Japonské mýty: Bohovia, hrdinovia a duchovia

by Joshua Frydman, Zuzana Trstenská (Translator)

Fascinujúci úvod do sveta japonských mýtov a legiend

Detailný prehľad japonskej mytológie od najstarších legiend cez stredoveké príbehy o nesmrteľných cisároch a cisárovnách, čarodejníkoch, pustovníkoch a pomstychtivých duchoch až po moderné stvárnenia starobylých božstiev.

Množstvo fanúšikov japonskej kinematografie, literatúry či populárnej hudby sa nadchýna obrazmi bohov a príšer v údoliach zahalených hmlou a na rozoklaných vrchoch japonských ostrovov. Len málo ľudí zo Západu však chápe dlhú históriu a hĺbku japonskej mytológie, ktoré sa za nimi skrývajú – mozaiku vyskladanú z čriepkov šintoizmu, buddhizmu, taoizmu, konfucianizmu, cisárskej propagandy a regionálneho folklóru.

Autor začína prvými zapísanými mýtmi a mapuje japonskú mytológiu až k povojnovému štátnemu šintoizmu, vzostupu mangy v šesťdesiatych rokoch minulého storočia, „J-hororu“ a ikonickým videohrám.

Tento jedinečný sprievodca mýtmi ukazuje starovekú aj súčasnú japonskú kultúru v inom svetle. Očarí každého, kto sa zaujíma o Japonsko, jeho dejiny aj súčasnú umeleckú tvorbu. Plusom je bohatý sprievodný obrazový materiál.

Kniha je prerozprávaním prastarých príbehov a zamyslením sa nad ich miestom v náboženstve, kultúre a dejinách Japonska.

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, Japan, History, Religion, Folklore, Japanese Literature

248 pages, Hardcover

First published July 5, 2022

Reviews

[Pulek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo pouczająca lektura, czy trochę podręcznik do historii :) Dostałam więcej niż się spodziewalam. Sporo poświęcono czasu nie tylko mitom , ich ewolucji w toku historii , ale też wladcom politycznym. Niestety bardzo mi się te informacje zlewały w głowie i czasem nużyły ,ale też ciekawie dowiedzieć jak w różnych miejscach na świecie religia zawsze była po to, żeby legitymizować władzę rządzonych.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Japanese Myths: A Guide to Gods, Heroes and Spirits, by Joshua Frydman, is an interesting book that gives a basic overview of Japanese myth and folklore. This book chronicles the influences on Japanese folklore from Buddhism, Taoism, and Confuscism, and how those external factors, as well as the strong internal traditions of Japan, fused into our modern understanding of Shinto and Japanese culture. The book chronicles the origin of Japanese myth and folklore, which is often very closely tied to physical spaces in nature. Many things consist of kami, gods and spirits that inhibit both living and inanimate objects, as well as spaces and places. There are also kami that are godlike, and Japan's imperial family ties itself to this history and has for many centuries. Frydman posits that many of Japan's myths come from chronicles and texts that sought to legitimize a ruling clan as it began to subsume its neighbours, and form the nexus of vassals that formed medieval Japan.

Frydman also examines kami in terms of their importance to nature and spaces in Japan. Japan consists of many thousands of temples and places of worship for a dizzying array of gods and local deities and spirits. These spaces are tied closely to the civic and social structures of Japan, and are important social spaces for the public, and therefore an integral part of Japanese culture. This ties in with modern expressions of Japanese culture that have become popular globally, from manga and anime, to kaiju films, products and concepts. The rich milieu of culture works throughout Japan's history contributes to the robustness of source materials for modern works, and plays a huge role in the creation and production of pieces of art, entertainment and other cultural touchstones that continue to play an important role in Japan's culture, and its cultural exports to the world.

This was a very interesting read on Japanese history and mythology, and an easy recommendation as a beginners read that is concise, informative, and curious, without suffering from the hysteria that often comes with Western fascination with Japanese culture.

[Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise, logically laid out, and very informative, this is an excellent scholarly introduction to Japanese myths and deities and the historical context surrounding them.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una lectura muy interesante para todo aquel que busque una iniciación a la mitología japonesa, especialmente para aquellos que no quieran una mera lista o historia de dioses. Suma la edición genial de Folioscopio: tapa dura, un papel genial y unas ilustraciones interesantes.

Tiene una virtud fundamental de la que carecen muchos libros: exponer con claridad y sencillez todo tipo de mitos y leyendas, desde los dioses shinto pasando por divinidades de otras creencias, a esos numerosos seres espirituales japoneses (nekomatas, yokai...) que no son nada fáciles de clasificar. Una redacción clara, bien estructurada y que aporta un interesante contexto que ayuda a comprender la evolución de las leyendas y sus relaciones con otras creencias de Asia Oriental, cómo se interrelacionan las distintas religiones o cómo hechos históricos alteran o modifican la forma de considerar algunos mitos.

Quien busque profundizar encontrará otros libros que sirvan más a su propósito, pero para lanzarse a descubrir, leer y conocer qué te puede interesar (o pasar un rato bien entretenido) es una lectura genial.

[Zur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pozytywne zaskoczenie - nie nazwałbym tego przewodnikiem. Powiedziałabym nawet, że jest to książka bardziej akademicka.

[Samantha van Buuren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to modern books and TV shows I have been interested in eastern mythology for a while and have been looking for books of those myths. Unfortunately this was not really what I was looking for. While this is no fault of the book it does mean I didn't really enjoy it as much as I was hoping.

This book is more of an academic look at the gods, heroes and spirits of Japan. Rather than just telling the stories as I'd hoped, it goes much further into the history and their origins. It is fascinating but I also found it long winded and boring in places.

However, there are a few myths described in enough detail as the book goes on to keep me interested. The Japanese myths about creation are wonderfully complicated and surprisingly disgusting so I enjoyed them very much! As I did learning about the spirits, gods and creatures which belong to this amazing mythological world.

I did learn a lot from this book and I plan to read more in the series, but I will try to find other books which tell the stories better. Any recommendations would be welcome.

[Renardann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Эта книга для меня ассоциируется чисто с учебником, поэтому довольно сложно ставить оценку.
Было интересно погрузится в незнакомый ранее мир, который на уроках истории в школе проходится максимально фрагментарно.
Это не самое глубокое погружение, но для начала знакомства с мифологией самое то

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting but occasionally a bit academic. I think I was looking for something more like an anthology which is not what this is exactly.
Probably wouldn't recommend it

[Marijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blijkbaar zijn Japanse mythen heel veel meer over de top en bizar en gruwelijk dan Europese sprookjes (op een goede manier!)

[Arthur Marchetto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente introdução para quem quer começar a entender a formação da mitologia japonesa e as formações sociais que as estruturaram. Contextualiza as relações entre xintoismo, budismo, taoismo e confucionismo, além de apresentar as definições de elementos populares, como os yokais ou as histórias de fantasma.
Para compreender a maneira com a qual as histórias ecoam até hoje, é preciso visualizar as transformações sofridas na sociedade japonesa e o livro apresenta uma ótima introdução para isso.

[juls · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this book was like reading an encyclopedia or a textbook, which was very hard to enjoy.

I was hoping to get some sort of a mix of well written myths, interesting analyses of them, references to traditional rituals and culture. This book lacked development in all of these areas.
Like I mentioned before, it reminded me of a textbook that you slowly study at school. It was packed with information, that if you do not intend to learn, you'll probably forget very quickly.

On the bright side, I really appreciated the pictures that were part of the book.

If you still decide to read this book, I would recommend reading it at a slower pace & give the information you read time to think about them and process them, so they can stay longer with you.

