Grasscutter Prologue 1

First Published: by Dark Horse Comics

Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi

My apologies. I am not doing my reference materials justice. I can blame this on the restrictions placed by the comic-book medium, conflicting sources, and my own inadequacies as a storyteller. I have skirted over a lot of important events, choosing to tell only those that directly pertain to the plot. I have even made up scenes to enhance the story. But, hopefully, these more detailed story notes will resolve at least some of the problems.

Dates in Japanese history (especially pre-history) are very confusing at times because they are established in reference to the ruler of that period. For example: The Kojiki: Records of Ancient Matters, translated by Basil H Chamberlain (Boston: C.E. Tuttle & Co., 1982) states that the eighth emperor, Kogen, died at age fifty-seven; however, according to The Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, translated by William G. Aston (Boston: C.E. Tuttle & Co., 1971), he ascended the throne at age fifty-nine and ruled for fifty-six years. One source places the story of Yamato-Dake as occurring in 110 B.C. while another has his father's reign as A.D. 71-130, having ascended the throne at the age of eighty-three.

There is no exact English equivalent to the word kami. Sometimes it's been translated as "god." However, ancestors can also be kami, and the government was once known as okami. I chose to translate it as "deity" or "divinity," though this is still inaccurate. According to The Kojiki, Japan has eight million good kami and ten million evil spirits.

A note of interest is that the number eight is sacred to the Japanese and is a recurring theme, much like how seven or forty bears significance to Christians.

Prologue 1 - Izanagi & Izanami

There are seven generations of deities leading up to the creation of the Japanese islands. I skipped over the earlier ones as they had nothing to do with the story. Indeed, they seemed to do little except come into being and pass on (die). However, if you're interested in a complete genealogy, I suggest The Kojiki or The Nihongi.

"The Heavenly Bridge" could either be the Milky Way or a rainbow. Some authorities take it to mean a real bridge called "The Heavenly Stairs," which is a natural breakwater running along several points of the Japanese coastline.

Izanagi and Izanami learned the art of lovemaking from watching a pair of wagtails. These waterbirds are still associated with this couple. Even the kami of scarecrows cannot frighten wagtails, a result of a blessing given to them.

Their first child was a leech-like creature, who at the age of three, could not stand upright and was set adrift in a reed boat. Again, for a detailed account of their children, I recommend the aforementioned books.

As Izanagi was being pursued by the Hags of Yomi, he stalled them by tearing off a vine wreath from his head and dropping it behind him. It turned into a bunch of grapes which the hags stopped to devour. He next cast his comb away and it turned into a grove of bamboo shoots which the hags ate. He fought the "eight thunders and fifteen-hundred warriors" with his sword until he reached the entrance to Yomi. He plucked three peaches from a tree and hurled them at his enemies, driving them back. The peach was rewarded with the title of "Great Divine Fruit." Izanagi emerged at Himuka on the island of Kyushu. He blocked the path to Yomi with a rock that would take a thousand men to move.

When Izanagi washed himself after his escape, he inaugurated the Shinto rite of purification practiced to this day.

The birth, brief lives, and passing of the first seven generations of Kami. The appearance of Izanagi and Izanami, and the creation of the islands of Japan, the birth of more Kami, and what followed after the death of Izanami.

Last change: 19. May 2003

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Usagi Yojimbo, including all prominent characters featured in the stories and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Stan Sakai and Usagi Studios. Usagi Yojimbo is a registered trademark of Stan Sakai. Names, characters, places, and incidents featured in this publication either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events, institutions, or locales, without satiric content, is coincidental.