「 Tsukuyomi Kami. Usually, it’s written as “月を読む(Counting the months),” and is expressed as “月読i(The nickname of the moon),” however, If I recall, it’s also has a notation as “月に夜を見る(Viewing the moon at night),” 」
Misuzu said.
In short, Tsukiko and Yomiko’s name is “Tsukuyomi” when you add them together.
It’s the name of the God of the Moon.
「 Counting the months and viewing the moon are the same thing. It means to see the phases of the moon and know the flow of time 」
Time? Moon?
「 It was for the Lunar calendar in the past. The moon was the calendar alternative. Identifying the change of season and agricultural schedule is made by looking up at the moon 」
I see. That means looking at the moon at night was crucial.
「 However, “Tsukiyomi-Kami” is a strange god1 」
Misuzu said.
「 Danna-sama, you do know about Amaterasu-no-Mikoto, right? 」
「 Well, I know at least that much. It’s the greatest God in Japan. The Goddess of Sun 」
「 Tsukuyomi is Amaterasu’s younger brother 」
The Sun God and Moon God are siblings. I know that much.
「 Then as for the other brother, Susanoo-no-Mikoto 」
Hmm?
「 Susanoo, that’s the one who took down Yamato-no-Orochi, isn’t it? 」
I asked.
「 Yes indeed. He’s not a human but a God 」
Misuzu replied.
「 Wait, if Amaterasu’s the Sun God, Tsukuyomi is the Moon God, then what God is Susanoo? 」
If there’s already a sun and moon, what’s the other? 2
If he’s a God, then what kind of God?
I mean, what I only know about Susanoo is that he defeated Yamata-no-Orochi.
「 That’s the problem 」
Misuzu said.
「 Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo, these were the three pillars of God born from Izanagi-no-Mikoto at the same time. Did you know? 」
「 Izanagi and Izanami, isn’t it? 」
I do remember their names at least.
「 Yes. In Japan mythology, Izanagi-no-Mikoto and Izanami-no-Mikoto gave birth to “Land” itself. It’s the myth of “birth of the country” 」
Yeah.
I remember reading that in a library book as a child.
「 Izanagi is a male god and Izanami is the female. Then, the female God said “something is lacking in me,” so the male god said “I will fill what’s lacking in you,” thus he filled her and the country was born 」
「 In short, they had sex and made a child! 」
Nei shortens.
Oh, the “lacking” is the female genital, and the “filling’ is the male genital. I see.
「 Afterwards, Izanami burned to death after the birth of the fire god Kagutsuchi. Thus, Izanagi went to Yomi(the dead world) to meet the dead Izanami 」
Misuzu said.
「 I know that. In the end, the husband came back from hell alone, didn’t he? 」
「 It’s not Hell. It’s the land of the dead 」
Michi?
「 It must be the same in Master’s image, but Hell and the land of the dead are different things 」
「 There are different views of life and death depending on the religion. In Buddhism and Christianity, Hell is a place where you’re punished for your since when you were alive 」
「 Izanami-san just gave birth to the God of Fire and died because of it, it’s not like she did something wrong and taken to hell, did she? I mean, Japan myths have no concept of heaven and hell. Anyway, everyone who dies goes to Yomi, whether they’re a good or bad person. That’s the idea 」
Michi, Misuzu, and Nei relay with each other on teaching me.
Everyone knows a lot.
「 Well, putting that aside, Izanagi who came back from the land of the dead did a purification ceremony to go back to the surface. He washed his body with water. A lot of Gods were born at that time 」
「 The first child, Amaterasu, was born from Izanagi washing his left eye. Tsukuyomi was born when he washed his right eye. And Susanoo is supposedly born from washing his nose 」
Michi follows up with Nei.
Oh, I see.
I didn’t remember the details that much.
「 And so, Yo-chan. Don’t you think that it’s strange? 」
Huh? What is?
「 At first, the country was born from the male and female god having sex. After that, Izanagi and Izanami created many other gods 」
Y-Yeah.
「 However, since Izanami separated and went to the land of the dead, Izanagi alone made gods one after another 」
Oh, wait.
Yeah, the rules deviated.
「 In fact, from the time Izanami was burned down by the fire god, Gods having sex and giving birth to other Gods have stopped 」
Misuzu said.