[meri · Rating 4 out of 5]

whoooosh, this took forever (three months) to finish. not because it’s bad but because it felt like a school history textbook as it is so subject-heavy. v e r y thorough, staring from ”what is japan” and its brief history, spanning timeline from a millennium ago to today and how myths have evolved and continue to do so.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐
W książce mamy przedstawione różne aspekty, można powiedzieć, mitologii japońskiej - mity o początkach japonii i znaczących dla nich bogach, mitycznych władcach z rodu cesarskiego, rodzajach religii, dynamice między nimi i ich wpływie na kulturę, odrobinę o yokai i tym jak to wszystko przejawia się obecnie. Szanuję za rzetelność i danie szerokiego kontekstu ale spodziewałam się innych proporcji tych tematów. Najwięcej jest tych, które są niesamowicie zawiłe i nie mają jednej wersji, co bardzo utrudnia odbiór. Brakuje też folkloru. Polecam czytać w papierze bo przy audiobooku można się w tym zagubić

[Muriel (The Purple Bookwyrm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Positives:

- Very clear structure based on themes and chronology both
- Extensive information (for a guide/reference book) about Japanese religious history
--> The author explains how different religious traditions are interwoven in Japanese culture, folklore and thus mythology
- Lots of aetiological data regarding gods, spirits and the evolution of religious practices
- 'Summary boxes' are regularly interspersed throughout the book to recap major points of information
==> I learned a crap ton about Japanese history, religion and culture in relation to the (continuing) development of its mythological stories! 😊

Negatives:

- I wouldn't have minded greater "page-time" allotted to Shinto supernatural folklore (the yōkai stuff) specifically 😝
- What yōkai are actually understood to be as compared/in relation to broader kami could've been made a bit clearer
- Still not sure how the Ainu or, more generally, the different ethnic groups of Japan figure into the broader picture of its "mythological history" – an extra paragraph or two about this might've helped.

Extras:

- Kaiju and Mechas are mentioned as post-modern (in the historical sense) developments of living Japanese mythology, which I found really interesting
- The video game Ōkami (one of my favourites) is name-dropped as an example of contemporary media that re-tells/explores the old Japanese myths

Overall: very good reference – 7.5 to 8/10.

[Pusiu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Idealny balans między gawędą a pracą naukową

[Hana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really nice book that covered the background of Japanese myths from the moment it started to the modern day. Some parts were a bit dry, for example when talking about the many ancestors as well as their wives and children etc. On the whole, I am very happy to have learnt so much of Japanese mythology and how its current pop culture derives so much from it! I look forward to reading more books of this series :)

[Nosemonkey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good concept, putting the focus on the historical context in which myths became popularised (from the early historical days of the Japanese monarchy via the Meiji Restoration to the 21st century likes of Naruto) so their importance and contemporary meaning can be well understood.

But I wanted an overview Japanese myths, gods, heroes and spirits, not a history lesson.

The best solution would have been to double the book's length and give me many more overviews of sundry yokai and kami, with summaries of the key stories associated with them all. As it is, we only get bits of that, usually summarised so briefly it's impossible to get much sense of how they became so popular, no matter all the historical context.

In short, knowing that Momotaro and his companions are allegories of Japan and its colonies is interesting - but does a short paragraph really do the story justice. And being a good story is the real explanation for its popularity - then and now. So tell me the story too.

[CivilWar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had enjoyed another book in this series, called The Chinese Myths: A Guide to the Gods and Legends, because although just a short introduction, it nonetheless talked at some length of the sources for Chinese mythology, the issues with them and the lack of them in general, their ties to Chinese folk religion, etc. It also had direct translations of the oldest versions of the story, rather than summarizing them textbook-style.

This book though, does exactly that, and in part I understand that it is needed because the narratives of the Kojiki and Nihonshoki are more in-depth than simple folk-tales which often take less than one page, but at the same time, so much of the explanation of the divine mythology of Shinto is just a summary of the narrative with no commentary, so why not just give it to me raw and let me appreciate the nuances for myself?

There is no attempt to understand ritual out of myth, and all analyses of it, what few there are, are shockingly shallow. Per example, the famous myth of the dawn goddess Ame-no-Uzume doing an erotic dance to draw out the sun-goddess Amaterasu out of the cave she locked herself in due to being upset with her brother Susanowo is at the end described as such:

Of course, the story of Susanowo and Amaterasu does more than just establish the imperial clan as the future rulers of Japan. The myth also represents an early Japanese understanding of natural forces. Amaterasu is the sun, lifegiving and vital, but prone to vanishing in ways that may require rituals to bring her back. Susanowo, in contrast, is the storm and the flood, the violence of nature rampaging unchecked.

