the mythology of okami archive

8/17/2019 The Mythology of Okami Archive

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The Mythology of Okami Archive

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Okami Tea Giveaway!

[ Posted Sun, 27 Oct 2013 01:48:00 ]

To celebrate 700 followers on this blog, and also because I just finished Okami again, I’m going to give awaysome Okami tea blends! Whether you’re fresh in the world of tea, a loose-leaf veteran, or anywhere in between,this could be a great chance to try something new. Anyway, what could be better than Okami and free stuff?

On November 10, I will pick one random winner. Likes and reblogs both count. I will ship to anywhere in the

world! If the winner is within the contiguous US, you may choose any two 3-ounce pouches of tea you like.However, due to the cost of international shipping, a winner outside that zone may choose one. (This stipulation subject to change depending on my funds when this ends, though!)

http://okamimythology.tumblr.com/post/65216085685

http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/group.html?group=1154





Good luck! c:

Tagged with: okami, okamiden, tea

Princess Kaguya

[ Posted Fri, 25 Oct 2013 16:45:00 ]





The legend of Kaguya-hime, known as the Tale of the Bamboo-Cutter, dates back to the 10th century, and isthe earliest surviving Japanese narrative. Her story is largely simplified, but kept mostly intact compared to other

stories in Okami, except for the iron bamboo shoot. This tale is considered proto-science fiction, so it seems allthe more fitting that Okami took it a step further into modern sci-fi.

The story, briefly, is as follows:

One day, an old bamboo cutter happened across a strange, glowing bamboo stalk within a grove. He cut itopen to find a baby girl the size of his thumb. He and his wife had no children, so he was overjoyed to find her,and brought her home where the old couple raised her lovingly. They named her Nayotake-no-Kaguya-hime,

the Princess of the Bending Bamboo that Scatters Light. After that, whenever the old man cut down a stalk ofbamboo, he would find a gold nugget inside, and he became rick.

Kaguya-hime, meanwhile, grew to an ordinary size and became an extremely beautiful young woman. Hearingof her beauty, five princes came to ask for her hand in marriage. The man didn’t want her to marry them, but theprinces convinced him to let her choose among them. Kaguya-hime told each of them to bring to her an item thatwould be impossible to find, such as the Buddha’s begging bowl or a jewel from the neck of a dragon. Three ofthem tried to bring her fakes, one gave up, and one was killed or severely wounded on his quest, depending onthe story. All of them failed.



After that, the Emperor himself asked for her hand in marriage, but she again refused, arguing that she was not othis country.

Kaguya-hime started to act more erratic, and her parents grew worried. That summer, when she gazed at the fulmoon, she began to cry. She revealed that she was from the Moon and must return to her people there.

When the time came for her to return, the Emperor himself set guards all around the house to keep the people ofthe Moon from getting to her, but it was all in vain. The beings from the Moon blinded the guards with light, andKaguya announced that though she loved all her family and friends on Earth, she had to leave. She wrote lettersof apology to her parents and the Emperor, giving her parents her robe as a momento, and the Emperor a smallvial with an elixir of immortality. As she handed the note to an Imperial guard, she was adorned with a featherrobe that allows heavenly beings to fly between the heavens and the Earth. Her parents watching with tears intheir eyes, the lunar entourage brought her home to the capital of the moon, Tsuki-no-Miyako.

The story doesn’t quite end there; her parents, wrought with sadness, became sick and bedridden. When theEmperor received Kaguya-hime’s letter, he asked which mountain reached closest to Heaven. So he sent his meto burn the letter at the summit of the great mountain of Suruga Province, along with the elixir, for he couldn’t beato live forever without her. He hoped that the smoke would reach her and bear her his message.

Legend holds that the name of the mountain, Mt. Fuji, came from the word for “immortality” (fushi or fuji ). Thename’s kanji mean “mountain abounding with warriors”, which were perhaps inspired by the image of theEmperor’s army rising up the mountain to burn the letter. Finally, since this story arose during a time when the



volcano was still active, it was said that the smoke from the letter still burns to this day.

[From a linguistic standpoint, since one of my professors mentioned this once, the name “Fuji” did not quite fitJapanese phonemes at the time it seems to have been given; it is thought to have come from the language of thepeople who lived in Japan before the ethnic Japanese. The Ainu are descended from these people.]

In different versions of the story, there are various reasons for why Kaguya-hime was sent to Earth. Some say itwas a punishment for a crime; some say it was to protect her from a celestial war. Some also say that the gold thbamboo cutter found was compensation sent for the cost of raising her.

The Moon Tribe is depicted as a technologically advanced race, but not a divine one. Thus Kaguya rides abamboo rocket, and is equipped with a helmet like an astronaut’s and what appears to be a jet pack, instead ofa feathered hagoromo. She wears a junihitoe-styled robe with five layers (instead of the customary twelve), anda pleated train (mo, which were commonly white) with a rocket/moon motif. The bamboo leaves on her headresemble rabbit ears, furthering the moon motif, as the Japanese see a rabbit in the moon instead of a man. (Therabbit is also seen as pounding mochi, hence Yumigami’s design and the reason for the moon god being a rabbit

All female nobility and ladies in waiting wore robes like junihitoe, but the color combinations one chose spoke ofone’s rank and character. Specific combinations would suggest personality traits or a sensitivity to the season,and some colors were restricted to certain ranks. The outer color of Kaguya’s robe may be a medium shade ofkurenai , a color that was reserved for royalty, referring to her status as a princess.

More on Heian female court wear

Some color combinations

Story/image source: [x]

Tagged with: the celestial war thing is my headcanon but I like the punishment idea too..., okami,okamimythology, kaguya, moon tribe, kaguya-hime

Namahage

[ Posted Fri, 18 Oct 2013 16:44:00 ]

http://www.fuyuya.com/kasane/

http://www.immortalgeisha.com/wiki/index.php?title=Kasane_no_Irome

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Bamboo_Cutter



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Bamboo_Cutter

http://www.immortalgeisha.com/wiki/index.php?title=Kasane_no_Irome

http://www.fuyuya.com/kasane/



Namahage reside in the forests of Tohoku (northeastern Japan), and come out to scare lazy and misbehavingchildren so that they act properly. They are famously celebrated in a New Year’s festival in Oga.

There is a legend that over two thousand years ago, the Han Emperor came to Japan with five of these demons,and they began to terrorize the area, stealing young women and crops from the villages. The villagers trickedthem by making a deal: if the namahage could build a 1000-stone staircase, the villagers promised to give up allof their young women. Otherwise, they had to leave, never to return.

The namahage went to work quickly, but as they finished the 999th stair, a villager imitated a rooster to signaldawn, and the namahage quickly ran away.



Now, every year, young men of Oga dress up as namahage, wearing large, vicious masks with long hair andstraw coats, and wielding a wooden bucket and a knife (which we see with the Bucket and Blade Namahage) an

run around the villages bursting into people’s homes in search of children, new wives, and other new membersof the community. In a practiced throaty yell they seek to ensure that the newcomers work hard and obey theirparents or in-laws. The other members of the house are supposed to come protect the victims, assuring thenamahage that these are good people, and sating them with a little food and sake.



Oga also celebrates a Sedo Matsuri, or Demon Mask Festival, in mid-February. The festival begins at ShinzanShrine, where dozens of men are given masks purified by Shinto priests, and then “become” namahage, and

climb up the mountain. Dances and performances are held at the shrine, and the festival finishes with thespectacular descent of the namahage horde bearing torches down the snowy trail. They walk among the visitorsand receive mochi roasted by priests on the Sedo fire, and return to the mountain.

Of Okami’s namahage, only the Cannon Namahage embodies traditional namahage, as it seeks to scare the lazyand cowardly into action and courage. Physically, they act and make guttural cries like namahage, but otherwisetheir behavior has nothing to do with the kind known to Japan. In fact, the regular Namahage regards the lazy asallies. Even though they are not endemic to Hokkaido, as they are to Kamui, their relationship to northern Honshand the snowy winter mountains (not to mention their warm, protective straw coats) makes them a suitable demofor the location.

Sources (info + images)

-Namahage Museum

-Namahage Oga

http://www.namahage.co.jp/namahagekan/english/namahage.php

http://www.namahage-oga.akita.jp/english/sedo.html

http://www.namahage-oga.akita.jp/english/sedo.html

http://www.namahage.co.jp/namahagekan/english/namahage.php



The Tale of Genji

[ Posted Fri, 11 Oct 2013 16:45:06 ]

Okamiden brought in the main character from one of the most famous novels of all time—in fact, the oldest noveof all time,Genji Monogatari or “The Tale of Genji”. The book is a classic of Heian-period literature and offers a

valuable window into the culture of the time.

When Shikibu—shortened from Murasaki Shikibu, the author of the Tale—laments that she “shouldn’t havewritten that romance novel!”, she is referring to the Tale of Genji. Prince Hikaru Genji is the main character. Heis described as beautiful to the point of being mistakable for a girl, especially when he is young, and his face isalmost radiant. The first part of the book focuses on the romance in the early years of his life. He is involved withmany women, sometimes when he shouldn’t be. He is not without his faults, but by Heian standards he is rather





thoughtful, cultured and gentlemanly. However, in modern-day reinterpretations of the story, it seems commonto depict it as a tale of beautiful romance and drama, with Genji as the dreamy protagonist. Looking at the novel,though, especially by today’s standards (even in Japan), Genji is kind of a jerk, and today affairs and rape are noacceptable as they were then. (That is to say, they weren’t exactly seen as good, but they were commonplace anexpected, and if you weren’t having affairs, people would think something was wrong.)

Which is why the way Okamiden presents Genji is pretty hilarious, in my opinion. He’s still super creepy, of

course, but the idea that he was intended to be the perfect man and then something went wrong makes for agreat parody (for lack of a better word) of the character. Then, of course, he was brought to life by a demonicpower, and kidnaps Nanami.

Genji also kidnaps a girl in the Tale. He means well—the girl, the famed Murasaki, is not in an ideal position, andGenji has the means to bring her up as a fine, educated lady. (The first picture above shows when he “meets”her. He spies through the fence and glimpses her. Merely seeing a woman’s face was extremely rare and felt sointimate that love at first sight was entirely real, and only partially accidental.) After his request to take her andraise her himself is denied, however, he feels that he do so anyway, and takes her (and her nurse) away in thedead of night. Genji waits patiently for her to grow old enough to become his wife, and she grows up well and

impresses those around her. Eventually, though, their relationship falls apart.

When Genji falls in love, he can’t stand to stay away, so his kidnapping of Nanami in Okamiden probablycomes from this and probably also the kidnapping of Murasaki. As for his design, much of the Heian-ness of thecharacter (poems, subtlety, etc.) was replaced with bluntness and sparkles, not to mention a fabulously ludicrousdesign. (Nanami subsequently beating him up was a welcome turn of events.) The symbolism of the hearts isobvious, but also echoes the heart shape of sakura petals. He wears an aristocrat’s eboshi hat (although, ratherthan solemn black, his is still garish) and an ornate carriage wheel on his chest. Fans were a common prop for anobles, and were sometimes used to pass letters (which always included poems) to and from women, who werealways hidden behind blinds and curtains.



[A Heian-style ox-drawn carriage in Kyoto’s Aoi Matsuri. This festival’s processions show off the splendor ofMurasaki Shikibu’s world. x]

Tagged with: heian court culture was so convoluted and strange, I can't go into it here but I love it (and thegorgeous art), okami, okamiden, okamimythology, genji, shikibu

Tengu

[ Posted Fri, 04 Oct 2013 16:59:00 ]

http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/preview/50.html



http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/preview/50.html



Tengu are a kind of yokai that appear in several forms in Japanese folklore. In Okami, we also have a fewdifferent kinds of tengu: the Crow Tengu and the Great Tengu. Waka’s design is also heavily based on tengu.



Tengu originated from the Chinese tiangou, a deity depicted as either a black dog or a meteor that ate the sunduring an eclipse. Even though tengu have nothing to do with dogs, the name still means “sky dog” or “heavenlydog”. How these changes occurred is unknown, but their image continued to change once they appeared inJapanese folklore. Tengu did used to be seen as destructive, but their image weakened over time. They were sticonsidered powerful and dangerous, but sometimes even comic.

In appearance, tengu are a mix of human and avian. They typically have wings, and may have either a bird-likebeaked face or a goblin-like face with a long nose. The former used to be more common, but it transitioned to

the latter over time. (Smaller beaked tengu are often called karasu tengu, or crow tengu, which are still popular.Karasu tengu now typically resemble crows or ravens.) Now the tengu’s nose has become iconic, and is animportant part of some stories. They often lord over mountains. In some stories, tengu are angered when humantrespass on their mountains. Mount Kurama is a mountain northwest of Kyoto that is famous for its tengu; it issaid to be the birthplace of Sōjōbō

, the king of the tengu, and the mentor of swordsmanship to Minamoto no

Yoshitsune (i.e. Ushiwaka).

http://okamimythology.tumblr.com/post/28015870472/waka-benkei-and-yoichi

http://okamimythology.tumblr.com/post/28015870472/waka-benkei-and-yoichi



Eventually, tengu came to be associated with yamabushi, Buddhist hermits who lived in the mountains, and nowtengu are usually seen wearing clothing like a Buddhist priest’s. They also wield feathered fans which have thepower to create great winds; infamously they may also have the power to change the length of one’s nose.

[Yamabushi costumes. source]

In Okami, the Great Tengu most closely resembles the tengu you find in art and tales. It has monk’s clothes, a reface, long nose, and even longer mask-nose that doubles as its feathered fan, bushy hair, wings, and bird feet.This is the kind of powerful tengu that would rule over mountain domains. Interestingly, the bestiary describesthat the Great Tengu used to be a human who cloistered himself in the mountains, and trained until he achievedgreat powers. This is somewhat ironic considering that tengu usually disliked humans, it but gives reason to themonk’s clothes. The Great Tengu’s giant mask is based on actual tengu masks, which might be worn for a play oa festival.

The Crow Tengu also has fans and monk’s clothes, but is considerably more demonic, being a combination of

a crow and a dead swordsman. With a bird’s face, four eyes, and wings, its only human characteristics are itsswordfighting and its clothes. The white robe with red is typical of Shinto rather than Buddhist priests, though thehat and beads are Buddhist.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/akaitori/128896159/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/akaitori/128896159/



I won’t write about tengu stories or else this post will be miles long, but here are some links to tales and mischief

A Few Short Tales

Karasu Tengu (stories and art)

Mt. Takao (famous tengu site + temple near Tokyo)

More general info on tengu

Sources [x] [x]

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, crow tengu, great tengu, tengu, karasu tengu, waka, there's so much info could be forgetting so feel free to remind me of relevant info XP, demons, yokai, bestiary

Adagio Teas

[ Posted Thu, 03 Oct 2013 21:31:00 ]

Here is a $5 gift certificate to Adagio Teas: 136703359. Expires in 24 hours.

http://osugimusicaltheatre.com/tenguartproject/page_tengu_tales.html

http://www.karasu-tengu.com/index-english.html

http://cooljapanonline.com/tokyo_stories/06-takao/

http://www.obakemono.com/obake/tengu/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengu


http://www.adagio.com/



http://www.adagio.com/


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengu


http://cooljapanonline.com/tokyo_stories/06-takao/

http://www.karasu-tengu.com/index-english.html

http://osugimusicaltheatre.com/tenguartproject/page_tengu_tales.html



For people interested in getting Okami tea blends, or tea in general! (I’m happy to recommend things.) It’s meantfor new customers. I want to fill the world with tea and happiness~

As a side note, it turns out that Adagio isn’t carrying osmanthus anymore, at least for the time being. It was cruciato my idea for Sakuya and I’m not sure what to do about that yet. For now, it’s unavailable. Sorry. ><

Tagged with: okami, pardon my tea fervor recently, it would really mean a lot to me if people bought them though*falls over*, okami tea blends

nimrodgirl1 answered: YES! Well, depending on where it ships.

