The Land-Pulling Myth and Some Aspects of Historic Reality
Izumo fudoki describes Izumo Province, situated in todays Shimane Prefecture and facing the Japan Sea. It is the oldest surviving Japanese text compiled by aristocrats from a region, hence giving us unique information about a Japanese province during the Nara period. However, Izumo fudoki has been l...
| Published in: | Japanese journal of religious studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Nanzan Institute
[2010]
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| In: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
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| Further subjects: | B
Tombs
B Burial mounds B Seas B Religious Studies B Yayoi period B Myths B Legendary places B Villages B Kofun period B Land |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Izumo fudoki describes Izumo Province, situated in todays Shimane Prefecture and facing the Japan Sea. It is the oldest surviving Japanese text compiled by aristocrats from a region, hence giving us unique information about a Japanese province during the Nara period. However, Izumo fudoki has been little consulted by Western scholars. The land-pulling myth is the first myth to be related in Izumo fudoki; it narrates how one of the local deities looks across the Japan Sea and decides to pull land from four of the places that he can see, including from the Korean Peninsula. This land he cuts off, pulls across the sea, and attaches to Izumo, hence making the province larger. This article discusses two ways of interpreting the myth. One possible interpretation is that the four places from which land is being pulled correspond to an area that was in different ways connected to Izumo during the late Yayoi period. The other, perhaps more worthwhile, explanation of the myth is to see how it supported the local aristocracy in Izumo Province as it tried to maintain partial autonomy vis-à-vis the central government. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
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