「 That’s right, talk about Izanami getting ill that she gave birth to the god of vomit, piss, and shit! What’s the name of the urine god again? 」
Nei asks.
「 Mitsuhanome-no-Kami and Wakumusubi-no-kami 」
As expected of Misuzu, she knows a lot when it comes to peeing.
「 Well, so far, it’s the female god giving birth, but after Izanami’s death, new gods are born even from the tears of the sad Izanagi. In short, it’s when male gods start giving birth to gods 」
A male god produces gods alone.
Yeah, that’s some major rule change.
「 In the myths, it seems that the male and female god giving birth to a new one is a late occurrence. The Japanese mythology has returned to their old types since Izanagi’s death 」
「 And so! Well, after purifying the dirt from the land of the dead, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo were born! 」
Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi are from the eyes.
Susanoo is from the nose.
「 And so, Yo-chan, have you heard of Tsukuyomi’s name before? Did you know about them? 」
「 No, I don’t know a lot 」
「 Yeah. Of course. It’s not that common after all. After all, he never appeared in other myths after his birth 」
No appearances?
「 The only written myth on Tsukuyomi is that he killed Uke Mochi no Kami, the Hainuwele God in Japan. That’s why Amaterasu moved her away 」
「 Really, that’s the only description about him 」
Somehow, I don’t get it but, they’re saying that there’s not much written about Tsukuyomi?
「 Yo-chan, don’t you think that’s strange? The moon’s so crucial to Japan, you see? But the God of the moon has hardly anything written about him 」
Yeah, that’s strange.
Everyone knows about the sun god, Amaterasu but they don’t talk about the moon God 」
「 Then, there’s Susanoo. Their father, Izanagi made Amaterasu, the Sun God, govern the “Takamagahara(heaven)” And Tsukuyomi, the Moon God, rules the “Yoru no Osu Kuni(the country that eats at night)” At that time, there are books that tell that Susanoo was ordered to rule over the ocean, but it’s not much known. However, Susanoo is supposed to have refused the order of his father and went to Yomi, where his mother is 」
「 Then, before going to Yomi, he would like to see his sister, so he came to the Takamagahara, but the elder sister doubted that Susanoo might’ve come to attack 」
「 To clear that doubt, Amaterasu and Susanoo made a written vow. As a result, a god was born. The first is “Munakata-sanjojin,” and five gods were born afterward. They were all good gods, so Susanoo’s innocence is proved, however
「 That’s sex between two Gods, isn’t it? 」
Misuzu?
「 That’s right. The female god Amaterasu, and the male god, Susanoo had sex and gave birth to Gods. In short, it’s back with the rules of Izanagi and Izanami 」
I-I see.
No, wait.
「 Amaterasu and Susanoo are siblings, isn’t it? Was that okay back then? 」
I asked just in case.
「 I think they’re not siblings 」
Nei said.
「 Let’s see, what I mean is this; myths are hybrids. It isn’t a single story told over time, but a bundle of different stories combined, patched, or sometimes cut out, to make some jumble 」
「 Each of the clans had their own myths. It’s often rewritten to the myth of the conquering clans. However, it doesn’t mean that the winning clan myths always remain 」
「 If it was an exciting story, then the losing clan’s myth is also incorporated into the winning clan’s myth. Basically how the Roman empire taking over the Green myths 」
「 Sometimes, it’s just a part. For example, the stories of King Arthur, then Tristan and Isolde were separate, but before anyone noticed, Tristan has become one of the knights in King Arthur’s round table 」
Nei and Misuzu continue their talk.
Does anyone understand what these two are talking about?
Yeah, Ruriko, Michi, Mana, and the Takakura sisters know what’s going on.
Those who are dumbfounded are Megu, Agnes, and me.
「 Oh, I get it now! That means that Susanoo was just inserted later in the Japanese myth, is he? 」
Edie?
You understood that?!!!
「 I think so 」
Misuzu said.
「 There is a shrine for a God which is believed to be the ancient name of Amaterasu, which is Amateru shrine in Tsushima. Tsukuyomi’s shrine is in the Sanuki. However, there’s no shrine revering Susanoo. These two shrines are ancient. In short, there have initially been faith in the Sun God, Amaterasu, and Moon God, Tsukuyomi 」
I see.
Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi existed as Gods first.
「 Susanoo’s nature is of a Hero God. In short, he was someone who acted heroically that the people deified him. Therefore he became a God 」
Hero God.