I’m hoping to give two 3oz pouches of the winner’s choice. I would like to offer it internationally, but since shippinoutside the US is kind of expensive, I might have to compensate by only giving one pouch to an internationalwinner. Which is unfortunate, but at least it’s still free tea, right?

Otherwise, I can ship anywhere in the US.

Tagged with: nimrodgirl1, reply

I have 665 followers. I was considering doing an Okami tea giveaway earlier… Maybe at 700? :x Anyoneinterested?

fuckyeahamaterasu:

Okay, so I've been seeing this the past couple of weeks, and the people are either unaware or just don't care, bu

I'm just going to point out now that you should please source your art. A lot of pixiv artists take down their artbecause of the lack of sources, and it's VERY simple to source them. Please give them the credit that is due. Yowouldn't want artists to take down their pretty art just because you were too lazy to source, do you?

Also, please do not credit yourself when the art is not made by you. It is rude and unnecessary . Give the artistsdue credit!! Here are some ways to find sources for art:

● saucenao is typically for finding pixiv art. Just upload the art and it should find the match.● google images is another, you just drag the image into the searchbox whenever saucenao doesn't work fo

you. It should find the image, if it's still available.


http://tmblr.co/m35kLGmu_IsVPBbXQ2s8HDw

http://fuckyeahamaterasu.tumblr.com/post/62485295781/okay-so-ive-been-seeing-this-the-past-couple-of

http://saucenao.com/

https://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi

https://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi

http://saucenao.com/

http://fuckyeahamaterasu.tumblr.com/post/62485295781/okay-so-ive-been-seeing-this-the-past-couple-of

http://tmblr.co/m35kLGmu_IsVPBbXQ2s8HDw




There's no way to make anyone notice this or to stop them other than using Tumblr support, but please remembethis is IMPORTANT and should be taken SERIOUSLY.

Shinshu Field



[ Posted Fri, 27 Sep 2013 15:35:00 ]

Shinshu Field corresponds to Nagano Prefecture, once known as Shinano or Shinshu. The name is a pun; the

historic Shinshu is spelled “信州”, using the characters for “believe” and “state”, while Shinshu Field uses “神州”,

with the character for “god” or “spirit”.

Nagano is home to a decently sized lake. I don’t know if it had any influence on Lake Harami’s design or purposebut Nagano’s largest lake, Lake Suwa, is home to an unusual natural phenomenon. The lake sits over a hot

spring, and when the surface freezes in winter, the difference in temperature between the surface of the lake andunderneath result in large cracks. This phenomenon was thought to be caused by gods crossing the lake, and sois called o-miwatari, or “the gods’ crossing”.

The Emperor

[ Posted Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:11:00 ]







The Emperor’s role in Seian politics is not terribly clear. In the game, he does not appear to be politically active,but his elegant palace is well-staffed with guards. The art book says that he was succeeded by Himiko, and onearistocrat says that he will have to succeed her after she dies. His wife says that he thinks this, but she wouldprefer to worry about things other than a successor. Some of the guards expect him to rule and worry about hislove of treasure getting in the way. Himiko says that the Yamatai clan has ruled Sei-an forever and since thereseem to be multiple opinions about the Emperor ruling, he probably doesn’t belong to the Yamatai. (Are there

even any Yamatai left? We just don’t know.)

It’s interesting, though, that the emperor is expected to take a true role as the ruler. Since the later Heian period,emperors have mostly been figureheads with little actual political power. It was a prestigious and respectedposition, of course, but anyone who wanted power would not want to become Emperor, but rather manipulatethe existing one, or maybe try to influence a retired emperor with real influence or an upcoming one. Thoughthe Heian court based much of its structure on China’s, the power of the emperor was an important differencebetween them. Earlier, however, especially in the Nara period, emperors were considerably more powerful. (Funfact: many of the Nara emperors were women, probably because Confucianism hadn’t been incorporated into theculture yet.)



His design is certainly the most significant thing about him. The biohazard motif on his robe is a clear reference tBlight. (In one book on colors in Japanese art I found a sample of a textile that used this symbol. It was designedby a company in 1996 so maybe it was a modern pattern done for fun. I’ve been puzzled by it ever since, though

Otherwise his theme is all about treasure. He has a treasure ship with rare goods atop his head, he wears astrand of Demon fangs, and his eyes are covered by large coins: all he can see is money. The gourds at his waisrepresent happiness and success, and perhaps abundance. Traditionally, these gourds have been used to store

various things, including seeds. In addition to their interesting shape, it was said that seeds stored in such a gouralways bloomed, so gourds carry a very positive connotation.

Concept art for the Emperor depicts him with even more elaborate garb. His sleeves depict falcons, eggplants,and Mt. Fuji. Dreaming about these things the night before the New Year is said to be a sign of great fortune tocome that year.

Sources: [x] [x]

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, the emperor, emperor

Okami Tea Blends

[ Posted Thu, 12 Sep 2013 13:18:26 ]

Tea and Okami are both incredible things and I am passionate about both of them, so I used Adagio’s fandomblend service to create a set of tea blends based on Okami characters!

http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/g/j/gjs4/textbooks/480/ch5.htm

http://hyotan-hitachi.world.coocan.jp/05traditional/0503luckysymbol/0603hyotan/hyotan.htm





http://hyotan-hitachi.world.coocan.jp/05traditional/0503luckysymbol/0603hyotan/hyotan.htm

http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/g/j/gjs4/textbooks/480/ch5.htm



I’m proud of this little project, so if you try any of them, I would love to hear what you think! Meanwhile, I’m tryingto come up with one for Issun, maybe someone else…

(Sorry to plug, but I thought some of you might be interested in this. Stay tuned for a new post tomorrow!)

Tagged with: okami tea blends

questionanswer

Tagged with: ask, reply

Regular Updates!

[ Posted Fri, 06 Sep 2013 17:12:00 ]

This semester, I have three hours at work on Friday where I’m mostly chilling on the computer—so, I’m planningon updating this blog at least once every Friday! I will still answer asks as soon as I can. Enjoy!

Tagged with: maintenance log

Sakaki

[ Posted Fri, 06 Sep 2013 16:16:00 ]

You may not be familiar with the word, but you can probably recognize it decorating various shrines and GrandOrigin Mirrors in the game—and being held by Queen Himiko. Sakaki is an evergreen tree with thick, smoothleaves, that is considered sacred in Shinto. The trees are sometimes planted at the entrances to shrines, andits branches are used as decoration, offerings, or decorated with paper shide and used as wands for purification(tamagushi ). (As sakaki originally referred to evergreens in general, sometimes other plants such as cryptomeriaare substituted.)

Sakaki is considered sacred due to its role in mythology. When Amaterasu hid in a cave, the other gods adornedthe cave with sakaki decorated with “jewels, a mirror, and cloth” in an effort to draw her back out. In a similarfashion, some rituals involve decorating sakaki with jewels, mirrors, and sometimes swords, representing theImperial Regalia, the three sacred objects of Amaterasu.

In Shinto rituals, priests are often seen carrying sakaki branches. Himiko also carries one; this gives her a similarair of purity and divinity as priests have, and perhaps emphasizes her loyalty and divine power.







In fact, much of Himiko’s design contains many Shinto symbols of purity—i just realized I didn’t consider this mucin the original post about her, so I’ll discuss it here a little. As well as the sakaki , she wears a pyre for a crown; firas well as lightning, are strong forces for cleansing and driving out evil. She wears a white robe, the color of purit(purely white outfits are worn only by priests and the dead or dying), with a red sash reminiscent of a priest’soutfit. The red eye makeup may also represent purity or divinity somewhat, but I don’t know much about that kindof make-up… I’ve been told that red makeup ala Ammy/Kabuki/San from Princess Mononoke is thought to wardoff evil.

(will add sources/photos when I’m on a computer that behaves)

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, sakaki, himiko, queen himiko

"Shinshu In Bloom is a fan made Okami remix album which takes the strong Japanese instrumentals of Okami'soriginal soundtrack and supports them with punchy and rhythmic hip-hop beats. Nujabes fans will appreciate thework.

My friend Elie and I are trying to reach our goal on Kickstarter to make physical copies of this album. If you'reinterested in one, Click here and please back us on Kickstarter :).

If you dig, please share the word :). Thank you :D.”

I just saw this in my inbox, but I’ve been following this project ever since it was announced on Okami World.Check it out if you haven’t seen it yet!

[ Posted Mon, 02 Sep 2013 00:43:37 ]

Tagged with: okami, shinshu in bloom, music, submission

After seeing the posts about the junihitoe crowns I started to look around for them too since my curiosity waspiqued and found some info!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1499110495/shinshu-in-bloom-an-okami-remix-album



http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1499110495/shinshu-in-bloom-an-okami-remix-album



http://www.costumemuseum.jp/french/collection/j_komono/index.html

Here's the description from google translate, since my French isn't all that strong:

...Indeterminate age.

The hair used with costume ...juni-hitoe“ is called ...ôsuberakashi“ (hair hanging high). To achieve this hairstyle, aset of tools called ...kamiagegu“ (objects to meet the hair) is used.

At the top right is a flat comb ...Hirakushi“. It is the instrument which is used first. It is pushed horizontally in frontof the wig called ...marukamoji“.

The object to the left of the image is called ...hirabitai“ (flat front), it is placed standing in the front of the wig,against the comb. To fix it, we use a ...hirakansaji“ (pin flattened in its upper part), which is passed through theholes that are at the center of ...hirabitai“. The ...marukansaji“ (rounded pins in the upper portion), the ends of thepressed ...hirabitai“ cords and purple for attaching the assembly is then used.“

â€”cmoy1026

YOU ARE THE BEST

Tagged with: okami, junihitoe, ask, cmoy1026, okamimythology

I did not find any answers concerning the junihitoe crown things. :(

questionanswer


http://cmoy1026.tumblr.com/

http://cmoy1026.tumblr.com/




Tagged with: gomen for answering this late, ask, reply

I went to Eikando Temple today. These stairs looked kind of familiar. More ornate than the ones in that cavern inTaka Pass, but a similar character…

[ Posted Thu, 01 Aug 2013 06:31:28 ]





Tagged with: okami, taka pass, mine

questionanswer

Tagged with: ask, reply, okami hd



question

Tagged with: the art was one of the two main reasons I wanted to play Okami, the other being Amaterasu, wolf/ goddess/artist/badass, ask

Okami Favorites!

[ Posted Wed, 31 Jul 2013 00:55:00 ]

1. eclipticafusion answered: is easier to ask what´s not my fav in Okami. I love the music, the art, thegraphics, the plot, the gameplay, the style, the characters, etc

2.3.4. shinyarcanine45 answered: Mine is the mythology behind it, and the witty humor.5.6.7. meanwhile-in-canada answered: The art style! And the interaction with the world, how without talking, you

actions can be understood and you can make a positive influence8.9.10. headphones-and-applejuice answered: the story and art :D11.12.13. noiiverns answered: oh god eveRyTHing the atmosphere, graphics, story, whimsy no like everything14.15.16. kigurumijedi answered: I really love that I get to see the architecture. It's just so beautiful, especially in the

watercolor-style that is Okami <3So many happy thoughts. <3 Feel free to share yours too~

Tagged with: okami

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Tagged with: dandy-lionn, ask, reply

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Tagged with: thanks c:, ask, reply, eclipticafusion

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http://eclipticafusion.tumblr.com/

http://shinyarcanine45.tumblr.com/

http://meanwhile-in-canada.tumblr.com/

http://headphones-and-applejuice.tumblr.com/

http://noiiverns.tumblr.com/

http://kigurumijedi.tumblr.com/

http://kigurumijedi.tumblr.com/

http://noiiverns.tumblr.com/

http://headphones-and-applejuice.tumblr.com/

http://meanwhile-in-canada.tumblr.com/

http://shinyarcanine45.tumblr.com/

http://eclipticafusion.tumblr.com/




Tagged with: me too, leioll, ask, okami

Hiatus

[ Posted Tue, 30 Jul 2013 02:13:16 ]

Officially on new content hiatus now that I’m in Japan for the next few weeks. I’m here until the end of August an

hoping to learn some things!

But right now I’m curious: what’s your favorite thing about Okami?

Tagged with: feel free to reply or reblog or use the ask or submission box to share your answer!

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Tagged with: note the tails!, moon-lily, ask, reply, okami, rao, tsudzurao, blight, tamamo-no-mae

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Tagged with: glaceshine123, ask, reply, blight, okami

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How did I even manage to lose that post I am a dumb

Why don’t computers have the ability to keep multiple things available to paste at once??





Tagged with: this has been bothering me for years, sorry off-topic

celestialbrush:

I was playing Long Ass Tutorial: The Scene two days ago, and I noticed something curious. When Issun uses hissword-brush in the game, this red stamp/signature shows up afterwards. It's actually different than the one that

shows up when we/Ammy uses her Celestial Brush (no screencap because you can't read it well). The wordsare their actual names in kanji; in the game they tend to be written in katakana, but in these stamps it's how

you'd really write the goddess' name (天照) and Issun's (一寸 = one inch/sun). So every time they use a brush

technique, it's insta-signed!

Fun fact: the sumi-e illustrations the Narrator shows when he's telling the story are signed by Issun, so they'reall paintings he made. Don't believe me? Look for the kanji I showed you, it's always somewhere, and usually

in this combination: 天道太子一寸¸ (Celestial Envoy Issun). Sometimes, it's 一寸法師. The English translation of

the artbook translated it as ...Buddhist Priest Issun“ which makes little sense. But actually, it says Issun Boushi,

(the one-inch boy) which is the name of the fairytale Issun is loosely based from. The confusion comes becauseboushi alone literally means priest.

SOMEHOW I MANAGED TO COPY THE WRONG THING HERE SORRY (for those of you wondering where thacame from???)

I had an addition about chops (the red stamps) and their importance and I guess that’s all noped into the ethernow so I’ll have to rewrite it tomorrow ugh

[ Posted Wed, 05 Jun 2013 21:48:00 ]

http://celestialbrush.tumblr.com/post/52264399835/i-was-playing-long-ass-tutorial-the-scene-two

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cun_%28unit%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issun-b%C5%8Dshi



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issun-b%C5%8Dshi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cun_%28unit%29

http://celestialbrush.tumblr.com/post/52264399835/i-was-playing-long-ass-tutorial-the-scene-two



Tagged with: throws things, nothing works today, nevermind like two things worked and that was nice

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Important notice!

