Lessons in History
Today with my second year high schoolers I’ll be starting on my lesson the ideas of Kingship and Imperialism and Asia. It’s actually one of my favorites because I get to teach the legend of Izanagi and Izanami all the way down to Emperor Matsuhito.
According to Japanese mythology, Izanami and Izanagi are the deities who bore the islands of Japan. They had numerous children including the fire deity Kagutsuchi. Izanami was so scarred by giving birth to Kagutsuchi that she resigned herself to the underworld. Izanagi followed her, waited for her, but she eventually died. Out of sadness Izanagi cried and bore Amaterasu, the sun goddess.
Fast- forward, Amaterasu’s grandson Ninigi’s was sent to earth in order to start planting.
Still fast - forward, Ninigi’s grandson Jimmu Tenno becomes that first emperor of Japan.
Fast-forward to the end of WWII, Emperor Matsuhito shows himself to the public after the loss of Japan, thus ending the idea that all Japanese emperors are from the line of Izanami and Izanagi.
Beautiful isn’t it?
Sometimes I wish that everyday living is worth its weight in gold, as if it played a larger part in the greater scheme of things.
As intertwining and intricate as the lives of these characters may be, we just take them as they are without questioning too much..and find the beauty in all of it.
According to Japanese mythology, Izanami and Izanagi are the deities who bore the islands of Japan. They had numerous children including the fire deity Kagutsuchi. Izanami was so scarred by giving birth to Kagutsuchi that she resigned herself to the underworld. Izanagi followed her, waited for her, but she eventually died. Out of sadness Izanagi cried and bore Amaterasu, the sun goddess.
Fast- forward, Amaterasu’s grandson Ninigi’s was sent to earth in order to start planting.
Still fast - forward, Ninigi’s grandson Jimmu Tenno becomes that first emperor of Japan.
Fast-forward to the end of WWII, Emperor Matsuhito shows himself to the public after the loss of Japan, thus ending the idea that all Japanese emperors are from the line of Izanami and Izanagi.
Beautiful isn’t it?
Sometimes I wish that everyday living is worth its weight in gold, as if it played a larger part in the greater scheme of things.
As intertwining and intricate as the lives of these characters may be, we just take them as they are without questioning too much..and find the beauty in all of it.