This week I chose to read the Japanese mythology unit and thought overall it was a really cool unit. I loved the story of Izanagi and Izanami (part 1 & part 2)! This creation myth was not only neat , but truly beautiful. The imagery in this story was phenomenal and I could really imagine the settings. Plus, the love story between Izanagi and Izanami is one of loyalty, devotion, and unfortunately, grief. I felt compelled to keep reading this story and as such definitely enjoyed it. I also liked the story of The Heaven Descended (part 1 & part 2). It wasn't a super happy or sickly sweet love story. Instead, it started off as a love story and ended up telling a tale of jealousy, mistrust, and anger. I thought Ninigi was a total ass for acting as he did and was surprised to see a trial by fire being used in Japanese mythology. I've never read much Japanese mythology, but I guess I saw that as a mostly Greek/Roman practice. Either way, the idea of asking a divine being to keep you safe to prove your honesty/truthfulness as you walk through a wall of flames, is very intriguing. The only thing about this reading unit that I just couldn't seem to get down with was the mix of verse and prose. Sometimes I would get confused or frustrated while reading and have to stop for a minute or move on from the section I was reading. It was also pretty difficult to find pictures of Izanami, which surprised me. With other mythology units I was able to find an abundance of images of the gods and goddesses discussed, but not so with Izanagi and Izanami. It seems there are only 2-3 images (and they're old) of this heavenly couple. There wasn't even very much fan art. It was just really strange to me.
Japanese Family Tree of Gods
found on this Japanese myth site
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