[ Posted Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:51:00 ]

You can look up posts on specific things by adding /tagged/ at the end of the main blog URL, followed bywhatever subject you’re looking for (use dashes between words, e.g. /oni-island).

If you can’t find what you’re looking for, feel free to ask and I’ll add it to my drafts (or help you find it if I know it’sthere). You can also use the archive. I’m more than happy to help people around, but I get a lot of asks for thingsI’ve already done so hopefully this helps!

Tagged with: ps king wada article coming soon, I haven't been feeling well recently but now I'm better andschool's almost over so I can get back to making real posts XD

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Tagged with: maybe it's where nagi's spirit rests??, and where Amaterasu's spirit went when her body died??,that's just me speculating but it seems feasible *flails*, ask, reply, river of the heavens, cave of nagi

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Tagged with: okami, orca, dragonians, ask, reply, 404error-boredom-not-found

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Tagged with: ask, reply, okami, jiro, saburo, jiro and saburo

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Tagged with: the lore behind them always made me kind of sad though ;-;, okami, okamimythology, jiro, saburo,ichiro, ask, reply

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Tagged with: okami, okamiden, okamimythology, providence crystal, providence crystals, ask, reply, 404error-boredom-not-found

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Tagged with: I appreciate your interest in all these things!, okami, okamimythology, 404error-boredom-not-found,ask, reply

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Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, celestials, the celestials, ask, reply, 404error-boredom-not-found

You can now see each post’s notes on its permalink page! This includes reblog comments and replies.


Tama



[ Posted Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:47:00 ]

Tama, or Tamaya, is named after a famous guild of pyrotechnicians. During the Edo period, they competed withthe Kagiya guild to produce the greatest fireworks for the annual summer fireworks festival, held over the SumidaRiver in modern Tokyo. The festival was originally started in the 1700s to soothe the spirits of the dead who hadbeen lost to recent plague and famine.

The Tamaya guild came to be held in the highest regard, until a fire broke out, and they fell out of favor. Butonlookers would still shout the names of their favorite guilds, and this practice continues to this day.

The tradition of guild rivalry in the festival also continues. Fireworks are sometimes even engineered to createpatterns such as kanji or even characters such as Pikachu. We see Tama do this as well with the likenesses of

Ammy, Issun, Mushi’s mama, and various other characters animals.

EDIT: I just realized that the cloth hanging from his belt actually reads “Tamaya”, with the same characters usedby the guild in real life.

EDIT 2: His tattoo (ç²‹) can be read as “iki ”, meaning “chic” or “stylish”, or as “sui ”, meaning “the best.” Someonethinks highly of himself…

Sources: x x x


http://tangorin.com/kanji/%E7%B2%8B

http://park.org/Japan/Hitachi/nippon/hanabi/e/ghrj0200.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumidagawa_Fireworks_Festival

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/spot/festival/sumidagawahanabi.html

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/spot/festival/sumidagawahanabi.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumidagawa_Fireworks_Festival

http://park.org/Japan/Hitachi/nippon/hanabi/e/ghrj0200.htm

http://tangorin.com/kanji/%E7%B2%8B




Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, tama, tamaya

Golden Gates

[ Posted Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:07:12 ]

There isn’t really anything special about the Golden Gates that you can’t see, but the character written above

them (zoku) means “continuation”.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, real post coming soon lol

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Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, ask, reply, amaterasu, chibiterasu, shiranui





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Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, shinto, buddhism, karmic transformers

Poll time!

[ Posted Sat, 23 Feb 2013 00:36:00 ]

If you lived in Nippon, where would you live and what would you do for a living?

Tagged with: I would run a teahouse in Sei-an or maybe Kusa Village?, I bet the best tea would come from TakaPass, and the best water from Hitoshio Spring, okami, question

Hey, guys!

[ Posted Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:19:00 ]

I don’t like to plug, but I’m trying to earn money to study abroad in Kyoto this summer, and this is really importantto me. Thankfully, my work-study program will help me cover most of the funds, but part of my income also comefrom selling art, so I would really appreciate it if you would check out my Etsy shop!

I sell buttons, prints, and folding fans, and a lot of my work is Okami-based, but I also do some Pokemon andother things. If you do buy something, thank you in advance!

Otherwise, thank you for being such great Okami fans. It’s thanks to Okami that my greatest passion is studyingother cultures, especially those of Japan. That’s why this blog is so much fun for me, and I’m glad you all enjoy itThis game means a lot to me, and I love being in a community with so many other fans. You guys are great.

I wish you all the best of luck in following your own dreams. You can do it. :)

Tagged with: this has been a post

Momotaro and Oni Island

[ Posted Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:35:29 ]



http://www.etsy.com/shop/SarurunKamui?ref=si_shop



http://www.etsy.com/shop/SarurunKamui?ref=si_shop





The story of Momotaro is one of the most popular folktales in Japan. Of course, there are many variations, but thbasic story goes as follows.

A long time ago, there was an old couple living in a remote place. They had no children and were lonely. One daas the woman was doing laundry, a giant peach came floating down the stream. She hauled it out of the waterand brought it home.

The old couple was just about to start eating the peach when suddenly it split in two to reveal a young boy,claiming he had been sent by Heaven to be their son. They named him Momotaro (after momo, meaning “peachand Taro, a popular boy’s name) and raised him lovingly. He practiced fighting, and grew up to become powerfulas well as kind.

Then he was told about demons from Onigashima (“Ogre Island”), who had been tormenting the people of thecountryside. Though they were concerned at first, he convinced his parents to let him go and defeat the demons.

The gave him some millet dumplings and off he went.

On the way, he met a dog, a pheasant, and then a monkey, who all asked him what he was doing. He told themabout his quest, and that he had the best millet dumplings in Japan, which he would share if they accompaniedhim. They agreed, and he gave them each a dumpling.

Momotaro and his entourage reached Onigashima. Fueled by the dumplings, they fought off all the oni, until theileader begged him to stop. Momotaro and his companions left with a boat loaded with the treasure stolen from



the villages the oni had raided, in exchange for letting the oni go in peace with a promise never to trouble humanagain.

Although Momotaro’s story was ditched in the final version in the game, it’s thanks to him that we have thewonderful dungeon based on Onigashima, Oni Island. Remnants of this story still appear in Momotaro’s designand his subquest: the split-peach pants, monkey nose, pheasant headdress and wings, and the quest to retrievehis stolen Millet Dumplings from Hayazo. He likes to march around pretending to defeat the demons of Oni Island

and asks you—the dog—to play with him, offering his Millet Dumplings in return. He’s not quite as polite as hislegendary counterpart, however.

The sign on his back reads “one kill a day”.

Onigashima is typically associated with Megijima, and island north of Takamatsu on Shikoku, whose summit isriddled with manmade caves where the oni were said to live. Okami’s Oni Island may be based on its depiction inthe 80’s Famicom game “Shin Onigashima” (New Onigashima).

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, oni island, onigashima, momotaro

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Tagged with: also thanks!, ankh-the-odd, ask, reply, okamimythology, okami, imps

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Tagged with: insoulated, ask, reply, citation

celestialbrush:

http://celestialbrush.tumblr.com/post/42184414483/someone-in-the-okami-tag-was-asking-for-the

http://celestialbrush.tumblr.com/post/42184414483/someone-in-the-okami-tag-was-asking-for-the



Someone in the Okami tag was asking for the concept art for Gen so here it is,

I really wanted to make Gen a female scientist, but ended up going with an ...old boy“ look with dragging sleeveslike Hakase, the scientist character from Oba Q. Initial designs have him looking quite intelligent.

Bonus: I can't find the character he's based on (and hakase means literally professor, to make things harder), bu

the historical figure the game references with him is this cool guy.

[ Posted Sun, 03 Feb 2013 10:00:22 ]

Tagged with: okami, gen, gennai

The Divine Wind

[ Posted Tue, 29 Jan 2013 01:12:00 ]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraga_Gennai





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraga_Gennai



"Divine wind" (kamikaze) was an epithet for Ise Province, now Mie Prefecture, where strong winds frequently blewin from the sea. The Kojiki states that Amaterasu favored Ise for this wind and so chose it as the location for her

shrine.

Ise was probably the inspiration for Kusa Village as the home of the Divine Wind in Ôkami, as its location isroughly analogous to Ise Province. While the Gale Shrine doesn’t seem to have any connection to Ise Shrine interms of location or prominence, it may have at least been an influence in the decision to make Kusa Village thehome of Kazegami and the Divine Wind.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, kusa village, gale shrine, kazegami, fact: I just learned this from my

Japanese religion textbook and it was only the third reading, coming soon: momotaro

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Tagged with: jump-with-the-moon-and-move-it, ask, reply

The River of the Heavens

[ Posted Wed, 26 Dec 2012 23:38:01 ]





The River of the Heavens, or Ama-no-gawa (天の川

), is actually the Japanese name for the Milky Way, because

of its resemblance to a river of stars in the night sky. It’s easy enough to take the name literally in Okami, but it’sarguably the most enchanting landscape in the game, and for good reason. Beyond the falling sand, hazy light,and ancient architecture, this place is larger than life, a world on the shores of a galaxy…



[Photo: Wikipedia]

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, the river of the heavens, river of the heavens, just how beautiful is thatthough?

Komuso

[ Posted Mon, 24 Dec 2012 14:19:00 ]





Komuso is not a name, but rather a title, translating to “priest of emptiness” or “monk of emptiness”. The basketsthey wear on their heads symbolize the absence of an ego, and they typically travel around on pilgrimages,collecting alms and practicingsuizen. Suizen is a meditative practice based on playing the shakuhachi, whichrequires years of practice and controlled breathing techniques.

Amaterasu may encounter this komuso several times throughout Nippon as he travels on his own pilgrimage.Okami’s komuso wears more colorful garb than usual, probably to set him apart and fit into Okami’s colorful worldHe is keenly aware of things beyond normal human perception. It seems that though the basket may cover hiseyes, he is far from blinded…

[Source: Wikipedia]

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, komuso



I fixed the image posts on the blog so they no longer show up as ugly white boxes stretching off into infinity.Hooray for images!


A (slightly late) post in honor of the winter solstice, the day in Shinto mythology when Amaterasu was said to hav

been drawn from the cave after a long, dark winter night, and the sun returned to the sky to warm the Earth.

[ Posted Fri, 21 Dec 2012 23:52:36 ]

Tagged with: okami, official art, shinto mythology

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Tagged with: 404error-boredom-not-found, ask, reply, okamiden, asteroidean

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Tagged with: followingfabulous, ask, reply, kanji, japanese, okami

pamandjapan:

ぬりかべ(Nurikabe)

Nurikabe is a yokai that manifests as a wall that impedes or misdirects walking travelers at night. Trying to goaround is futile as it extends itself forever. Knocking on the lower part of the wall makes it disappear. It has beensuggested that the legend was created to explain travelers losing their bearings on long journeys.

You might know them as Blockheads.

[ Posted Sun, 02 Dec 2012 12:04:08 ]

http://pamandjapan.tumblr.com/post/33875411842/nurikabe-nurikabe-is-a-yokai-that



http://pamandjapan.tumblr.com/post/33875411842/nurikabe-nurikabe-is-a-yokai-that



Tagged with: blockhead, nurikabe

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Tagged with: meianna, ask, reply

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Tagged with: meianna, ask, reply

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Tagged with: bardsidhe, ask, reply, discussion

Three Views of a Secret

[ Posted Tue, 27 Nov 2012 19:45:28 ]

Gaberian sent me this link to an English article on those Ten Sacred Treasures on which some of the DivineInstruments are based (thank you so much). It’s pretty interesting and not very long, so I encourage you to read i

Tagged with: links, articles, okami, divine instruments

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Tagged with: bardsidhe, ask, reply, wow I just do not have an answer for this

Amaterasu Okami

[ Posted Mon, 26 Nov 2012 23:55:00 ]

okami-amaterasu-ftw:

Format: Japanese (English)

http://ikga.oeaw.ac.at/Events/japan_symp04/kadoya.htm


http://okami-amaterasu-ftw.tumblr.com/post/36653900878/japanese-terms-for-divine-instruments-in-okami-and







http://ikga.oeaw.ac.at/Events/japan_symp04/kadoya.htm



And here’s a picture of those ten sacred treasures; if you have an eye for kanji, you can match them up, but somof them should be obvious, like Eighth Wonder. If any of you can help me figure out what their significance is, I’lllove you forever.

Tagged with: okami, okamiden, divine instruments

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Tagged with: ask, reply, okamiden, nanami, manpuku, I can't remember if I've done a post on kuni or not but heshould have one

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Tagged with: ask, reply, el shaddai

kyotodreamtrips:

The Jishu shrine in Kiyomizu dera is famous for boys or girls seeking the perfect partner. It's always quite busy inthis shrine. This statue is ...Okuninushino-Mikoto“ who is a Japanese god in charge of love and the perfect matchThe rabbit beside him is a messenger of the god.

http://kyotodreamtrips.tumblr.com/post/36566502454/the-jishu-shrine-in-kiyomizu-dera-is-famous-for

http://kyotodreamtrips.tumblr.com/post/36566502454/the-jishu-shrine-in-kiyomizu-dera-is-famous-for



That’s Kuni, guys.

[ Posted Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:36:17 ]

photo-link-url

Tagged with: kuni, kuninushi, okamiden

m17un4:

Well here we have it. I couldn't find a version of the Heno heno moheji seen in Okami, because I wanted a rip of particularly one of the ones seen when in Kusa Village [[Cursed]] and so I ripped it from the game at low-res andthen remade it.


http://m17un4.tumblr.com/post/36508649268/well-here-we-have-it-i-couldnt-find-a-version-of

http://m17un4.tumblr.com/post/36508649268/well-here-we-have-it-i-couldnt-find-a-version-of




Here's a transparent clean version if someone wants

it .

Also for those who doesn't know what a Heno heno moheji is, it's a face using the symbols ã

¸ã

®ã

¸ã

®ã‚‚ã

¸ã

Eyebrows: He

Eyes: No

Nose: Mo



Mouth: He

Head: Ji

I normally don't post things like these but I know someone else also asked for me to send it to them when I wasdone, but I don't exactly remember who said that, so I'm keeping it here for when they want the link. uvu/

Besides, I know some people has wondered what exactly that face floating above people's heads by default are.[Before their actual faces appear.] So, this is it!

[ Posted Sun, 25 Nov 2012 09:29:23 ]

Tagged with: okami, henohenomoheji, heno heno moheji, okami face





Kagu

[ Posted Tue, 20 Nov 2012 13:28:39 ]

Kagu is short for Kagura, a theatrical Shinto dance whose name means “god entertainment”. There are severaldifferent kinds of kagura, one of the major types being miko kagura, performed by miko (“female shaman” or

“shrine maiden”).

Kagura starts out as a budding actress in kabuki , a fairly modern type of theatre featuring extravagant costumes,makeup, exaggerated voices and movements, dance, and music, with marked similarities to kagura. Kabuki playoften tell stories of brave warrior protagonists and gods. Over the course of the game, she chooses the path of thmiko/shrine maiden instead. She changes into the traditional garb of miko—pleated red pants and a white haori (jacket), with hair drawn back in ribbons (or in this case, lightning-shaped shide and bells to chase away evil); redis frequently associated with the divine, and white symbolizes purity. During their dances, miko are said to channthe power of the gods to realize prayers, give thanks, or purify a space.