「 And so, Yo-chan also knows about Susanoo’s legend. He has shown his innocence in Ukei(Shinto divination ritual) about coming to Takamagahara but, in the end, he went berserk, that it caused Amaterasu to withdraw to Ama-no-Iwato. Thus, Susanoo was kicked out of Takamagahara 」
「 Then, he went down to the land of Izumo and defeated Yamata-no-Orochi Thus, the land of Izumo has become indigenous and reigned the country 」
Oh, I know that one.
「 IN short, Susanoo became a hero because he defeated Yamata-no-Orochi, and so the story of the hero who defeated Orochi and the tale of Amaterasu of Takamagahara are united. 」
「 Yeah, well, it’s almost correct Yo-chan, but there’s one thing 」
Nei?
「 In Kojiki, Nihon-Shoki, the legend of Yamata-no-Orochi is an event in Izumo 」
Misuzu said.
「 It’s not written in Izumo Fudoki 」
Nei continues.
「 Fudoki is a book in the Imperial court where they recorded all the events during the Nara period. Among them are origins of names of places and legends but most of it have been scattered and lost, and even now there are lost parts in the cultural records, but fortunately, the cultural records for Izumo are still intact 」
「 And As Nei-chan said, Yamata-no-Orochi’s legend isn’t in there 」
That means it wasn’t written.
「 In short, Yamata-no-Orochi isn’t a legend in Izumo 」
Seriously?
「 The government officials in the Imperial Court desperately compiled and edited them due to the order. If it’s a legend that Izumo always had then it can’t possibly have no records. But, there wasn’t any 」
「 It’s true that Susanoo’s model was someone from Izumo. It’s known because there was a shrine worshipping Susanoo since the ancient times 」
Susanoo is real.
「 It’s possible that Susanoo was a king in Izumo and for him to gain a legend, Susanoo made the legend of Orochi Termination from the other region his 」
「 There are similar examples. Since Fujiwara no Hidesato defeated Taira no Masakado, Tawara no Tota(Hidesato) is now the one who took down the Giant Centipede! 」
Fujiwara no Hidesato was an actual person.
Although the Giant Centipede isn’t real.
「 But for the time being, Susanoo had a real person as a model, but was it okay to incorporate him to the legendary myths of Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi? 」
Even reaching Takamagahara, a world of legend.
Susanoo came from Izumo, a story modeled from reality.
「 No, I think that the event modeled the story about the Ama-no-Iwato 」
Nei said.
「 Thinking about it, how about this? There was a King who became a model of Susanoo who had the power over the land of Izumo. That king came to the neighboring country to negotiate. That neighboring country is, of course, worried that Susanoo came to take over their country.
Yeah.
「 Therefore, Susanoo said “That’s not the case. I came here to build a friendly relationship” and swore in front of God. At that time, he had sex with the royal princess of the neighboring country, or a shrine maiden serving the God. Basically, marital binds. That’s why children are born, I think? 」
So that’s the ritual Susanoo and Amaterasu made?
「 And in the end, Susanoo, or maybe the army he brought poorly behaved, and it annoyed the neighboring country, so they were kicked out 」
So that’s Susanoo’s expulsion from Takamagahara.
「 Since it’s told as a legend, often the chronological order of events or the context is broken. Anyway, the original Amaterasu myths and Susanoo myths were mixed up and now taking the present form 」
Nei said.
「 So, what about Ama-no-Iwato? 」
「 Hmm. I think that was modeled from Amaterasu. Amaterasu appears in the legend of Ama-no-Iwato because it belongs to the Susanoo Legend 」
Oh, the character appearing in Susanoo’s story is named Amaterasu.
「 Therefore, the being hiding in Ama-no-Iwato is perhaps the person who became the model of Amaterasu at that time. Or maybe, it’s a story of an old shrine maiden that died and is replaced by a new one 」
「 Or maybe, the solar eclipse happened by chance 」
Misuzu said.
「 But, all of it is interesting, so they were compiled as legends you see! 」
Edie’s read a lot of mythology books.
She’s really an intelligent girl.
「 In that case, there is no model of Tsukuyomi in Susanoo or Amaterasu’s story. If there were no stories about a real person, then there are no stories for Tsukuyomi. That’s the idea 」
Edie analyzes.