This is usual shallow "analysis" which sees ancient religious mythology as simple speculations about and explanations of the natural world - while this might've started as such, it was only taken literally from very early times (and the Yayoi era, the respective "very early times" as far as Japanese history is concerned, points to having a very different mythos, from what little we can glimpse), in all cases it has already taken a different meaning when written sources make their way to us.

Somehow, Frydman does not mention that this is clearly an etiological story for miko practice. He does not explore the implications of that - i.e. that early mikoism would thus involve erotic dancing to seduce a deity, in the most strictly literal meaning of the word. In fact, somehow, he manages to mention miko only once, despite animanga coming up regularly, and miko being ubiquitous there.

From this example we can see another way of how uninterested the book is in a more detailed mythographical analysis is how little they are analyzed as Japanese, Chinese, Indian, etc, beyond some brief shallow mentions - for whatever reason, the fact that this type of myth involving the Dawn goddess, a cave, and eroticism is extremely obviously of an Indo-European character (Greek Eos, Indian Ushas, etc - needless to say, the Japanese Ame-no-Uzume comes from the latter). This disinterest in the origins of the Japanese divine mythology is so omnipresent that it confuses even Frydman, who notes at some point that the story of Susanowo fighting the Orochi, a chaotic draconic sea serpent has a different character than all other dragon mythology in Japan, and that interpretations of it as weather phenomena are not "clear" - almost as if this myth too is obviously of an Indo-European character, the Storm God fights the draconic water snake representing meteriological chaos, like Zeus vs Typhoon (the name gives it away) or more relevantly here, Indra vs Vritra, who represents the drought. This is not at all obscure knowledge about this myth, so I am rather baffled as to why Frydman does not as much as mention it.

As a very short introduction to Japanese myth and its evolution, it's fine I suppose, but it makes for very shallow reading. I say skip this, and get yourself the actual Kojiki, the Nihonshoki, Heian literature, specially monogatari literature, a good collection of Noh plays (if you watch them, even better), the Tale of Genji, and the many genuinely excellent folklore-based Japanese writers (Akutagawa! Osamu Dazai!), may in "the canon". You will be better served.

P.S. I actually appreciate the mentions of mythology in modern animanga because the far heavier than other mediums amount of traditional stories and motifs in it, and how radically it respins them, is a big part of the medium's appeal for me but this is funniest, hilariously blandest, boomer and ChatGPT description of Neon Genesis Evangelion, specially if we are talking about mythic content considering how much Book of Genesis imagery, motifs and obvious parallels it has, I actually burst out outloud reading it:

The general societal malaise that followed Japan’s economic crash in 1990 also triggered a new subgenre of mecha stories in popular media. This shift began in 1995 with the controversial animated television hit Neon Genesis Evangelion (Shinseiki Evangelion), which featured levels of gore, psychological torture and philosophical depth beyond that of most prior mainstream anime successes. Combining Jungian philosophy, Christian religious imagery and a focus on the psychology of teens forced into warfare, the series portrayed a world of technology gone amok amid human greed and failures to communicate. The robots – biological monstrosities that were as much metaphors as actual devices – only highlighted the society’s problems, rather than bringing about solutions. Reflecting the uncertainties of Japan’s new status, and that of the post-Cold War world more broadly, Neon Genesis Evangelion set the tone for other works about ‘psychological robots’ that followed. Just as kaijū reflected the anxieties of confronting forces of nature beyond human control, ‘psychological robot’ mecha fiction is about the breakdown of the dream of a better future through technology first realized in ‘super robots’.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dit is zeker geen slecht boek, maar het ging gewoon niet helemaal waarover ik dacht dat het zou gaan. Met een titel als deze nam ik aan dat het bijna enkel en alleen over, tja, Japanse mythen ging, dus dat er mythen verteld zouden worden.
Dat gebeurt ook wel, maar daarna gaat het ook over de plaats die de mythen doorheen de eeuwen in de Japanse cultuur hebben ingenomen, en hoe de personages werden voorgesteld. Daar gaat het eigenlijk meer over: het is een voorstelling van de personages van de mythen, met hier en daar specifieke verhalen die de revue passeren.
Het is dus meer een introductie tot de hele Japanse mythologie - hoe die ontstaan is, welke vormen er zijn, welke soorten goden en helden en wezens er bestaan - dan dat er echt op de verhalen ingegaan wordt. En dat is zeker interessant, want je leert weer wat bij, ook over de Japanse geschiedenis, maar het was gewoon niet helemaal wat ik verwachtte.