A miko dances at a town fall festival.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, okamiden, kagu, kagura, miko, what kills me is that kagu means furniture

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Tagged with: ask, reply, 404error-boredom-not-found

Kamui

[ Posted Mon, 19 Nov 2012 19:31:00 ]

http://redrose-tomotomowriting2.blogspot.com/2010/10/fall-festival-in-my-town_20.html



http://redrose-tomotomowriting2.blogspot.com/2010/10/fall-festival-in-my-town_20.html



I’ve been trying to figure out what all place names in Kamui mean, since only a few are possible to find in EnglishI found a list of the Japanese names and their meanings, but the article is in Japanese, so I’ll translate the basicshere, with my own notes.

Kamui: similar to Japanese kami, kamui are gods or sprits. Like the Ainu, the Oina seem to have an animisticreligion. Perhaps Kamui could be considered the land of the gods… although it’s also the birthplace of evil. Well,positive thinking, right?

Wep’keer: from uepeker , a style of storytelling; a full post on this can be found here.

Yoshpet: yoshipetai , meaning roughly “stomach forest” (although I was told by one studying Ainu that it actuallymeans ‘large forest’). In English it’s referred to as the “consuming forest”. I’ve seen speculation that Yoshpet isbased on Aokigahara, the “suicide forest” at the base of Mt. Fuji. Also called the “sea of trees”, Aokigahara isknown for its tough rock base, icy caves, and eerie quiet due to the curious absence of wildlife. I can’t confirm thicorrelation, but it makes a lot of sense.

Ezofuji: Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan, used to be called Ezo (or Yezo). Mount Youtei is sometimescalled Ezofuji because of its resemblance to Mt. Fuji in Honshu, Japan’s central island. According to the article, itis said that the creator of the Earth descended here.

Wawku Shrine: from iriwaku, meaning “siblings”.

Affun Gate: in Japanese, affunbara, from affunrubara, meaning “entrance”. It also has the connotation of an

entrance to the underworld.

Lake Laochi: rayochi, meaning “rainbow”.

Sewaprolo: if you forget where this name is from, it’s the charm Tuskle gives you to pass by the seal on YoshpeForest. Sewapororo are carved doll amulets similar to Japanese omamori . They are said to bring good luck, andthe god Sewa will grant your wishes if you pray sincerely. (More on Ainu amulets here.)

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, ainu, oina, oina tribe, kamui, I'm so glad I found this because I've beendying to know these too

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Tagged with: ask, reply, oniisland

http://www.geocities.jp/bioers_1st_project/ainu-world/o-kami/o-kami.html

http://okamimythology.tumblr.com/post/29743002642/wepkeer

http://omamorifromjapan.blogspot.com/2011/06/sewapororo-hokkaido.html

http://omamorifromjapan.blogspot.com/2011/06/sewapororo-hokkaido.html

http://okamimythology.tumblr.com/post/29743002642/wepkeer

http://www.geocities.jp/bioers_1st_project/ainu-world/o-kami/o-kami.html



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Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, shinshu field, jomon, stone circles, ask, reply, nimrodgirl11

Dojo Sign

[ Posted Sat, 10 Nov 2012 00:52:45 ]

Just spent ten minutes or so trying to figure out the meaning of the characters on the sign outside the dojo withone of my friends. XP We had to go back and forth between Chinese and Japanese kanji dictionaries to find thecharacters and transliterate them.

As it happens, this phrase, “色即是空” (shikisokuzekuu), is a term from Zen Buddhism, meaning “form is

emptiness”. The idea of “form is emptiness, emptiness is form” is very prominent concept in Zen Buddhism,emphasizing the connections among and the non-duality of things. I guess this also means Onigiri-sensei isBuddhist.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, not-quite-mythology





Poncles

[ Posted Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:37:37 ]

The Poncles are based on a race of small people from Ainu lore, the koro-pok-guru, whose name is interpretedto mean “the people beneath butterbur leaves”, as they are said to live in pits covered by butterbur leaves.Somewhat similarly, the Poncles live in a hollowed-out tree stump. The koro-pok-guru vary in size amongdescriptions, but generally they were not as small like the Poncles, maybe two or three feet high. The size of thePoncles was probably derived from Issun (as Issunboshi, the One-Inch Boy). The koro-pok-guru hated to be seebut they were on good terms with the Ainu people until a curious man tried to capture one. After that, they were

never seen again.





A statue of a koro-pok-guru holding a butterbur leaf.

The koro-pok-guru also made pottery, unlike the Ainu of the region, perhaps explaining the pots in the official art

（图片损坏，摊爪）

There have been several attempts at explaining how the koro-pok-guru might have existed; perhaps they werelinked to Homo floresiensis. You can read more about that and other theories here.

http://www.cryptomundo.com/homo-floresiensis/koropokkuru/

http://www.cryptomundo.com/homo-floresiensis/koropokkuru/



Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, poncles, ponc'tan, koro-pok-guru

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Tagged with: vessels, ask, reply

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Tagged with: ask, reply, anon, published since I can't reply otherwise XP

Sorry I haven’t been active here much. School and all… and now NaNoWriMo. I’m planning on updating soon,though. I have some ideas and a few things in my draft folder.

Meanwhile, since it’s NaNo… I’m working on a Moon Tribe fanfiction, with mostly OCs based on Japanese historand mythology but also Waka and Sugawara, and it’s going kind of slowly and needs more filler and stuff to makit interesting. So if anyone has any dares or ideas for fun things, Moon Tribe headcanons, whatever you wantto submit… that’d be cool. It might make this story suck less so I can share it without feeling too ashamed of

myself. :D

Sei-an City

[ Posted Thu, 11 Oct 2012 14:24:00 ]





Sei-an City, known as Seiankyô in Japanese (西安京, lit. “western peace capital”), is based on ancient Kyôto,

which the capital city of Japan during the Heian period about a thousand years ago. Its name then was Heiankyô(平安京), meaning “peaceful and tranquil capital”. Sei-an City is located in roughly the same position as Kyôto,

nestled inland near Lake Biwa. Although Sei-an City is actually located ON Lake Biwa (romanized as LakeBeewa), whereas Kyoto is a few miles east of it.

Like Heiankyô, Sei-an City is rectangular in shape and is surrounded by walls. It has a central road leading tothe imperial palace at the north end of the city. The nobles and officials all live outside but near the palace. Twocanals run through the city.



Model of Heiankyô from Wikipedia. Feel free to compare.

Also, from Himiko’s palace, you can see a famous Kyoto sight: a curious mountain with a giant å¤§ dai, thecharacter for “large”, painted into its ridges. This mountain is based on Daimon-ji Mountain, where a similar giantå¤§ is set on fire during the Gozan Okuribi Festival.



Learn more about Gozen Okuribi here.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, heiankyou, seiankyou, sei-an city

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http://www.kyoto.travel/2009/11/gozan-no-okuribi-mountain-bon.html

http://www.kyoto.travel/2009/11/gozan-no-okuribi-mountain-bon.html



Tagged with: shojisama, ask, reply

Nippon

[ Posted Wed, 10 Oct 2012 20:16:00 ]

This one might seem kind of obvious: Nippon is the Japanese name for Japan! It does look an awful lot likeJapan, even though there are some major differences.





Technically, the Japanese call their country Nihon; “Nippon” has a certain cultural connotation, so while you usephrases such as “Nihonjin” (Japanese people) or “Nihonbashi” (lit. “Japan Bridge”, a famous bridge in Tokyo fromwhich all distance measurements were made in the Edo period), you will see “Nippon” written on stamps andthe like. It’s a little confusing to explain here, so the important thing to know is that these are just two alternate

pronunciations for the same characters, 日本, meaning “sun origin”, and that the world of Okami is similar to but

not exactly Japan. This name was given to the country by China some centuries ago, because China considered

itself to be directly beneath Heaven, which was the center of the universe (hence the name 中国, “middle

country”), and relative to China, Japan lies where the sun rises.

Before it was Nihon, however—way, way before, though I can’t say by how long—the people called their landToyoashihara no Nakatsukuni, meaning “middle country of the reed beds”. It was the middle country because itwas the land that lay between Takamagahara (the High Plain of Heaven) and Yomi (Hell), and the significanceof “reed beds” is unknown. But it was believed at this time that long and poetic names would attract the gods andtheir blessings.

In the Japanese game, Nippon is referred to as Nakatsukuni, simply “middle country”. To the Japanese, this nam

is a clear throwback to the island’s very distant past.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, nippon

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Tagged with: ask, reply, okamiden, akuro

Issun

[ Posted Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:29:00 ]





Issun is based on Issun-bôshi, a character from a famous Japanese folktale. Issunbôshi is usually translated as“Little One Inch” or “One-Inch Samurai”; issun means one “sun”, a unit of distance slightly longer than an inch, anbôshi actually refers to a Buddhist monk. (Fun fact: ten sun make up a shaku.)

The story goes as such: there once lived an old couple who were very happy in every way, except that pray asthey might, they were old and still had not borne children. But one day, the woman gives birth to a tiny boy: tinyenough to rest on her finger. They named him Saemon, but everyone called him Issunbôshi, because he only

grew one sun high. Despite his small size, he had a big heart and grand ideas, and one day he decided to leavehis parents in pursuit of such an idea. The next morning, he set out for the capital with a new suit, a sword madefrom a needle, a rice bowl boat, and a chopstick as an oar.

When he reached the capital, he found an ornate ox-drawn carriage travelling down the main road, and so hedecided to follow it. It led him to the palace of the lord Sanjo. The guards didn’t even notice him entering thegates, so he kept quiet. Eventually he found Sanjo himself listening to his daughter singing. During a break, hecalled out to for Sanjo’s attention, but the man couldn’t find him. He called out again, and a maid found him andpicked him up. He asked to be made Sanjo’s retainer. Sanjo was reluctant, but his daughter asked for Issunbôshto be made her companion, and so it was.

Issunbôshi helped the girl by grinding ink, cleaning musical instruments, and accompanying her to temples topray. He would stand guard outside, imitating the ferocious snarl of Fudo-myôô.

But one day, on their way back from a temple outside the city, they encountered a huge oni (ogre). The onisnatched up the girl without a word and ran off, but not before Issunbôshi could grab the hem of her robe andclimb up to wrestle the oni.

The oni was stunned at this little thing fighting with his hand, but knowing better than to wait and ask questions,he simply threw Issunbôshi into his mouth. Issun, always a quick thinker, responded by drawing his needle-swordand slashing at the oni’s mouth. The demon coughed the little warrior out, but Issunbôshi simply climbed onto hisface and began attacking his nose and eyes. The demon threw him off, dropped the girl and ran off in misery.

When the girl recovered, she stood and found a magical mallet dropped by the fleeing oni. Knowing it would granher a wish, she made one and shook the mallet. The next thing they knew, Issunbôshi was a full-size warrior,and they were both quite pleased. When they returned to the capital, Issunbôshi brought his parents to live in the

capital, and a marriage was arranged between him and the girl.

As is to be expected, much of this story has been subverted in Okami. Instead of the daughter of a lord, Issunpartners up with, to some extent, with Kaguya after sneaking into the Emperor’s palace. And instead of beingeaten by an oni and fighting his way out, Issun (with Ammy, of course) goes into the Emperor’s stomach to defeaBlight. And instead of Issun being brought to full size by the Lucky Mallet, Amaterasu is shrunk to his size. ButIssunbôshi’s spirit is intact in Okami’s Issun.



Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, issun, issunboshi, I can't find anything on Denkomaru either outside of

Doraemon and Gundam but it's obviously from somewhere

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Chun and the Cutters

[ Posted Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:38:35 ]





Chun, the Sparrow Clan, and Mr. & Mrs. Cutter are all based on the tale of the Tongue-Cut Sparrow.

Long ago there lived a kind old woodcutter and his greedy wife. One day, the old man found an injured sparrowand, feeling sorry for it, took it back to his house and nursed it back to health. His wife became resentful of thebird, jealous of her husband's care for the creature.

One day the old man had to leave to run some errands and asked his wife to care for the bird while he was goneShe neglected to feed it, thinking it a waste of food, so the hungry sparrow ate some starch that she had left out.When she discovered this, she flew into a rage, cutting out the Sparrow's tongue and throwing it out of the houseto fly back from where it came.

The old man was very upset at the loss of his friend and went searching for it. When he was ready to give up, agroup of sparrows appeared and lead him to an old house with a lovely garden hidden inside a bamboo grove,where he was reunited with the sparrow he had rescued. The thankful sparrow offered the man food and drinks,and the other sparrows sang and danced to show their gratitude.

Before he left, the sparrows presented him with two baskets: one small, the other large and heavy, and asked himto choose one as his parting gift. The old man humbly chose the smaller basket. When he returned home andopened the small basket, he found that it was full of valuable treasures, gold and precious gems.



Upon seeing the riches, his greedy wife decided that she would go see the sparrows as well and take the largerbasket, which surely contained even more. The sparrow politely let her in, but did not give her any food or drinksWhen the woman realized that they were not going to offer a gift, she rudely asked for one. The sparrow obligedbringing out a large and a small basket like before. She grabbed the large basket and left without so much asa ...thank you“.

As she carried the basket it seemed to get heavier and heavier until she could carry it no further. She stopped

to rest, and eager to see her treasure, decided the peek inside. However, when she opened the lid, all kinds ofhorrific monsters spilled out and attacked her, tearing her to pieces.

Of course, a lot of these elements have been subverted in Okami. The kind old woodcutter is the voracious Mr.Cutter, who guards the house at night and runs even faster than Ms. Cutter. Ms. Cutter carries the basket ofmonsters on her back, and keeps Chun trapped inside. And instead of the greedy wife going to the bamboo grov(Sasa Sanctuary; sasa refers to the leaves of bamboo), or the sparrows coming to deliver a reward, Amaterasuand Issun visit to collect it themselves. Also note the sparrows on Mr. Cutter’s robe, and both Cutters’ shears.



The Sasa Sanctuary Inn is based on ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn featuring meals and tatami floors. They

typically served travellers on highways, but were also attracted to scenic areas and hot springs. The beautifulsetting and hot spring of Sasa Sanctuary make an ideal place for an inn.



Typical ryokan room designs have sliding doors & windows and a central table set, features shared by the roomsin Sasa Sanctuary. Access to an outdoor walkway is also a common feature.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, sparrow clan, chun, the tongue-cut sparrow

cultural-escapist:

Etretat

The southern Ryoshima coastline, especially the hook-shaped rock, is based off this beach in France.

http://cultural-escapist.tumblr.com/post/31871869513

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aigle_dore/5238541358/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aigle_dore/5238541358/

http://cultural-escapist.tumblr.com/post/31871869513



[ Posted Wed, 19 Sep 2012 13:30:55 ]

photo-link-url





Tagged with: okami, ryoshima coast, france, etretat, I promise I'm going to post some actual stuff soon, I havedrafts on Komuso and some other people waiting to be finished XP, school is eating my life

buttbear :

Ubume is definitely a favorite too but she's super hellish to draw because there's just.. no clear images of her ??

