Week 7 Story:The Sun-Goddess's Return
An updated version of this story can be found here at my site: Finding Mythology
Image: The Golden Girl
Amaterasu, the Sun-Goddess, was cherished by everyone. She was the most beautiful goddess and definitely the brightest. One day, she was sitting at the loom of the world, weaving in different pieces of life. She weaved into the pattern patches of joy and love with dismay and slaughter. Her loom was filled with all the parts of life. Suddenly, the demon of fire, Susa-no-wo came down from the peak. He came with wrath and malice, tearing in from the void. Amaterasu was frightened by her brother’s sudden presence and feared his power. She fled to the shadows of night in a cave to hide from the wrath of her brother and would refused to return to the heavens. All the people mourned the disappearance of their beautiful goddess. Their bright star was gone and so the people begged and cried for her return. But, she would not leave her cave and the people became even more upset. The people begged the gods and goddesses “bring back our bright and beautiful lady!”
Finally, another god came forth to help. He made a beautiful mirror from gold and it shown brighter than any other. He then sent the Goddess of Laughter, Uzume, to the Sun-Goddess's cave. Uzume danced in the moon light with wonderous passion. She twirled in the light from the moon with grace and celebrated with such spirit, spreading her cheer until Amaterasu finally emerged. Amaterasu was curious and confused as to the sudden performance and asked the Goddess of Laughter "Why do you all celebrate? What is there to be so cheerful about?" Uzume told her "We are praising the most beautiful princess. She is more beautiful than all the oceans and brighter than the sun. Come, look and see our beautiful princess." Amaterasu looked into the mirror to see the princess. As Amaterasu looked in, she saw exactly what Uzume had described, a princess more beautiful than the oceans and brighter than the sun. Amaterasu did not understand that the mirror showed her own reflection. Instead, she became filled with jealousy and anger because she thought she was looking upon a rival. Amaterasu decided she must return to the heavens to prove that there were none brighter or more beautiful than she. So, Amaterasu quickly fled the cave and returned to her loom in the heavens. Then, the strong Taji-karao rolled a large boulder in front, blocking her from ever running away again. Amaterasu had been returned and the people had their Sun-Goddess again. She remained there all her immortal life, shining brightly down on the land below, bringing light to the people. The people rejoiced the return of their wonderful Goddess of the Sun and sang songs filled with the love for their lovely Amaterasu.
***Author's Note:
The original version of the story is written in a very archaic style with language that is not very common in modern speech. In the story, the Sun-Goddess, Amaterasu is at the loom weaving the patterns of life, when her brother shows up. His entrance is described with wrath and fury and the Sun-Goddess fleas from her brother. She hides in a dark cave of the night and the people cry for her return. Eventually, a god makes a mirror and sends Uzume to coax Amaterasu into looking into the mirror. Uzume tells the Sun-Goddess that she is praising a princess more beautiful and bright than anything or anyone else. She tells Amaterasu that the princess can be seen by looking into the golden mirror. After Amaterasu looks into the mirror, she becomes jealous and returns to the heavens to reclaim her spot as the most beautiful and bright. The gods have Taji-karao roll a boulder over the entrance, so the Sun-Goddess can never run away again.
My version is simply the story rewritten in a way that is more modern and simpler. I decided to write it this way, because I wanted it to become a story that a child could easily understand. The Miraculous Mirror reminded me of a few stories that I heard as a child and I wanted to make this one more like those.
Bibliography:
"The Miraculous Mirror" from Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917)
Hey there Caitlyn! I laughed out loud at the first sentence, that was a nice joke! I also liked how you contrasted the beautiful brightness of Amaterasu with the violent destruction of that of her brother's. That was an interesting trick in getting her to return to her place in the heavens. I wish you good luck in the rest of the class and hope you have fun!
ReplyDeleteI like the rewrite of the story. Keeping it the same as the original can work well sometimes, especially when you give it a different tone in the writing! I actually did story planning for this in Week 7, and am going to write my own version in Week 9. My version is going to change the plot, but it's neat to see you add to the story without changing it!
ReplyDeleteIt does feel a bit odd to see the god that provided the mirror not be named, especially with him having a little more focus in your story than the original. Did you avoid naming him because the original did not either, or did you just want to keep the focus more on the mirror, Uzume, and Amaterasu?
So I actually commented on your portfolio as well this week, so i will not duplicate those comments here. But I will ask, in the original story did it give any reason for the sun goddess's brother's anger? Possibly in your version he could have a reason that he came down and was so violent and destructive? Just an idea!
ReplyDeleteHey Caitlyn! i like the version of your story. It was funny and sad. I am glad that you made the overall story easier to read for the modern readers. Thanks for the good work and keep it up! I will look forward to reading your future stories.
ReplyDeleteHey Caitlin! Great job simplifying the story! The mirror aspect was quite interesting as the sun goddesses's response was unexpected but quite humorous! The story, even though it was probably told at a much earlier time inn history, seemed modern without being too modern. The character's emotions and personalities were relatable. Great job with your story! Keep up to good work and I looked forward to reading your stories in the future!
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlyn!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this story, and the ending was not what I was originally expecting. I definitely thought the Sun Goddess would look in the mirror, perhaps be flattered she was the beautiful princess, and return of her own accord. I was surprise when she didn’t know it was herself! I wonder why none of the other gods or goddesses explained that she was the beautiful princess? I also found myself wondering about why they would need to block the door so she wouldn’t leave again? Maybe if they stopped her brother from coming around anymore, she would not feel the need to flee. Overall, I loved this story and it was very well written!