Monday, 7 October 2013

Amaterasu, A tale of the Gods

A tale of the gods, Amaterasu. It is a story full of lessons. A story that is fiction. In this story you can and probably will have a new view on the myths about Gods and Goddesses. Most of all it is a representation of the Japanese culture.

Amaterasu is a story about how the Japanese people think their Gods started. It all started with the introduction of the first family in the world. The father went on to become the Lord of the Heavens. His mother the Lady of the Underworld. The remaining children remained on the bridge linking the heavens and the underworld. He kept wining and wining because of this. He also knows that if he was in the Underworld he can never get out of it again.  His constant complaining reached new heights when Amaterasu, his sister was given the jeweled necklace and made goddess of the sun. Finally, his father has had enough and told him to leave instead of making other people's lives up there miserable. He felt bad but before he left he had to say goodbye to his sister, Amaterasu. Like a wild bull, Susanoo began taking his anger upon other things because of him being in a bad mood. The noise of this caused his sister to flee and hide. When they saw each other they had a very heated argument. Amaterasu soon left. Her presence was the kept the world warm and without her the world went into a state of darkness. The good spirits noticed and found a way to get her out again. This all ended with the banishment of Susanoo.

Susanoo is the story's antagonist. He was the source of trouble. He was also a child who grew up with no mother. I feel that his behavior could have been different only if he had his mother. He was mourning for her. It was the main reason for his complaining. In the end, I only think of what could he have been if his mother was there.

Amaterasu is the name of  the protagonist and the title of this story. She is the sun goddess. The earth's main source of life. Without her every single thing in the world can break but with all the power she has, she also has feelings. She has happiness,fear,anger and all of this are evident. She may have been a goddess but she also has a sense of humanity, the feelings she had.

There are a lot of lessons in this story. A lot of which are lessons that humanity must never forget. Down below I will state and explain each and everyone.

The first and most important one is the importance of family. We would never have been in this earth if it weren't for our parents. This can be related to the story because of Susanoo. The negativeness of him are the effects of not having a family. Being sibling is also included. It is happier to live with brothers and sisters rather than just being alone. I grew up without brothers and sisters. It was not until I reached grade school that I had a brother and it was very different. Everything changed. Now I already have another brother and I realized something. It is a lot better than it was when I was just all alone. Although, it would have been better if the difference in our ages would have been closer. It would have been better because it would be easier for you to understand them. This can be related to the story. The whole story's main lesson and the lesson, I see most evident is the importance of family.

Another lesson is the lesson of being happy with what you have. Especially in hard times, look around you and you will find that you are not the only one with problems. In life it is very hard to not have any moment where you say "I want to stop". I have had it a lot of times in my life and I can say that the things that motivate or inspire me are all in my heart. My family,friends, and dreams are what keeps me late at night and keeps me motivated in doing what I have to. In some times though, you have to be happy with what you have. I do also believe that ambition is a great thing and it pushes us into greatness. At some point, we need to think and ask ourselves "do I really need this"? My main point is that things that are unchangeable like the thing God gave you while it is not wrong to work for a better life. How about you, What's your view on this?

Last but not at least, actions have consequences. Like Newtons law, every action has an opposite reaction. Susanoo's actions have made bad reactions. The loss of Amaterasu gave a very bad effect. The world had no sun. This caused a lot of bad side effects. In the end, Susanoo got banished because of all the wrong he has gone. Do you think this was a right judgement.

The first ever Japanese story I have ever read. It was a new experience. I would say that it is not actually very different but it has a lot of distinct qualities. It was fun because I knew that this was a new thing and I have new knowledge. I learned about the Japanese culture. A new experience and I look forward to reading this kind of stories in the future! How about you?

This book is also a representation of the Japanese culture. Most of all, the Japanese belief in how their Gods started. It is and will always be part of the Japanese culture.