6/10

[Marion McDavid · Rating 3 out of 5]

DID NOT FINISH
This book was a bit disappointing, as I have already read the book in this series about Chinese Myths and Legends, and it had a much better read. This book is ordered chronologically by the myths, not by real world time, meaning it jumps back and forth between real world times to follow a mythological chronology which gets confusing quickly. Also, none of it is organized by type, so Myths, Legends, and religious elements of stuff like Shintoism Daoism and Buddhism are all mixed together and can be hard to separate. Decent read overall but there are better books for Japanese Mythology, and the book in this series on Chinese Mythology is far better and more well organized.

[kristiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

As informational as this book is, it is misleading in its title which disappointed me and others based on their goodreads reviews. This is more of a history textbook than a collection of myths and tales.
After the realisation hit me of what this book is going to be I could appreciate all the research and information presented, however I still wished it would be a Fry or Gaiman style retelling of Japanese mythology.

[Aleksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ciekawe, ale tak skondensowane, że nie wiem ile z tego wyciągnę.

[Patrick Tullis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great look at Japanese myths and folklore. The content is top notch but what really impressed me was the writing and layout. This is one of the written and formatted non-fiction, mass market books I’ve ever read. The information is presented in a digestible manner and each chapter builds upon and flows from the previous chapter. There are boxes of information that summarize main points and review material. It doesn’t feel like you are reading a history book. It feels like you are listening to a great storyteller who weaves the chapters together into an entertaining narrative. 5 out of 5 stars. I would recommend this book to anyone.

[Ian Castricum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought these was going to be a book with japanese myth stories, but i was wrong.
It is a book about how japanese mythology began and how it transformed throughout the year until the current time line, and it was perfect.
I absolutely loved every bit of it, it made sense and was well written, and it was so informative.
5 star bam!

[Bartek Stawiński · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bardzo dobre podejście do mitów japońskich. W prosty sposób opowiada o tych bardziej skomplikowanych i mniej przystępnych legendach. Obrazowo przedstawia panteon bogów i mocno rozwija temat synkretyzmu religijnego. Gryzie temat z innej strony niż większość książek w tej tematyce co zaskakuje. Miło przeczytać książkę, która wnosi w tym temacie coś nowego.

[Hugo Collingridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating account of Japanese religions, folklore and assorted mythical creatures. This is a subject that I hadn't known much about and I feel that you could spend years studying it without even scratching the surface

[Aidan Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t expect the Neon Genesis Evangelion reference

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duży plus za bardzo przystępny język, świetnie mi się to czytało. Kocham ten klimat 🌸

[Christina Bond · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting subject, but the book reads more like a textbook.

[Robert Tufanoiu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good resource on Japanese myth, it does give a pretty comprehensive view of Japan's legendary 'history' as recorded by the Nihonshoki with the archipelago's first qvasi-divine rulers and the creation of Japan's imperial dynasty as descended from the goddess Amaterasu. It also offers a smooth transition from the world of archaic shinto deities into the medieval and pre-modern mix of Buddhist beliefs amalgamated with foreign Chinese folk elements which shaped the cultural background of the islands and led to some instantly recognizable monsters in the local yokai, which served as inspiration for many popular anime and manga nowadays.