Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Mythology in 21st Century Japan: A Study of Ame no Uzume no Mikoto

Sheets, William J
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1500615882214031

Abstract Details

2017, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, East Asian Studies.
Japan’s eighth-century mythic texts, the Kojiki (712 CE) and the Nihon shoki (720 CE), share enough with other world myth systems and warrant their discussion in a broader theoretical context. Japanese myth, which cannot be limited to its religious, political, literary, or any other single intellectual or academic dimension, requires an interdisciplinary approach. Also, the significance of Japanese myth neither exists in the hypothetical mythic past nor is it restricted to the eighth century contexts of the Kojiki and Nihon shoki. Its meaning extends from the past to the present in patterns of both continuity and change. People continue to invent, maintain, or deny Japanese myth’s potential significances and perpetuate its authority as a form of discourse. Through analysis of recent scholarship on the myths of the goddess Ame no Uzume no Mikoto, as well as a detailed look at the eighth-century mythic texts, this thesis seeks to describe a microcosm of mythology in 21st century Japan that is unique and yet representative of modern myth scholarship. We find strong themes of resistance to Japan’s wartime nationalism, sometimes contrasted with efforts to use myth in constructing a new Japanese identity – one that is either unique or situated it in its global context. These myths are especially associated with Japanese traditions and contain thematic elements that allow for speculation about notions of spirituality, sexuality, and gender. Now, as in most of history, the myths are an authoritative base from which scholars attempt to make statements about Japan historically and in the present.
Noami Fukumori (Advisor)
120 p.
Asian Literature; Asian Studies; Folklore; Religion
Japanese myth; mythology; Kojiki; Nihon shoki; Ame no Uzume no Mikoto; gender; Japan

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sheets, W. J. (2017). Mythology in 21st Century Japan: A Study of Ame no Uzume no Mikoto [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1500615882214031

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sheets, William. Mythology in 21st Century Japan: A Study of Ame no Uzume no Mikoto. 2017. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1500615882214031.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sheets, William. "Mythology in 21st Century Japan: A Study of Ame no Uzume no Mikoto." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1500615882214031

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1500615882214031
5,804
© 2017, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.