No good clips of her cutscene or battles against her and her illustration is pretty vague, so I had to bullshit a lot othis alksdlf

The ubume is an actual yokai! They're the ghosts or manifestation of multiple ghosts of woman who have diedin childbirth, or died without knowing what will happen to their children, etcetc. Apparent pregnant women andmothers are associated with birds, and that's why Okami's ubume is portrayed as a crane, even though they'redescribed as women who were killed by samurai in the game ?? Who knows. The Okami artbook says they'vedressed her like a courtesan! I want to draw them again sometime, they're really interesting and I love the game'stake on the monster

[ Posted Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:02:44 ]

http://buttbear.tumblr.com/post/31345003403/ubume-is-definitely-a-favorite-too-but-shes-super

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubume



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubume

http://buttbear.tumblr.com/post/31345003403/ubume-is-definitely-a-favorite-too-but-shes-super



Tagged with: okami, fanart, ubume

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Tagged with: ask, reply, anon, okami, okamimythology, oni island, raijin, raiden

Okuni

[ Posted Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:59:34 ]





You may not remember this little girl from the Aristocratic Quarter, but she's actually based on a rather famous

figure:

fromthefloatingworld:

Izumo no Okuni (出雲の阿国)

Okuni invented the style of dance and drama that became kabuki theatre. She was thought to have been a miko

(shrine maiden) at Izumo-taisha who was sent to Kyoto in order to get donations for the shrine. She becamepopular for her dances and skits, performing in a dry riverbed of the Kamo River. Okuni gathered a troupeof entirely women (many of them prostitutes) and taught them to act, dance, and sing. Her troupe becameincreasingly famous, and many other troupes of female performers appeared. This style of theatre became knowas ...onna-kabuki“ or ...Okuni kabuki“. Okuni retired from performing in 1610 and disappeared. Her year of deathis unknown. In 1629, the shogunate forbade women from performing in kabuki, thus creating the all male versionof kabuki known today.

Note the kabuki costume elements, both male and female, of Okuni’s design. She has the red makeup and swordstandard of a samurai protagonist, and the lush dress, ornate hair, and front-tied obi of an oiran.

http://fromthefloatingworld.tumblr.com/post/31077092030

http://fromthefloatingworld.tumblr.com/post/31077092030



Tagged with: wakamolez, okami, okamiden, okamimythology, kuni, kuninushi, ask, reply

Kurow

[ Posted Thu, 30 Aug 2012 00:08:00 ]

The name Kurow comes from “Kurô” in the name Minamoto Kurô Yoshitsune, known as Ushiwaka in his youth.So, Kurow is named after Waka, and could be considered the “second stage” of Waka’s life. This also explainstheir design similarities, although Kurow’s design is derived straight from Waka, while Waka’s design is derivedfrom the actual Ushiwaka, as well as tengu and Gatchaman.





Tagged with: okami, okamiden, okamimythology, kurow, moon tribe, and frankly this is a problem I have with allof Okamiden in which a LOT of the music/art/characters/etc. are based off of the Okami canon, instead of themythology/history/art from which Okami itself was derived, and so it loses a lot of that authenticity and generally

just makes me sad., also sorry for the hiatus, I'm more settled in now so I'll post some bigger stuff soon I swear,hooray for notes that are longer than the actual post

Sorry for my inactivity recently. I’ve been busy packing for school, going to school, moving in, and getting ready

for class and such. This is just a notice to say it might be a few more days before I can post again. But I found myOkami art book, so I can finally reference it again!

Tagged with: classes start tomorrow, woohoo!

I also want to point out that Kurow has a shakuhachi, but he plays it sideways which makes no sense whatsoeve

Tagged with: Nor does taking off a biwa's head as a sword because all the strings would break, speshul moontribe tech??;, anyway a transverse flute has to be closed on one end, the shakuhachi is open on both ends, like aclarinet

Some Observations on Yami's Theme

[ Posted Thu, 23 Aug 2012 12:10:22 ]





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Tagged with: ask, reply, I put it in a box when I came home from school and then I don't know., I'm missing myOkami soundtrack too. D:

celestialbrush:

This is the first character I drew when I joined the Okami team. Initially, her name wasOmohikane and she existeseparately from Tuskle. Omohikane means ...God of Knowledge“, so I tied her design to owls. Eventually, thescenario had Tuskle and Omohikane combine and become what you see today. The owls on her head are indeealive, and it is quite possible that they are the ones doing the actual talking instead of Tuskleâ€¦

Okami: Official Complete Works, page 150

[ Posted Wed, 22 Aug 2012 22:44:13 ]

http://celestialbrush.tumblr.com/post/20092606005/this-is-the-first-character-i-drew-when-i-joined

http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=125



http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=125

http://celestialbrush.tumblr.com/post/20092606005/this-is-the-first-character-i-drew-when-i-joined



(Below) An early Oki. At this point, he did not have the ability to transform into a wolf, and I was drawing him tolook a little younger. The fact that he is wearing short sleeves despite being from a very cold region is an idea lefover from this early stage in development. In the end, I feel it suits his hot-blooded personality perfectlyâ€¦still,looks a bit chilly.

Okami: Official Complete Works, page 147

[ Posted Wed, 22 Aug 2012 22:43:01 ]





Tagged with: oina, info, okami, okikurmi, oina tribe

Himiko

[ Posted Wed, 22 Aug 2012 14:13:29 ]





Himiko (lit. “Sun Priestess”), also called Pimiko, was a shaman ruler of Yamatai, a region of Japan thought tobe located in present-day Yamato province. She ruled almost two thousand years ago and is said to have beeninstated as ruler after a long line of male leaders produced years of war and conflict. Himiko was in contact withthe Wei kingdom of ancient China, and so most of what we know about her today comes from Chinese records othe time. This quote comes from the Account of the People of Wa:

The country formerly had a man as ruler. For some seventy or eighty years after that there were disturbances

and warfare. Thereupon the people agreed upon a woman for their ruler. Her name was Himiko [卑彌呼]. She

occupied herself with magic and sorcery, bewitching the people. Though mature in age, she remained unmarriedShe had a younger brother who assisted her in ruling the country. After she became the ruler, there were few whsaw her. She had one thousand women as attendants, but only one man. He served her food and drink and acteas a medium of communication. She resided in a palace surrounded by towers and stockades, with armed guardin a state of constant vigilance. (tr. Tsunoda 1951:13)

All of this (except for the warfare and her brother, unless he’s the Emperor?) should be familiar. This belief thatshe bewitched her people is reflected in Issun’s suspicion that she caused the plague in Sei-an City. She wasrarely seen in the public, as she preferred to keep to her palace (both in legend and in the game), which bolsterehis suspicions. Her palace is massive, sprawling and with a tall central structure, and of course is surrounded by



guards and walls. Inside are only handmaidens. Her alleged shamanistic abilities are also seen in her commandof the crystal ball. The branch she holds is of sakaki, a sacred plant used in Shinto rituals. As for the holy burningpyre on her head… the art book merely says they wanted “something a little extra”.

After Himiko dies, four massive stones are erected behind the palace as a memorial. The real Himiko wasalso given a massive burial mound. In fact, the Chinese records say that she was so loved, over one hundredattendants, both male and female, killed themselves. Perhaps in grief, perhaps to attend her in death, I’m notsure.

Aside: The throne went to a king after her death, which drove people to the murder and assassination of hundreds until it was given to another female. This could make a

really interesting post-game fanfic…

Sources: Wikipedia (there’s tons more information there, actually)

Heritage of Japan (lots of other into here too, plus models of an ancient building style we see in Princess Fuse’shouse. Himiko’s palace was originally modeled in this style, but they updated the design to a grander Heian styleof architecture.)

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, himiko, queen himiko, CONSTANT VIGILANCE

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himiko

http://heritageofjapan.wordpress.com/yayoi-era-yields-up-rice/the-advent-of-agriculture-and-the-rice-revolution/who-was-queen-himiko/

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/mediawiki/apis.ign.com/okami/9/9f/Okami_05_124.jpg




http://heritageofjapan.wordpress.com/yayoi-era-yields-up-rice/the-advent-of-agriculture-and-the-rice-revolution/who-was-queen-himiko/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himiko



While I’m typing up this next article, I made a Samickle RP blog recently and need some more people to interactwith. Would anyone mind suggesting some good RP blogs to follow?

Tagged with: I don't like advertising but I need help here XP, thank you in advance

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Tagged with: madamepirate, ask, reply

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Tagged with: ask, otherwise I agree with this, it's still headcanon so don't take my word for it though

Well, this blog now has as many followers as my main blog… know that you will never be alone as an Okami fanon Tumblr, as there are over 220 members in our ranks!

Tagged with: YEAH, okay I'm logging off for a while I need to recharge, but man I love running this blog

Yami

[ Posted Sun, 19 Aug 2012 14:00:18 ]

celestialbrush:

okamimythology:

http://falconofthenorth.tumblr.com/


http://celestialbrush.tumblr.com/post/29778500289/yami

http://okamimythology.tumblr.com/post/29770641487/yami

http://okamimythology.tumblr.com/post/29770641487/yami

http://celestialbrush.tumblr.com/post/29778500289/yami


http://falconofthenorth.tumblr.com/



The most I know about its background is that its original name was Empty Death, which the designer loved but Iguess was changed to fit more with the mood of the game or something. Tokoyami no Sumeragi (lit. Emperor ofEternal Darkness) does work much better in this sense, but at the same time, meeting your doom at the hand ofEmpty Death sounds horribly tragic.

However, Yami's design still revolves around this idea of emptiness. The circular shape represents the number 0I suppose the fetal shape within could represent an emptiness of soul, locked within a mindless machine createdsolely for destruction. Any design analysis beyond that is purely speculation.

I think the art book had more infoâ€”since I can't find mine, if someone else is willing to look this up and send meany other information, I would really appreciate it.

Hey, I'm going to reply here because this will be too heavy to send it to your askbox and I think you can't leavelinks/HTML. I adore your blog, by the way!



About Yami, people already told you what the artbook says. I was searching all afternoon for more stuff. Whenlooking for the Pearl Archives the designer used, the Okami wikia mentioned it was the Pearl Hermitage Archiveof Daitokuji in Kyoto. I'll go back to this later.

The kanji for ...empty death“ in the Japanese artbook is ç©ºäº¡. I can't speak Japanese so I had no idea how toromanize it, so I googled a bunch of stuff until I got a better idea. I got stuff about divination. I added the kanji foryoukai, then I got to this page in the Pixiv glossary and this other in a blog (even in comments). I'm not sure what

they say because we know how online translators are. However, it seems the illustration the designer was talkingabout could be this one.

Now with the name of the illustration in these websites, I could filter it better.

● The images are in真珠庵, Shinju-an, a subtemple of Daitoku-ji in Kyoto. Shinju-an translates to ...pearl

hermitage“ indeed.● It's from the Muromachi period (14th-16th century)

● The image scrolls are 百鬼夜行 and it's the famous Hyakkiyagyou from said temple. The ...Night Paradeof One Hundred Demons“ is a popular concept of Japanese folklore and art. This must be the earliestversion of it.

So in conclusion, I still couldn't find anything about the ancient demon-eating ...Empty Death“ demon that inspireYami. However, now we know from where the designer got the inspiration for most of the monsters, from the gooold imps to the Lord of Darkness himself.

Well, there you have it. The “Demon Parade” scroll is probably the basis for the in-game Bestiary, too, and someof the other paintings.

http://dic.pixiv.net/a/%E7%A9%BA%E4%BA%A1%28%E3%81%9D%E3%82%89%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8D%29

http://youkaitama.seesaa.net/article/150770994.html

http://www.mujina.info/youkaiga/hyakkiyagouemaki/dentosamitunobu/sinjuanbon.jpg

http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Shinju-an

http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Daitoku-ji

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyakki_Yagy%C5%8D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyakki_Yagy%C5%8D

http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Daitoku-ji

http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Shinju-an

http://www.mujina.info/youkaiga/hyakkiyagouemaki/dentosamitunobu/sinjuanbon.jpg

http://youkaitama.seesaa.net/article/150770994.html

http://dic.pixiv.net/a/%E7%A9%BA%E4%BA%A1%28%E3%81%9D%E3%82%89%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8D%29



Tagged with: okami, yami, tokoyami no sumeragi

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Tagged with: ask, reply, this blog is getting deep guys

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Tagged with: thecatisalie, okami, ask, reply

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Tagged with: thecatisalie, okami, moon tribe

Yami

[ Posted Sun, 19 Aug 2012 11:40:00 ]





The most I know about its background is that its original name was Empty Death, which the designer loved but Iguess was changed to fit more with the mood of the game or something. Tokoyami no Sumeragi (lit. Emperor ofEternal Darkness) does work much better in this sense, but at the same time, meeting your doom at the hand ofEmpty Death sounds horribly tragic.

However, Yami’s design still revolves around this idea of emptiness. The circular shape represents the number 0I suppose the fetal shape within could represent an emptiness of soul, locked within a mindless machine createdsolely for destruction. Any design analysis beyond that is purely speculation.

I think the art book had more info—since I can’t find mine, if someone else is willing to look this up and send meany other information, I would really appreciate it.



EDIT: I think Yami was actually based on Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the god of evil and of the stars, whom wasmentioned only in passing in the ancient Japanese text Nihon Shoki. Very little is known about this god—he is asshrouded in mystery as Yami itself. (Thanks to Jashu for reminding me!)

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, yami, tokoyami no sumeragi

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Tagged with: toasterfaic, ask, reply

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Wep'keer

[ Posted Sat, 18 Aug 2012 22:57:00 ]





(More Chuggaconroy LP screenshots!)

Wep’keer is a stylization of uepeker . This was the village’s name in Japanese, but uepeker is also an Ainu word:it refers to a conversational form of storytelling, one of several styles of traditional Ainu storytelling, another beingoina, epic poems.

The Ainu culture has a rich tradition of storytelling. If you’re interested in learning more, check out ProjectUepeker . (In fact, the posts on the main page right now relate to stories of the owl god, referencing the sameelements on which Lechku and Nechku were based.)

As for the totem poles in the image, the Ainu do have totem poles, which seem to be in clusters much of the time

and are frequently topped with birds, especially owls, or bears.

http://projectuepeker.blogspot.com/






Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, wep'keer, uepeker, oina tribe, ainu

Ainu Mukkuri (by michirustar84)

A traditional Ainu instrument made of split bamboo, featured in Issun’s Theme.

Keep listening, it gets really cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QtCQiS_0aY&feature=share

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QtCQiS_0aY&feature=share



[ Posted Sat, 18 Aug 2012 21:49:00 ]

Tagged with: okami, issun, ainu, music, mukkuri

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Kokeshi Dolls

[ Posted Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:18:00 ]

((I got a request to make this rebloggable, so here it is!))

Ah yes, the dolls…







The same doll after using Power Slash…

(Sorry for the poor quality, the only way I could get an image of them was to take a screenshot ofChuggaaconroy’s LP. Which is hilarious, if you haven’t watched it.)

I can tell you that these dolls are based on kokeshi dolls, a traditional wooden doll, with many variations foundthroughout Japan. But the exact purpose of kokeshi dolls is unclear. In some places, they were thought to bringgood harvest or the favor of the gods, and generally they were expressions of local culture and artistry. Today,their purpose is mostly aesthetic.



