Japanese Myths

Shinto honours many kami, and has many myths about those kami. In many cases, individual jinja have their own tales of the kami they venerate, which may be different from those told elsewhere. The earliest surviving texts were written in the early eighth century, and there are also many later sources. Here, we introduce the central myths concerning Amaterasu-Omikami, the kami venerated at Ise Jingu, and one of the most important kami in contemporary Shinto practice. These myths tell of her birth, her disputes with her younger brother, Susano’o, and, in one of the most famous Japanese legends, her retreat to the Cave of the Heavens, and the efforts of the other kami to lure her out.

These myths, like almost all other Japanese myths, have survived in several versions. The stories told here are taken from the Kojiki, or Record of Ancient Matters, which was completed in 712. The Kojiki organises the myths into a single narrative, and it is the most important source for the myths today.

Another important source is the Nihonshoki, or Record of Japan, which was completed in 720. It was the first of the official histories compiled by the ancient Japanese state, and its first two volumes deal with the activities of the kami. The Nihonshoki records multiple versions of most myths, and sometimes they differ in very important ways. For example, in the main text of the Nihonshoki Izanami gives birth to Amaterasu-Omikami, Tsukuyomi, and Susano’o after all the other kami, when she and Izanagi decide that it is time to give birth to kami who can rule the lands they have created.

These myths, and the kami that appear in them, remain important in Shinto. They illustrate important truths about the world, about the history of Japan, and about the origins of Shinto ritual. The myth of the Cave of the Heavens, for example, is a description of early Shinto ritual. While they do not have the same role as the Bible in Christianity or the Quran in Islam, they are still essential to a full understanding of Shinto.

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