Japanese Mythology And Folklore Make Up An Extremely Large...

Japanese mythology and folklore make up an extremely large portion of the Shinto religion, of which approximately 2,700,001 people follow worldwide (Pew Research Center). What has kept people fastened to this religion as opposed to the larger faiths such as: Christianity, Buddhism, and Hindus? The majority of people who are researching different religions do not look at less common religions such as this one. Shinto is a series of Japanese myths and folktales that are still passed from parent to child. Japanese myths and folklore were passed around orally until 712 AD. When the Kojiki, Records of Ancient Matters, was written; now anyone can access several of those such as the Creation Story and Momotaro The Creation Story is the most important part of any religion; it tells about the God or gods, why you are what you are, how the Earth came into being, and quite often a list of ancient genealogy. The first three kami, Amenominakanusi (Lord of the Centre of Heaven), Takamimusubi (August High Producer), and Kamimusubi (August Divine Producer), emerged from a white cloud before the Earth had taken shape and was just a shapeless mass, moving constantly. From that shapeless mass came the first plant, and from that plant the kami Umasiasikabipikodi (Pleasant Prince Elder of the Reed Shoot) and Amenotokotati (Everlasting Heaven Stander). These five were followed by seven more generations of deities, who appeared in male and female partners, the last couple was Izanagi and Izanami.