Honestly, the most convincing conjecture I’ve heard so far is that the dolls’ behavior are a reference to another

Capcom game, Genma Onimusha, which contains a killer demon doll which is apparently also freaking scary.Okami also has several references to one of Clover’s other games, Viewtiful Joe. I don’t know what otherreferences there are, but I suppose this explanation has some potential.



Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, kokeshi dolls

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Tagged with: haveaninfluence, okami, okamimythology, kokeshi dolls, ask, reply

Archives!

[ Posted Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:07:00 ]

I’ve added an archive link to the top of the main blog page so you can navigate posts more easily and search forspecific characters/places/etc. Enjoy!


Sugawara





[ Posted Thu, 16 Aug 2012 13:31:00 ]

Sugawara no Michizane is one of the most popular Heian figures in Japan, but not just because of his excellentChinese-style poetry. He was also a beloved politician and Confucian scholar, powerful and beloved by almosteveryone in the court. Almost. There were those who were jealous of his success, and managed to get him exiled(Technically, he was reassigned as a governor in Kyushu, but to be given a post so far away from the capital

as to be worthless was considered as bad as exile at the time.) There Michizane died, and over the next fewyears, the capital Kyoto, then known as Heiankyou, was beset by numerous natural disasters. Draughts, floods,earthquakes, and fires—the most fearsome disaster in ancient Japan—destroyed much of the city, and the peopcame to believe that these were the acts of Sugawara’s angry spirit. In order to calm his spirit, they enshrinedhim as Tenjin-sama, the Supreme Heavenly God (Sometimes he is also called the God of Fire and Lightning.),and began to pray to him. Legends soon arose that Tenjin could bestow incredible gifts and miracles, and hisworship became very popular. Today, shrines dedicated to Tenjin are the fourth most numerous in Japan. Everyyear people flood the shrines with prayers for success, including thousands of students praying to get into topuniversities.





This story, while changed significantly, definitely remains in spirit in Okamiden, where Sugawara tries to work forthe good of Sei-an City but dies of illness from the stress of political infighting. It is Akuro’s doing that Sugawara’sspirit becomes a vengeful ghost, but the disasters he wreaks (or tries to) hark right to the legend. His spirit isfinally calmed when Akuro is purged, and sealed once Kurow and the Lady Scholar fix his shrine. The fact thatSugawara is enshrined at all can be attributed to his identity as Tenjin.



I have nothing to say for his design, except that his hat is called a kanmuri and was only worn by nobility on formoccasions in Heian Japan. His mask as King Fury seems to be derived from Waka’s helmet, and the designson his clothes have no apparent basis in Japanese design, though the general cut and layering of the robes istraditional. His instrument is called a biwaand it must be made with magical moon technology in order for the heato come off and become a sword without breaking the strings every time.

Sources: Sugawara no Michizane and the Early Heian Court

Here is a summary of a famous tragic play about the exile of Sugawara no Michizane, Sugawara Denju TenaraiKagami.

Tagged with: okami, okamiden, okamimythology, sugawara, king fury, moon tribe

http://books.google.com/books?id=H0TAO98c9acC&printsec=frontcover&dq=sugawara+no+michizane&source=bl&ots=B7UpWcfWHi&sig=UzmDO1GXuC5t1VATro6l0Z3gkl4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dk8tULmPN8b4yAHStoHgDA&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=sugawara%20no%20michizane&f=false

http://etext.virginia.edu/japanese/kabuki/sugawara/kennelly-sugawara.html




http://books.google.com/books?id=H0TAO98c9acC&printsec=frontcover&dq=sugawara+no+michizane&source=bl&ots=B7UpWcfWHi&sig=UzmDO1GXuC5t1VATro6l0Z3gkl4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dk8tULmPN8b4yAHStoHgDA&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=sugawara%20no%20michizane&f=false



Yatsu

[ Posted Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:00:35 ]

Yatsu, Princess Fuse’s husband, is based on Yatsufusa, the dog who married Fusehime in Nansô SatomiHakkenden(outlined here). Rather than being a dog, Yatsu simply has hair similar to dog ears. Similar to thenovel, he is, however, dead.


http://okamimythology.tumblr.com/post/29429920856/princess-fuse-and-the-canine-warriors

http://okamimythology.tumblr.com/post/29429920856/princess-fuse-and-the-canine-warriors




Yatsu wears traditional Shinto priest garb—and then some. (This is Okami, after all.) In place of the usual tall,stiff ceremonial had, he wears a windmill with a similar overall shape. In true Okami fashion, it shows that he isthe priest of the Gale Shrine, and the swirls on his robe represent the Divine Wind that blows down Kusa Village.The shide, the zig-zag paper strips, hanging from his headdress mostly emphasize the fact that the windmill is asacred place.

His belt, with multiple strands and the paper strip tied underneath, is based on mizuhiki, a Japanese style of

decorative knot-tying.

Mizuhiki are made of tightly wound paper and often accompany cards. These cards have paper strips withinscriptions on top of them, which we see in Yatsu’s belt.



The wand Yatsu holds is called a haraigushi. It consists of numerous shide, which are typically used to markboundaries (as in shimenawa), but as a wand they are used to sweep away evil spirits. Some believe the jaggedstrips snag on the spirits to remove them, and some believe it is their resemblance to purifying lightning. Theshide also make a pleasant rustling sound when they move. They are used in many purifying rituals, such as atNew Year’s to bless offerings, or to cleanse new cars of spirits which might cause accidents or other misfortunesThis is still a popular practice in Japan.



You can see the similarities in Yatsu’s design to traditional Shinto priest garb. In his concept art, Yatsu originallywore a white robe with designs in red, as most priests wear white as a sign of purity.



Sources:

Japan Arts and Crafts

Nihonbunka

Jeanne Beck

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, yatsu, yatsufusa, I do wish they had kept the long hair...

http://japanartsandcrafts.com/mizuhiki.html

http://www.nihonbunka.com/shinto/shime.htm

http://jeannebeck.deviantart.com/art/Mizuhiki-Cards-203869346

http://jeannebeck.deviantart.com/art/Mizuhiki-Cards-203869346

http://www.nihonbunka.com/shinto/shime.htm

http://japanartsandcrafts.com/mizuhiki.html



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Princess Fuse and the Canine Warriors

[ Posted Tue, 14 Aug 2012 13:59:00 ]

Princess Fuse, or Fusehime, comes not from mythology but from an epic novel written by Kyokutei Bakin from1814-1842, which he wrote to compete with the great Chinese novel Water Margin. The title, Nansô Satomi





Hakkenden, translates to “Legend of the Eight Dog Heroes of the Satomi Clan of Nansô”. Its length (106volumes), elegant style, broad scope, and the fact that Bakin went blind before its completion (he finished with thhelp of his daughter-in-law) has made it one of the most popular stories in Japan ever since.

The story comes from eight obscure heroes from 15th-century Japan who helped the Satomi clan reclaim the AwProvince, now Chiba. In the novel, each of these heroes has the kanji for dog somewhere in his name. The Okamart book shows concept art for each of the Canine Warriors as humans, with dog ears of course.

I want to deliver the story behind the beads with the rest of the story of Fusehime, which I obviously won’t beable to cover in its entirety, but I’ll gloss over the important parts, because it’s pretty powerful—albeit bloody.It starts with Fusehima’s father finally becoming the ruler of Awa Province, and killing the former ruler’s wifeafter promising to spare her. But before her execution, she curses the Satomi family to become “dogs of worldlydesire”. (In other words, bound to human nature and selfishness, in a sense, and unable to reach the BuddhistPure Land.) A few years later, a male dog appears on his doorstep, and adopts him. He names him Yatsufusa,“Eight Spots”. They don’t know it for a while, but it turns out that this dog is possessed by the soul of the murderewoman, Tamazusa. Later, when the Satomi clan is at war, Fusehime’s father promises Fusehime’s hand inmarriage if Yatsufusa can bring back the head of the enemy general. Yatsufusa does just this, and to the awe ofFusehime’s father, insists on marrying Fusehime. Her father doesn’t want to, but Fusehime tells him that a ruler



should keep his word, and Fusehime is married.

She leaves with Yatsufusa to his mountain home, where she has a vision of eight dog warriors, who are to beher children. Having worked so hard toward Buddhist ideals and chastity, Fusehime cannot stomach the idea ofhaving children, but she is magically impregnated nonetheless. This, paired with spending so long alone in the

mountains, causes Fusehime to decide to commit suicide to end her suffering and reach the Pure Land. Sheplans, with consent, to take Yatsufusa with her, in order to free him from Tamazusa.

Fusehime’s father wants to marry her to his retainer Kanamari, but Fusehime doesn’t want this either. As ithappens, Kanamari discovers Fusehime as they prepare to enter the river to die. He shoots Yatsufusa—butone bullet hits Fusehime as well. Before Kanamari can commit ritual suicide to atone for his horrible, thoughaccidental, act, Fusehime’s father appears, sent by her mother who had a vision of her death. He gives Fusehima string of crystal beads. The beads reveal the eight Confucian Virtues etched within them. He prays to their deityand Fusehime is miraculously brought back to life.

She is utterly dismayed to realize that she is no longer dead, but then notes that the souls of pregnant womensuffer a horrible afterlife. And still not able to grasp the idea of being pregnant, she slices open her womb.

Mist pours out and carries her string of beads into the air, where it breaks. Only the eight largest, etched withthe Confucian Virtues, remain, circling and glowing like comets. A gust of wind roared down the mountain andswept them all away. Where they landed, they eventually became the eight warriors who would meet and save thSatomi clan.



Utterly relieved that she was not truly pregnant, she died again, this time in peace.

And thus we have the large beads that circle around Princess Fuse, and the colored beads of power, eachmarked with a different Confucian Virtue, with each of the Canine Warriors. The dogs are all named after theirrespective virtues. Their filial relationship to Fuse is probably reflected in just how much she cares for them.

At one point in the novel, Fusehime saves a boy from a thunderbolt because she’s awesome.

Finally, some notes on design: one of the main warriors from the story, Shino, disguises himself as a female for awhile. Thus the original human design for Ko (the collie), who is based on Shino, is very effeminate. Unfortunatel

I don’t know anything about the other seven warriors. I do know that each of the warriors had a peony-shapedbirthmark on their navel, which may be reflected in the flower on Hayabusa’s haunch, though it’s not a peony.

As for the design of Fuse herself, the oval emblem on her sleeves is based on è¦‹ mi, which is the last kanji inSatomi. The ears… are pretty obvious.

Source: Early Modern Japanese Literature

http://books.google.com/books?id=SN72QCVBpVAC&pg=PA487&lpg=PA487&dq=fusehime&source=bl&ots=c_dqO7WeAG&sig=tpGw7oUKkogkCDtpxzhZJvWPN8k&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JacqUOfdK8qWyAHVioCQCw&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=bead&f=false

http://books.google.com/books?id=SN72QCVBpVAC&pg=PA487&lpg=PA487&dq=fusehime&source=bl&ots=c_dqO7WeAG&sig=tpGw7oUKkogkCDtpxzhZJvWPN8k&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JacqUOfdK8qWyAHVioCQCw&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=bead&f=false



Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, princess fuse, fuse, fusehime, canine warriors, satomi clan, satomi

Japanese Tales

[ Posted Mon, 13 Aug 2012 22:28:25 ]





If any of you are interested in Japanese folklore in general, I highly recommend Royall Tyler’s Japanese Tales. Ita vast collection of stories from many times and many places around Japan. It’s not about the major mythology,such as the legends of Orochi or Amaterasu, but it includes some original tales of other familiar characters suchas Sugawara no Michizane, Kaguya-hime, Urashima, and various demons. The variety is huge, from cool storiesof dragons and foxes to those too bizarre and ridiculous for me to mention. But it’s a rather intimate view intoJapanese myths and storytelling culture, and a great casual read.

Tagged with: japanese folklore, japanese tales, royall tyler

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Nagi and Nami, cont.

[ Posted Sun, 12 Aug 2012 14:36:00 ]

A special contribution from N. on Okami World! (It’s a great forum, guys!)

Concerning the artistic design of Nagi, note that he wears a magatama bead strung around his neck and hissword, which we of course know is named for the moon god born from his eye [Tsukuyomi], bears a crossguardwhich resembles various cloud and crescent kamon [emblems]:

http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Tales-Pantheon-folklore-library/dp/0375714510


http://okamiworld.com/index.php

http://okamiworld.com/index.php


http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Tales-Pantheon-folklore-library/dp/0375714510



Hantsuki (half moon)

Tsukini Kasumi (moon haze)

Aoki Hujino Yama (forested - literally “green tree”, after the forest at the base of - Mount Fuji)

See Tozando’s kamon index. Compare with Nagi here.

And Nami’s design, she wears a sake barrel decorated with shide and pierced with a ritual demon breaking arrow

hamaya (破魔矢), which of course parallels the marking of her house following her selection as the sacrificial

maiden to Orochi.

http://www.tozandoshop.com/v/vspfiles/kamon/index.html

http://images.wikia.com/okami/images/6/67/Nagi.jpeg

http://images.wikia.com/okami/images/6/67/Nagi.jpeg

http://www.tozandoshop.com/v/vspfiles/kamon/index.html



(Compare with Nami here.)

I’ll add to it further by noting that the omamori (protective tag) tied to Nami’s hamaya has Orochi’s symbol writtenon it, in place of the name of a god or temple… that’s a little creepy.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, nami, nagi, guest

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Tagged with: fruityprophet, ask, reply, tsuta ruins, okami

Dogu

http://images.wikia.com/okami/images/4/45/150px-Nami.jpg

http://images.wikia.com/okami/images/4/45/150px-Nami.jpg



[ Posted Fri, 10 Aug 2012 17:04:00 ]

Remember these weird clay aliens who are such a pain to fight? Yeah, I don’t want to either.

But the actual history of the dogu is really quite fascinating. Dating from the Jomon period (10,000 B.C.E. to 300B.C.E), when Japan was populated by numerous hunter-gatherer cultures, but mostly found during the middle anlate eras, there are many conjectures for the purpose of these ornate dolls.





Most agree that they were charms for health or good childbirth. Many of them have been found in pieces on trashpiles, meaning they might have been broken either after a wish was fulfilled or if it failed to be. They could alsohave been representations of goddesses prayed to for food or health. And among other possible explanations, ofcourse, there are those who believe they are sculptures of aliens, probably inspiring the way Okami’s dogu beamdown from space. Meanwhile, their age alone was clearly inspiration for the gigantic dogu statues in Tsuta Ruinsand also why they only appear as enemies in the past.

（坏掉了）

There is a wide variety of dogu types and they have been found all over Japan. This is the main reason a singulapurpose for dogu has been impossible to determine. This element of mystery is clear in Okami as well. The onlydefinite thing was that their production ceased with the arrival of the Yayoi people to Japan, who eclipsed theJomon culture. The scattered ruins in Okami hint at a similar—but perhaps less bloody—past. Of all the dogutypes, though, the “goggles type” dogu, seen above, is certainly the most iconic.



More kinds of dogu. The second one on the left should look familiar.

Sources:

E-yakimono

Metropolis

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, dogu, jomon

The Spider Queen

[ Posted Thu, 09 Aug 2012 17:25:34 ]

http://www.e-yakimono.net/html/jomon-dogu.html

http://metropolis.co.jp/arts/art-reviews/the-power-of-dogu/



http://metropolis.co.jp/arts/art-reviews/the-power-of-dogu/

http://www.e-yakimono.net/html/jomon-dogu.html



In Japanese, her name is Jorôgumo—literally “prostitute spider”. In mythology, a spider is said to gain magical

powers, including the ability to turn into a beautiful woman, when it has lived for 400 years. Jorôgumo usually usethis human form to trick unsuspecting human prey. There are also a few stories of benevolent jorôgumo, includinone worshiped in Kashikobuchi as a goddess who protects people from drowning. The most popular jorôgumostory, with many variations, involves a spider who inhabits a waterfall trying to ensnare a logger, who then putsthe spider threads on a tree stump instead and escapes a watery grave. This waterfall story may be the inspiratiofor all the waterfalls in Tsuta Ruins. Another story from the Edo period told of a beautiful woman who lured meninto a quiet shack and played the biwa, a Japanese lute for them, bound them while they were distracted, and atethem. This could be the inspiration for the biwa-driven music surrounding the Spider Queen’s lair.



In human form, a jorôgumo may still have many arms. The Spider Queen is obviously a similar blend of humanand arachnid features. Curiously, she also has undead features—blue skin, based on the Japanese idea of“being blue” when you are sick or moribund, and a white robe, which is how the dead and dying are dressed for afuneral. I don’t know if there is a specific inspiration for this aspect of her design.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, spider queen, the spider queen, jorogumo

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Camille and Camellia’s ancestors, Peony and Peoni, did just this.

D’you live around here, wolf? We decided we wanted to plant a Guardian Tree in Nippon. So we set off on a tripwith the seedlings of this Konohana tree. The Konohana tree’s revered as a sacred guardian where we’re from.Wherever it grows, happiness grows with it. And we heard Nippon was a place of sadness, so… I’ll be so happyif our Konohana tree helps even a bit. And the air in this village is so clean and pure. I’m sure it’ll grow into abeautiful, big tree.

I’m not sure of the specific symbolism of Peony/Peoni’s name, but peonies are popular in Asian art, and “whitepeony” is one of the most famous Chinese teas. But even though they planted peach trees rather than camelliasCamille and Camellia’s names are obvious throwbacks to the Happyaku Bikuni legend.

Sources:

Happyaku Bikuni

Okami script

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, camille and camellia, peony and peoni

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Rao

[ Posted Tue, 07 Aug 2012 11:11:00 ]

http://katnsatoshiinjapan.blogspot.ca/2010/03/happyaku-bikuni.html

http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps2/920500-okami/faqs/50772



http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps2/920500-okami/faqs/50772

http://katnsatoshiinjapan.blogspot.ca/2010/03/happyaku-bikuni.html



I’ve been looking forward to writing this because Rao has some very interesting ideas behind her. One of myfavorite bits of trivia concerns her name—it’s the kind of thing that completely alters the player’s perceptionand expectations of her character depending on which version of the game they play. In Japanese, her nameis Tsudzurao. In the non-Japanese language games, her name is shortened to Rao, which is awfully pretty butcompletely meaningless. Because Tsudzurao is, in fact, the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word for “nintails”, referring to her true identity as a nine-tailed fox.

This means as soon as they meet her, that anyone who knows this will also know that Rao is actually an imposto



Thing is, I don’t know how well-known this word is, so I can’t say whether most people who play the game willrealize this or if most Japanese players are as unassuming as the rest of us. It could just be a given since kitsuneare quintessential to Japanese mythology and Okami is… well, born of Japanese mythology. But the fact remain

Moving on, Rao’s apparent mental maturity and extreme youthful beauty were inspired by the story HappyakuBikuni (“Eight Hundred [Years] Nun”]. There are several different versions, but the basic story about a girl whoaccidentally eats the flesh of a mermaid and becomes immortal because of it. After everyone she knows hasdied, she decides to become a Buddhist nun and travels around Japan, bringing happiness with her. After eighthundred years, however, she wearies and returns to her hometown, and enters a cave to die.



Most mermaids weren’t especially pretty (although some certainly were).

Remember how Rao died was killed in a cave? Yeah.

And finally, Rao’s prayer slips are based on traditional osame-fuda, paper slips used as offerings at temples andsometimes pasted onto buildings to ward off evil spirits.



Just a notice that I’m going on a trip for a week (Olympic Peninsula and BC coast!), so it will get pretty slow onhere. But I’m bringing my laptop, so I’ll try to update every once in a while.~

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Ankoku Temple

[ Posted Thu, 02 Aug 2012 21:04:00 ]





Ankoku Temple, where Rao probably practiced Buddhist rites, sits high on a hill on the southern Ryoshima CoasIt’s very small and unassuming as far as Japanese temples go. So is the real one. (Or ones?)

I’m not sure which Ankoku Temple this one is supposed to be based off of. There’s one in Hiroshima Prefecture,which is the one on Wikipedia, but my guess is the one in Hida Prefecture, known for being Hida’s only nationaltreasure and also for its octagonal revolving bookshelf. I believe it has a large scriptorium, but I’m having troubleverifying this. It could be the inspiration for the huge scriptorium where Rao works in Sei-an City, however. Both o

these Ankoku Temples seem to have a decent amount of stairs, too.

One of the most significant differences is in the characters used to spell the temples’ names. The real-life Ankoku

is written as 安国寺, meaning “Peaceful Country Temple”. But ankoku can also mean “darkness”, and I believe



this is what Okami uses in Japanese—暗黒寺, literally “Dark Black Temple”, poetically “Temple of Darkness”.

Creepy.

Sources:

the Flickr photo

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, ankoku temple, rao, ankokuji

Oki

[ Posted Wed, 01 Aug 2012 21:54:00 ]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/abee_t/3258210472/



http://www.flickr.com/photos/abee_t/3258210472/



Oki is based on the Ainu hero Okikurumi. He is credited with teaching the Ainu, the native people of Hokkaido,the northern island of Japan, with the arts of hunting and fishing. He is the main hero of many oina, epic poems,and thus was also known as Oinakamui (god of oina). Furthermore, he is the son of the goddess of elm trees,which were commonly used by the Ainu for fire, and so Okikurumi is associated with fire as well. This is probablyreflected in Oki’s hot temperament and fiery personality (and hair). And when he became an adult, his mothergave him a sword—which, when he took it, burst into flame and destroyed the dark beings around it. The swordwas called kutoneshirika. (The only further information I’ve found is in Japanese I can’t quite read.)

As it happens, it seems that Yoshitsune (Ushiwaka) and Benkei went to Hokkaido, and they taught the Ainu howto hunt, fish, and do other useful things. Yoshitsune was called Okikurumi, and Benkei was called Samai un guruwhich literally means “Japanese person”. Samickle’s Japanese name is Samaikuru. Coincidence? I think not.

Okikurumi faces a wind spirit.



Anyway, maybe this is a reason behind the constant Oki-Waka dilemma!

Sources:

Kunnesiri

Sacred-texts

Bonus picture: cool Ainu robe

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, oki, okikurumi, waka, ushiwaka, So when you ship Oki and Waka you'reactually shipping one person with himself., Just keep that in mind kids.

Seven Strike

[ Posted Mon, 30 Jul 2012 11:49:00 ]

http://kunnesiri.narod.ru/okikurumi.htm

http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/safl/safl04.htm

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WM4byGW2b6M/T2825vOObhI/AAAAAAAAASM/cifJVeJmoZQ/s1600/IMG_4537.JPG



http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WM4byGW2b6M/T2825vOObhI/AAAAAAAAASM/cifJVeJmoZQ/s1600/IMG_4537.JPG

http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/safl/safl04.htm

http://kunnesiri.narod.ru/okikurumi.htm



Ninetails’ sword is also based on this, but with an extra two prongs to reflect its nine tails.

Sources:

Wikipedia and this

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, seven strike, glaives, swords, seven branched sword, I think this is myfavorite weapon btw, ninetails

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Tagged with: no but really these things make my day, so thanks a ton, anonymous, ask, reply

Amaterasu: An Addendum

[ Posted Sun, 29 Jul 2012 19:45:53 ]

Something I forgot to mention in my last post: the significance of the mirror. It is important to note that just as Amaterasu in legend was drawn from the cave by the mirror when she saw her face in it, Amaterasu in Ôkamiwas returned to life by the mirror created by Sakuya. In both stories, the mirror plays a major part in bringing

Amaterasu back into the world, saving it and all its inhabitants from darkness and certain death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven-Branched_Sword

http://www.wontackhong.com/homepage4/data/450814.pdf



http://www.wontackhong.com/homepage4/data/450814.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven-Branched_Sword



Amaterasu

[ Posted Sun, 29 Jul 2012 17:53:00 ]

In case you don’t already know the legend of Amaterasu, this is a good time to learn it, because it is key tounderstanding both Okami and a large portion of Shintô mythology. (Shintô, “The Way of the Gods”, is the native

animistic religion of Japan.) Everyone and their mother knows this story in Japan, so it’s good to have context.

I mentioned in the legend of Izanagi and Izanami that she was born from Izanagi’s left eye, while her brotherTsukuyomi, god of the moon, was born from his right, and the storm god Susano-o was born from his nose. (Theonly significance Tsukuyomi has in Okami is in Izanagi’s moon-crested sword of the same name, which slewOrochi under the moonlight.) After Amaterasu was born, Izanagi gave her a necklace of jewels and put her in

charge of Takamagahara (高天原), the Plain of High Heaven.





The storm god Susanoo was sent to rule the sea plain. Before going, Susanoo went to take leave of his sister. Asan act of good faith, they produced children together, she by chewing and spitting out pieces of the sword he gavher, and he by doing the same with her jewels. Susanoo then began to behave very rudelyâ€”he broke down thedivisions in the rice fields, defiled his sister's dwelling place, and finally threw a flayed horse into her weaving halIndignant, Amaterasu withdrew in protest into a cave, and darkness fell upon the world.

The other 800 myriads of gods conferred on how to lure the sun goddess out. They collected cocks, whose

crowing precedes the dawn, and hung a mirror and jewels on a sakaki tree in front of the cave. The goddess Amenouzume began a dance on an upturned tub, partially disrobing herself, which so delighted the assembledgods that they roared with laughter. Amaterasu became curious how the gods could make merry while the worldwas plunged into darkness and was told that outside the cave there was a deity more illustrious than she. Shepeeped out, saw her reflection in the mirror, heard the cocks crow, and was thus drawn out from the cave. Thekami then quickly threw a shimenawa, or sacred rope of rice straw, before the entrance to prevent her return tohiding.

Amaterasu’s emergence from behind the boulder is celebrated on the winter solstice, the darkest day of the yearbut also when the days begin to get longer. In Ôkami, this part of the legend is reflected in Amaterasu’s revival

from a statue, which is located in a cave under a tree and surrounded by boulders tied with shimenawa.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/575536/Susanoo

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/238692/good-faith

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/19207/Amenouzume

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/19207/Amenouzume

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/238692/good-faith

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/575536/Susanoo



The mirror referenced is the Yata-no-Kagami, and the jewels are magatama, curved beads which represent thehuman soul. Along with the sacred sword Kusanagi, which Susano-o pulled from the body of Yamata-no-Orochi,these two items are said to be kept in the inner shrine of Ise, which is dedicated to Amaterasu and is the foremosShintô shrine in Japan. The inner shrine is closed to the public, and the priests cannot reveal the regalia to thepublic; due to their mythological origins, there is doubt that these items even exist, and there is no way to provethat they do. Below is an artist’s rendition of the imperial regalia.



And these became the base models for Amaterasu’s weapons: the reflectors, rosaries, and glaives.

Sources:

EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica (quote)

Various books

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, amaterasu

Divine Retribution

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/18575/Amaterasu

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/18575/Amaterasu



[ Posted Sat, 28 Jul 2012 16:50:00 ]





The flames of Divine Retribution are based on the flaming aura of the fierce Buddhist protector deity, Fudo-Myôô



(It might be safe to say that her temperament in battle derives from him as well.)

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, amaterasu, fudo-myoo, seriously she's just two gods in one

Urashima and the Dragonians

[ Posted Sat, 28 Jul 2012 13:15:00 ]





Otohime, sometimes called Toyotama-hime, is the daughter of the sea dragon god Ryûjin, who is also knownas Watatsumi or Wadatsumi. (The latter is King Wada’s name in Japanese.) Ryûjin controlled the tides with two

jewels and lived in a palace of red and white coral under the sea.

He is described as having a very large mouth, hence the design of the Water Dragon. (The Water Dragon is alsobased on an oarfish—thanks to troutoforder for helping me there.) He can also transform into a human.



The beautiful Otohime married Hoori (Fire Fade), the third and youngest son of Konohanasakuya-hime and Ninigno-Mikoto, who was the grandson of Amaterasu. Together Otohime and Hoori birthed a child—Emperor Jimmu,the first emperor of Japan. After giving birth, Otohime turned into a wani (a type of sea dragon or serpent) andflew away.



^Otohime (left) and Hoori (right).

The most well-known tale of Otohime is the tragic legend of Urashima Tarô. In it, Urashima finds some kidsbullying a turtle, and saves it and returns it to the sea. The next day, a giant turtle comes to him and tells him thathe turtle he saved was in fact the the daughter of Ryûjin, who now wants to thank him. Urashima lets the turtlebring him to Ryûjin’s palace, and there are several explanations for how Urashima was able to breath underwateSome say the turtle gave him gills, some say he took a magic pill. In Ôkami, he ate the flesh of a mermaid, whichis said to grant immortality.

When he arrives, he meets Ryûjin and Otohime, who has returned to her form as a beautiful princess. He staysfor a few days, but then grows concerned about his ailing mother. He asks to leave, and Otohime is sad to seehim go, but she gives him a mysterious tatamebako (square box).She tells him that the box will protect him fromharm, but he must never open it.

He returns home only to find that everything has changed. His home is gone, his mother is dead, and nobody isfamiliar. Nobody knows his name. It turns out that 300 years have passed, and out of desperation he opens thebox. Suddenly his skin withers, his back hunches, and he grows a long white beard. Otohime’s voice rings out



from the sea, telling him that the box contained his old age. In some versions, 300 years was too much for hisbody and he simply turns to dust.

The tatamebako (“Treasure Box”) can be found in Ôkami by blooming a dead patch of coral in the Water Dragonroom after he dies. Return it to Urashima and he will become an old man in one of the most touching smallmoments in the game.



Sources:

Various books & websites

Dragon paintings

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, otohime, dragonians, urashima, king wada, I like to think that Otohime'schild is going to grow up to rule Nippon, also this title sounds like a band name

questionanswer

Tagged with: spiralwaves

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Tagged with: noodlemangos

Snarling Beast

[ Posted Thu, 26 Jul 2012 18:05:00 ]

http://dragonsinn.net/art-east.htm



http://dragonsinn.net/art-east.htm



This ornate gold eight-spoked reflector Snarling Beast is almost certainly based on the Dharmacakra, a classicsymbol of Buddhism. The eight spokes represent the Eightfold Path of Buddha’s laws. Which is ironic, considerinthat this is a weapon, albeit a holy one, and more so that it belongs to a Shinto-based goddess. It is not unusual,though, as Buddhism and Shinto have co-existed in Japan for centuries.



