan) wore the GRASSCUTTER into battle. When all was lost, his grandmother, Nidomo, took him into her arms and jumped into the sea, where both perished. The sword was thought to be lost. Although the Genji (Minamoto) clan perservered, Japan was to suffer a long period of wars, which prevents a unified central government.

1300 A.D. (early) The Genji clan also falls out of power, as they also failed to establish an effective centrallized form of government.

1500 A.D. The entire country was embroiled in endless civil wars, until the late 16th century, when Tokugawa Ieyasu was able to unite the country under a military dictatorship. This period marks the end of the great wars, and Japan was governed by successive dynasties of military dictators, until the Meiji Restoration of 1868. This period of time also heralded the dominance of the military class. It is when the special code of behavior and morality (bushido) is formally developed. This is the time of the formation of the "samurai"caste/class. The samurai is known as "one who serves."

There is so much speculation, myth, and rumor surrounding GRASSCUTTER... read LEGENDS OF KUSANAGI for more!

Bibliography:

Aston, W.G. (1993) (First edition 1972) Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. Vol. 1 and 2. Charles E. Tuttle Company, Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, Japan.

Davis, E. Hadland. (1995) (First edition 1913). Myths and Legends of Japan. Graham Brash (PTE) LTD, Singapore.

Knappert, Jan. (1995) (First published 1992). Pacific Mythology: An Encyclopedia of Myth and Legend, Diamond Books, Hammersmith, London.

Sansom, G.B. (1931) Japan: A Short Cultural History. Appleton- Century-Crofts, Inc., New York, New York.

Yamaguchi, K.M. (1964) (First edition 1934) We Japanese. Books 1,2, and 3. Yamagata Press, Yokohama, Japan.

Yoshikawa, Eiji (1995) (First edition 1956) The Heike Story. Charles E. Tuttle Company, Rutland, Vermont.