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An excursion in Philosophy, History, Economics, Mythology, and other Subjects

Subjects

  • The Eastward Expedition of Emperor Jimmu (Japanese Myth Paper 7)

    1 ― A Prince Looks East The story thus far has carried the imperial blood-line from Heaven to Hyūga: creation, descent, sea-marriage. Yet Kyūshū, though fertile, is a cul-de-sac. Trade routes, metal ores, and vast plains lie across the Inland Sea in the broad bowl of Honshū. Ugayafukiaezu’s youngest son, Hiko-hohodemi no Mikoto, known posthumously…

  • The Jewels of Tides: Hoderi, Hohodemi, and the Palace of Watatsumi (Japanese Myth Paper 6)

    1 — Brothers at Odds Ninigi’s three sons grow to manhood beneath Kyūshū’s peaks. Twin talents differentiate the elder two. Hoderi—“Fire-Shine”—revels in deep-sea fishing; his line rarely returns without silver flanks flashing. Hohodemi—“Fire-Subside”—is hunter of upland game, a marksman whose arrows never miss boar or stag. One spring they trade skills for sport. Hoderi takes…

  • The Descent of the Heavenly Grandson Ninigi (Japanese Myth Paper 5)

    1 ― A New Problem in Heaven With Susanoo tamed and the sun stable once more, Amaterasu Ōmikami surveys the reed-plain below. Earth is fertile yet fractious: rival clans vie for river mouths, mountains resound with half-tamed spirits, and no single order binds the land. Amaterasu concludes that Heaven’s radiance must govern Earth directly. But…

  • Susanoo and the Eight-headed Serpent (Japanese Myth Paper 4)

    1 — A God in Free-Fall Cast out of Heaven for vandalising the sun-goddess’s realm, Susanoo-no-Mikoto plummets along the Milky River, storms raging in his wake. Beard shorn, nails torn, divine weapons confiscated, he is all raw nerve and thunder. As his bare feet strike the reed-plain of Izumo (modern Shimane), the sky clears for…

  • Amaterasu in the Rock Cave (Japanese Myth Paper 3)

    1 — Setting the Fuse The previous paper ended with Susanoo’s wild spree in Heaven: flooding rice-fields, hurling dung, and finally pitching a flayed celestial horse through his sister’s weaving-house. One court maiden died of shock, looms splintered, and sacred cloth lay fouled with blood and hide. In the culture of early Japan—where weaving, rice…

  • Birth of Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo (Japanese Myth Paper 2)

    1 After the River of Purification The first paper ended with Izanagi wading into the Tachibana River to scour away the stench of Yomi. That scene matters, because it is in the very act of cleansing—water sluicing from brow, cheeks, shoulders—that three radiant beings are born. Creation in Japanese myth is rarely tidy: it bubbles up…

  • The Creation of the Islands and the Kami (Japanese Myth Paper 1)

    1. A Drifting Chaos Becomes Cosmos The Kojiki opens, famously, with a vision of formlessness: “In the ages when Heaven and Earth first parted, they were like floating oil. Silently, softly, something light and purer rose, and something heavy and turbid sank.” From that silent ferment five abstract deities crystallise in single blinding instants. They…

  • 平家物語 Heike Monogatari: The Tale of the Heike

    Prologue “The sound of the Gion Shōja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the colour of the sala flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline. The proud do not endure, like a passing dream on a spring night; the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind.” In these…

  • Icelandic Kings’, and Exploration Sagas

    Chapter 1: Introduction Beyond the realm of legend, medieval Icelandic writers also turned their quills to history and real-life adventures. Two important genres in this regard are the kings’ sagas and what we might call the exploration sagas. These sagas draw upon actual events and personages, blending fact with narrative art to illuminate the deeds…

  • Icelandic Legendary and Heroic Sagas

    Chapter 1: Introduction The Icelandic legendary sagas, also known as fornaldarsögur (“sagas of ancient times”), are thrilling tales set in a mythical past before the settlement of Iceland. These sagas are often termed heroic sagas because they revolve around legendary heroes, mighty deeds, and encounters with the fantastical. Unlike the more realistic Sagas of Icelanders…

  • The Icelandic Family Sagas: Njál, Egil, and Gísli

    Chapter 1: Introduction A medieval manuscript page (folio 13r of Möðruvallabók) containing part of Njál’s saga. The Sagas of Icelanders were preserved in such manuscripts from the 13th century onward. The Icelandic Family Sagas (Íslendingasögur) are medieval prose narratives that recount the lives, feuds, and adventures of notable Icelandic families in the 9th–11th centuries. They…

  • Hercules and the Wagoner (Hercules and the Carter)

    A wagoner (cart driver) was driving a heavily loaded cart along a muddy country road. The wheels sank axle-deep, and the cart stuck fast in the mire. The more the horses strained, the deeper the wheels sank. When the wagoner realized he was truly bogged, he panicked and fell to his knees, praying loudly to…

  • Mercury and the Woodman

    A poor woodman was felling a tree on a riverbank when his axe slipped from his hands and sank into the deep water. Dismayed, for the axe was his only means of livelihood, he sat down and wept. Hearing his cries, the god Mercury (the fleet-footed messenger of the gods, known for cleverness and also…

  • The Two Travelers and the Bear

    Two friends are walking together through a forest when suddenly a ferocious bear crashes through the bushes in front of them. The first traveler, thinking only of his own safety, quickly scrambles up a tree, hiding in the branches. The second traveler, slower to react, finds himself alone facing the bear. With no time to…

  • The Fox and the Goat

    A thirsty fox climbs down into a well to drink, but then cannot climb back out. A passing goat sees the fox down in the well and asks if the water is good. The cunning fox quickly plots escape and replies enthusiastically, “The water is excellent, the best I’ve ever tasted! Come down, friend, and…

  • The Belly and the Members

    In this fable (which carries a political allegory), the body parts of a human—hands, feet, mouth, teeth, and so on—grow discontented with the stomach (the belly). They feel that they do all the work—collecting food, chewing, transporting—while the lazy belly sits idle in the middle, taking all the nourishment they provide. In their resentment, the…

  • The Frogs Who Desired a King

    In a certain marshy pond, the frogs lived free and, it must be said, somewhat chaotically. They croaked and cavorted as they pleased, but eventually some frogs complained that they lacked a proper ruler to establish order and dignity among them. So they petitioned Zeus, the king of the gods, to send them a king.…

  • The Oak and the Reed

    By a riverside stands a mighty oak tree, proud and unyielding, next to a cluster of slender reeds that bow and flutter with each breeze. The oak boasts of its great strength and firmly rooted stability, sneering at the flexible reeds for bending meekly to even a slight wind. The reeds reply, “Do not worry…

  • The Wolf and the Crane

    A greedy wolf devours his prey so ravenously that a bone becomes lodged in his throat, causing him great pain and the fear of choking. In need of help, the wolf seeks out a crane with a long neck and beak, and promises, “Oh, kind friend, I’ll reward you richly if you use your slender…

  • The Miller, His Son, and the Donkey

    A miller and his young son set out to town with their donkey to sell it at the market. As they walk alongside the donkey, not riding it, they first pass some villagers who scoff: “What fools, trudging on foot when they have a donkey that could carry them!” Hearing this, the miller decides to…

  • The Milkmaid and Her Pail

    A milkmaid walking to market balances a pail of fresh milk on her head. As she goes, she indulges in grand daydreams about the chain of success this milk will bring. “With the money I get from this milk,” she thinks, “I’ll buy some hens. They will lay eggs, and soon I’ll have a fine…