^A simplified Dharmacakra. Below are two more traditional/ornate examples:

（坏掉了）

The “beast” ornaments on the center knob resemble shishi , Chinese/Japanese guardian lion-dogs.



Photos:

Dharmacakra 1

Dharmacakra 2

Dharmacakra 3

Shishi

Tagged with: okami, amaterasu, reflector, snarling beast, shishi, dharmacakra, dharmachakra, buddhism

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Tagged with: obnoxiouslyvindictive

The early designs for Waka portrayed him more like his historical counterpart, each with different aspects of hischaracter in focus. (Samurai, trained by tengu, plays flute, has fancy sword, etc.)

[ Posted Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:57:11 ]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dharma_Wheel.svg

http://walkingthesuburbaneightfoldpath.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html

http://roulette404.multiply.com/journal/item/7712

http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/shishi.shtml



http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/shishi.shtml

http://roulette404.multiply.com/journal/item/7712

http://walkingthesuburbaneightfoldpath.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dharma_Wheel.svg



While these characters have absolutely nothing to do with each other in Ôkami, they’re all connected by Ushiwak

(Waka) in a few famous legends. To speak of him without speaking of the others would be like building a housewithout walls.

Minamoto no Yoshitsune, called Ushiwaka in his youth, is one of my favorite characters from Japanese legendbecause of his wonderful character and mystery. He’s also among the more popular figures in Japan. He wastrained as a warrior by tengu on Mount Kurama, wore a coat on his head, played flute very well, and later becama general.



His connection to the tengu, bird-like humanoid creatures, inspired much of his design in Ôkami: the pom-pomson his shirt, the stilts, the bird helmet and wings—although the whole headdress was also based on the design oJapanese action heroes Gatchaman.



（坏掉了）

One of the most popular stories about Ushiwaka is his battle with Benkei. Set on the Gojo Bridge in Kyoto, thebridge is now complete with two statues of the two men fighting. It began at night, with Benkei standing on thebridge and the moon shining over them. He was on a quest to collect 1000 swords, and he already had 999.Then, to his luck, a man comes walking by. His face is obscured by a kimono on his head and he’s playing aflute. As Benkei admires the flute’s sound, he sees a beautiful sword at the man’s belt. He announces his questto the man, and says if he gives Benkei the sword, he won’t hurt him. Ushiwaka removes the kimono, revealing a

beautiful face, and states that Benkei is no better than a thief.

The monk shouts loudly,

"Shut up! If you don’t want to give it to me, I’ll take it from you by force. It’s going to be mine any minute."

The young man who doesn’t appear to be afraid of the monk, says,



"Take it, if you can."

Then the monk raises his halberd over his head to threaten the young man. In most cases, his victims are scaredof him, leave their swords, and run away. But the young man isn’t. He dodges the attack nimbly. The monk’shalberd slices nothing but air. He looks a little bit upset, and tries to do one more attack, but—-he loses sight ofthe young man.

"Where on earth is the boy hiding?"he shouts.

"Here I am, Monk." The voice is from behind.

"None of your impudence!" The monk’s face turns red with anger. He tries again. This time the young man jumpslightly like a bird and stands on the railing of the bridge. When he jumps, he knocks the monk’s halberd downwith his flute. The monk is panicked and tries to pick it up, but before he does, the young man jumps down on the

halberd.

"Now you know you can’t get my sword easily,"the young man says to his opponent.

"You win, I give up. Now I understand you must be famous in this field. Please tell me your name. I ought to havesaid first that I am a warrior monk called Benkei," he accepts his defeat gracefully, "I’ll be your loyal retainer fromnow on."

The young man says,

"My name is Ushiwaka. My father Minamoto-no-Yoshitomo was the head of the Minamoto family, but he waskilled by the Taira family during the Heiji disturbance. Some day I should beat the Taira family completely. So I doneed some loyal retainers. You can be the first of my own."

And thus Benkei became Ushiwaka’s loyal retainer.



And thus Benkei guards the bridge and is looking for swords in Okami! (And probably some of Waka’s attitude.)



Some time after this, he became a general of the Minamoto clan. Also called Heike, they warred with the Taira

(Genji) clan during the Heian period in what is known as the Genpei War. While The Tale of Genji is famous for ilavish descriptions of court life, its less-known cousing The Tale of the Heike is a long, brutal, and tragic story ofthe war between these clans. Yoshitsune, as well as his lover Shizuka Gozen, play a significant role. Here is oneof Yoshitsune’s most famous ploys:

In March 1185, with Noriyori preparing to invade Kyushu, Yoshitsune was authorized to return to the war.Intending to launch an assault on Yashima, he assembled a fleet of ships at Watanabe (Settsu province). Duringthe preparations he argued with Kajiwara Kagetoki, one of his elder bother's closest retainers, about strategy,an incident which may very well have come back to haunt Yoshitsune later. On the stormy night of 22 MarchYoshitsune decided the time was right to sail, and ordered his men to board ship. Observing that the weather wa

extremely bad the sailors refused to put to sea, and did so only after Yoshitsune threatened to kill any man whodisobeyed his orders. Even still, not all of the ships followed Yoshitsune into the night. Unperturbed, Yoshitsunelanded on Shikoku at dawn and set out for Yashima, some thirty miles distant. He learned from a local warrior thadespite the importance of the fort, the Taira's garrison at Yashima was presently reduced owing to an expeditioninto Iyo, a welcome piece of news that prompted him onward.

At the time, Yashima was separated from the mainland by a narrow channel easily fordable by horse when thetide was low. The Taira base was situated on the beach facing the mainland, with their fleet moored within easyreach in the shallows directly in front. Alerted to Yoshitsune's approach by fires set in nearby Takamatsu and



fearing that a much larger force was inbound that Yoshitsune actually had, Taira Munemori ordered an immediatevacuation of the fort and fled to the ships with the emperor Antoku. Yoshitsune led his men into a headlongcharge into the channel and a fight ensued around the ships while a certain Minamoto worthy named GotobyôeSanemoto set the fort on fire. By the time Munemori realized how few men Yoshitsune had, the fort was in flamesThe fighting thus continued in the shallows until the coming of dusk forced a lull, at which point the Taira movedout beyond the reach of the Minamoto's arrows. In a celebrated incident, the Taira, hoping to make their enemywaste arrows, hoisted up a fan on one of their ships and challenged the Minamoto to test their archery skill onit. A certain Nasu Munetaka, a young and diminutive warrior known for his skill with a bow, was summoned and

Yoshitsune ordered him to make a try at the fan. Determined to hit the fan or commit suicide if he failed, Nasurode out into the water and loosed a humming arrow, shattering the fan - much to the delight of Minamoto andTaira alike.

As a matter of fact, Nasu Munetaka is more commonly known as Nasu no Yoichi, who we all know as our favoritearcher/guard/coward/apple guy we first meet at the City Checkpoint.

http://www.samurai-archives.com/munemori.html

http://www.samurai-archives.com/munemori.html



[ Posted Tue, 24 Jul 2012 22:40:38 ]

Trickery, possession, shapeshifting, foxfire: these are all famous traits of the legendary kitsune. In fact, there areso many facets to kitsune that I may not be able to cover them all well in one post. This is also a testament to thepopularity, though. Foxes are one of the most common creatures found in Japanese myths, and shrines to the fogoddess Inari (also the goddess of rice, agriculture, fertility, and success, typically called Ô-Inari-sama or “GreatLady Inari” out of respect) make up more than one third of the shrines in Japan, in both Shintô and Buddhistsettings. (That’s 32,000 shrines, in case you were wondering.) Shrines to Inari are usually indicated by multiplered torii gates, and sometimes fox statues. Here’s one set right against an ultramodern building in Tokyo:





(Visit this blog page for the Google Street View of this shrine and a picture of a lush shrine in Akihabara!)

As for the actual folklore: kitsune, which really just means ‘fox’, are famous for their intelligence and for theirmagical abilities, which increase as they get older. They are known to help people, but they are particularlyfamous for playing tricks and for possessing and shapeshifting into people, particularly women. As tricky as a

http://muza-chan.net/japan/index.php/blog/casual-sightseeing-in-tokyo-inari-shrine

http://muza-chan.net/japan/index.php/blog/casual-sightseeing-in-tokyo-inari-shrine



transformed fox could be, however, there are also several stories in which the foxes were helpful figures or evengreat lovers. In addition, the older and more powerful a fox gets, the more tails it grows—some say a fox onlygrows additional tails after living 100 years. Kitsune have a maximum of nine tails (kyûbi-no-kitsune), and areusually found with an odd number of tails in stories. When one grows its ninth tail, its fur turns white or gold. Thisis likely the basis for our Ninetails’ pale gold coloration in-game. The great power of nine-tailed foxes has ledmany people to worship them as deities. As such, it makes sense that Ninetails would wish to be worshipped as god as well.

One unique aspect of Okami’s Ninetails is that its tails contain souls. In Japanese lore, kitsune have only one souno matter how many tails they have. However, more powerful kitsune are almost always depicted with a sort oforb or pearl, which is said to contain their soul. When not transformed or possessing something, they usually keethese orbs in their mouths or tails (the beads on its tails, perhaps). When they are in a different form, these orbsare depicted floating around the kitsune, sometimes glowing with foxfire (kitsune-bi ). From this we get the TubeFoxes’ foxfire. Kitsune-bi is also sometimes depicted as electricity, perhaps inspiring Ninetails’ association withlightning.

Lastly, I’ll touch on the mask. Kitsune masks are not associated directly with foxes themselves; rather, they werecreated for Japanese noh plays, wherein all the actors wear masks accentuating their characters and forcing theto tell the stories with their bodies. Except for when a kitsune character was present. The kitsune was seen withso much reverence that when akitsune was portrayed in a play, none of the other actors would wear masks.



Ninetails is an arrogant demon/spirit who wants to be a mighty god—it could very well be that Ninetails isn’t anactual nine-tailed fox at all, but an unusually powerful one-tailed fox who has shapeshifted into a more powerful-looking form, and used other forms of magic to accentuate its power. Considering its flair for drama, it is entirelyfitting that Ninetails would extend its ruse by wearing a mask. Since the mask itself is also a symbol of power,though, Ninetails is essentially demanding respect by wearing it.



questionanswer

Tagged with: landofinkandglass

Meoto Iwa

[ Posted Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:25:00 ]

Remember these? These rocks are based off the Wedded Rocks (meoto iwa) by a town near Ise City in Japan.They represent the union of Izanagi and Izanami, with the larger rock being the male and the smaller rock beingfemale.





Of course, the real-life meoto iwa are considerably smaller than those on Ryoshima Coast. The largest one is on

around 9 meters high. The astonishing part is that the rope shimenawa tying them together weighs over a ton, anis replaced several times a year.

The shimenawa on Ryoshima Coast must weigh as much as a train. I wonder how it got there.

Tagged with: okami, ryoshima coast, meoto iwa, wedded rocks, okamimythology

questionanswer

Tagged with: mondwoelfchen

Nagi and Nami

[ Posted Tue, 24 Jul 2012 11:25:00 ]

（图都坏了，摊爪）





Izanagi (He-who-invites) and Izanami (She-who-invites), while certainly not the first gods, were the ones given thtask of creating Japan. Izanagi was given a divine jeweled spear, and standing from a heavenly bridge, he and hyounger sister Izanami stirred the seas, and the drops that fell from the spear (typically a naginata) as he removeit became the first island, Onogoro.

They descended to this island and married. Izanami gave birth to eight children, who became the islands ofJapan. After that, they created thousands of other gods to represent the islands’ mountains, valleys, rivers,waterfalls, and so on. Eventually she gave birth to a fire god, Kagutsuchi—but the god’s flames were so intensethat they burned Izanami. As she died she created yet more deities, and even more were born from Izanagi’sgrieving tears. Finally she died and went to Yomi, the underworld.

Izanagi soon followed her to Yomi, and they met in the shadows of the entrance. Izanami told him that she wouldarrange for her release, and forbade him to look at her. Of course, he lit a torch and saw her—a rotting corpse.Izanagi fled in horror. Izanami, angered by her husband’s betrayal, sent and army of gods and warriors to chasehim, until he blocked off the pass with a giant boulder. There, Izanami met him once again and they broke theirmarriage.

Izanagi then purified himself from contact with the dead with a bath. As he bathed, the sun goddess Amaterasuwas born from his left eye, the moon god Tsukuyomi was born from his right, and Susano-o was born from hisnose. Izanagi left proudly with these three gods, who would soon come to reign over this beautiful new terrestrialrealm.



The only connections Nagi and Nami seem to have to their mythological counterparts are their names (Izanagiand Izanami, originally) and their role in establishing the story. Otherwise, they’re just like Susano and Kushi.

Sources: MythEncyclopedia

http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Iz-Le/Izanagi-and-Izanami.html#b

http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Iz-Le/Izanagi-and-Izanami.html#b



Kojiki

Tagged with: okami, izanagi, izanami, okamimythology, nagi, nami

http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/index.htm

http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/index.htm



Yamata-no-Orochi

[ Posted Mon, 23 Jul 2012 22:55:00 ]

Known simply as Orochi in the English version of Ôkami, this legendary 8-headed monster is commonlyreferenced in Japanese pop culture.

Yamata-no-Orochi is also said to have eight tails, and stretches across eight hills and eight valleys. Thismountainous size was the inspiration for the mountain on Orochi’s back in the game, complete with a temple anda bronze bell.





In legend, the uncontrollable temper of Susano-o, the storm god, got him in trouble with his sister, Amaterasu,goddess of the sun and ruler of all the gods of Heaven and Earth. (In short, he threw a pony at one of her maidsand trashed their house and fields, and she sent him into exile while she ran away to hide from her disgrace.)

When Susano is in exile from the heavens, he finds a couple and their daughter crying by the river. They explaintheir sadness to him - that every year, the Orochi comes to devour one of their daughters. This year, they mustgive up their eigth and final daughter, Kusinada. [In the ancient book Kojiki , these people are in fact gods of the

Earth.]

To save her, Susano proposes marriage to Kusinada. When she accepts, he transforms her into a comb which hcan then carry in his hair. Kusinada’s parents must brew sake, he explains, and refine it eight times. They mustalso build an enclosure with eight gates, each of which includes a vat of sake.

When the Orochi arrives, he is lured in towards the sake, and dips each of his heads into one of the vats. Thedrunken beast is now weakened and disoriented, allowing Susano to quickly slay it.

As Susano cuts the monster into pieces, he uncovers a great sword that had grown inside the Orochi. This bladethe Kusanagi , is presented to Amaterasu as a gift to reconcile their dispute.

The blade Kusanagi (“ grass-cutter” ), of course, appears in-game as the jade glaive of the same name.

http://www.ancient-mythology.com/japanese/susano.php

http://www.ancient-mythology.com/japanese/susano.php



Well, since there’s so much to post about, what would you like to learn about first? Is there a particular place,character, or thing you’re curious about?

Tagged with: if I don't get any suggestions I'm just going to start with Himiko or something, okami

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Written by Chris of Bout Of Context fame.


http://boutofcontext.tumblr.com/

http://boutofcontext.tumblr.com/


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