I see, if there were a human episode, then;
That meant that some real person’s actions were made in that God’s name.
Tsukuyomi hardly has episodes.
In short, there are no models.
「 Izanagi purified himself after coming from the land of the dead, he washed his left eye, and the sun God, Amaterasu is born, he washed his right eye, and Tsukuyomi, the moon god, is born. Yeah, that’s a poetic image. They’re saying that God’s eyes are the sun and moon in the sky 」
I see. So that’s the impression.
「 Afterwards, he washed his nose, and Susanoo was born, no matter how you think about it, it was a retrofit, it gave a strange impression. A wild man was born together with the Sun and Moon]
Nei’s right, the myth was probably added.
「 And so, let’s return to the main topic 」
Nei looks at Tsukiko.
「 I heard that Takkaura shrine is one with a very long history 」
Tsukiko stares motionlessly.
「 Your names “Tsuki,” and “Yomi” refers to the God, Tsukuyomi, doesn’t it? 」
Tsukiko looks up.
「 Yes, that’s right 」
「 In short, it’s a really old one, even surpassing the Nihon Shoki’s establishment? 」
「 Yes 」
Tsukiko’s reply made Nei smile.
「 I see, I knew it. My guess was right, Yo-chan 」
Nei looks at me.
「 I finally get it now so I’ll go back to being a photographer 」
She said and held the camera.
「 Y-Ya-chan, what did you find out? 」
「 Not telling~ Ask Mii-chan if you want, I won’t say anything 」
What’s going on?
「 Misuzu? 」
I look at Misuzu.
Then.
「 To think that Grandfather fooled us again 」
Jii-chan did?
「 I thought that it would come to this. When Grandfather’s talking a lot, he’s planning something 」
Ruriko smiles.
「 Sorry, I didn’t get anything from that 」
All I can do is give up.
Why are all my women smarter than me?
「 Before that, Tsukiko-sama, let me ask one thing 」
Misuzu said.
「 What is it? 」
「 Could you tell us the name of your late mother? 」
The Takakura shrine maiden, Tsukiko, and the sisters’ mother.
「 Hazuki 」
Hazuki
Tsuki.
Tsukiko.
Luna is also another Tsuki.
「 And you have relatives who also were in the Takakura shrine, yes? 」
「 Yes, that’s right 」
From what I heard, the Yakuza who took over the Takakura shrine sent in a new head priest from the Takakura branch family.
「 And is there someone who has “Yomi” in their name among that family? 」
「 Yes, my Aunt’s name is “Kiyomi” 」
Kiyomi.
Yomi.
Yomiko.
「 And is that Aunt the sister of your mother? 」
「 Yes, she’s mother’s little sister 」
Misuzu smiles.
「 Thank you. I’ve connected the dots now 」
Huh?
「 I’ve always wondered, Tsukiko-sama’s mother had three daughters but, what about the previous shrine maidens? 」
The shrine maidens before Tsukiko’s mother?
Ah.
The shrine maidens must mediate between the Yakuza dispute.
They have sex with both bosses and give birth to a child.
The conflict is put to an end with the birth of the child.
「 I wondered about all the other children of the former shrine maidens 」
Right.
Right now, these girls with us.
Tsukiko and Luna are both children of arbitration.
「 Danna-sama, you do know the rules of Takakura-sama’s name, right? 」
Tsukiko, Luna.
When their names have “Tsuki,” then they’re the child of arbitration. Their father is the boss of Yakuza.
Yomiko.
Her name has “Yomi” in it, so she’s the daughter of the priest and the shrine maiden.
「 The sisters’ mother’s name is “Hazuki,” and the current person on Takakura shrine is “Kiyomi” 」
Hazuki, Tsuki.
Kiyomi. Yomi.
Tsuki. Yomi.
Tsukiyomi.
Furthermore, they’re sisters.
Then that means.
「 The two of them were born from the previous generation shrine maiden 」
Perhaps, Hazuki-san was the child of arbitration, a child of Yakuza’s boss.
Kiyomi-san was from the previous priest.
「 That’s how the Takakura shrine connect the blood of their shrine maidens 」
Misuzu said.
「 The “Tsuki” and “Yomi” daughters become shrine maiden alternately 」
1. Yes, I know, they keep changing from Tsuki to Tsuku, don’t mind it that much, both are correct in a way
2. Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon