The principle that the Tennow has been male correlated with the traditional convention that among daughters of the Tennow the divined princess by the deity has been selected as the Saiguu, who has held a religious service to Amaterasu-oomikami at the Ise Shrine. In a sense, there has been a system of division of work between male and female of the Tennow family.
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2008年10 月
2008年10 月31日 (金)
2008年10 月30日 (木)
The Gender of the Tennow
Furthermore, the setting that the first descendant from the Heaven was Ninigi-no-mikoto, who was a grandson of Amaterasu-oomikami, suggests that the Tennow in general must be male, because the soul that a line of Tennows have succeeded through the Daijyou-sai, was certainly male one, although several female Tennows has been inaugurated as intermediaries between their predecessor and successor when there were no suitable male candidate for the Tennow in the Japanese history.
2008年10 月29日 (水)
The Tennow and the Dajyou-sai
This story telling the origin in the mythological age reflects on the ritual of the coronation ceremony of the Tennow, so called Daijyou-sai. Following ancient conventions, the Tennow has been to wear something like a wrapper called matoko-ou-busuma, to succeed the soul of Ninigi-no-mikoto and to be a living deity, though in 1946 Showa Tennow denied his absolute authority and inerrability of the divinity in the sense of the parting from militarism founded on the independence of the supreme command of the Tennow prescribed in the Meiji Constitution. Japanese as well as Shintoists has regarded the Tennow as an apotheosized person who has succeeded to the soul of Ninigi-no-mikoto who descended from the Heaven, not as God Almighty in monotheism.
2008年10 月28日 (火)
Ninigi-no-mikoto
It is especially important that Ninigi-no-mikoto was the first descendant of Amaterasu-oomikami, who descended from the Heaven, Takamanohara, and has been regarded as a direct ancestor of the Tennow. Interesting enough, Ninigi-no-mikoto was described as like an innocent infant or a baby who equipped with no weapon. Though the soldiers of the Takamanohara brought the ruler of the Izumo, or the Ashihara-no-naka-tu-kuni, to their knee, the conqueror, who should be in general a coercive dominator, was no less than an authority.
2008年10 月27日 (月)
The Takamanohara and the Ashihara-no-nakatu-kuni
The attitude of Oonamuchi-no-kami appears that of a loser who has completely submitted to a conqueror, though he has not waged war against the Takamanohara. A close look at the fact that the compliers of both of the Japanese history books esteemed him as one of precious deities and especially the Izumo Myth reveals that the position of the Takamanohara was not absolute and predominant over that of the Izumo, or Ashihara-no-nakatu-kuni.
2008年10 月26日 (日)
The Halbed of Oonamuchi-no-kami
Having declared the submission, Oonamuchi-no-kami offered a halberd, with which he had conquered his nation before, to the descendant from the Heaven. He told Hutunushi-no-kami and Takemikatuti-no-kami, “I have achieved my exploit with this halberd. If the descendant from the Heaven does it with this halberd as well, he will make this nation peaceful. So, I will go away to the latent world now.” After all, he left the Izumo for the latent world.
2008年10 月25日 (土)
The Decision of Oonamuchi-no-kami
Immediately, Oonamuchi-no-kami informed Hutunushi-no-kami and Takemikatuti-no-kami of the decision of his son, Kotoshironushi, and said to them, “My dear reliable son has already passed away. Thus it should be better that I resign myself. If I dare to resist against you, other deities in this country will also fight. If I retire now, any deities will not resist”. This scene must have been that of submission of one nation without any fights.
2008年10 月24日 (金)
Kotoshironushi
Pressed for an answer by Hutunushi-no-kami and Takemikatuti-no-kami, Oonamuchi-no-kami asked them to wait for a moment until he would consult with his son, Kotoshironushi. It is said that just at the time, Kotoshironushi was enjoying fishing at Miho promontory of Izumo or hunting wild birds. When the messengers who had sent by Kotoshironushi asked that question with regard to the alienation of the Izumo, he replied that his father should not have resist against Takamanohara and that he also did have no intention to fight against them. Leaving these words, he had gone away into the sea.
2008年10 月23日 (木)
Kuniyuzuri
The two deities, Hutunushi-no-kami and Takemikatuti-no-kami, descended from the Tkamanohara to the Izumo and pressed Ooanamuchi-no-kami to be subject to Ninigi-no-mikoto, the ground-son of Amaterasu-oomikami. They said to him, “Takamimusuhi-no-mikoto dispatched us in order to make Ninigi-no-mikoto reign over this nation. You should willingly concede your throne to him. Could you please reply to the question you would do or not?” This application must have been a sort of compulsion indeed.
2008年10 月22日 (水)
Hutunushi-no-kami and Takemikatuti-no-kami
Since all of dispatch had failed, Takamimusuhi-no-mikoto convened the myriad of deities again and asked them who would be the most suitable deity for the next expedition to the Izumo. All of them recommended Hutunushi-no-kami as he is so heroic. Then Hutunushi-no-kami came to be accompanied by another male deities, Takemikatuti-no-kami, because he complained that the myriad deities had regarded Htunushi-no-kami as the best among them.
