She sat at her loom, weaving the dark web of fate itself. As the Sun, Amaterasu had both allies and enemies in all the world, from the Heavens where she lived down to the very depths of Hell; for the Sun brought both joy and dismay to all.
Appearing without welcome or warning, Amatsumikaboshi spoke to Amaterasu.
"Do you still dare to remain here, even after all my warnings?"
Amaterasu scoffed. Amatsumikaboshi disliked Amaterasu, as the Sun was a more dazzling and resplendent feature of the sky than the Stars that he represented. Each night, he had threatened to bring her brother Susanoo to frighten her, but each night, he had left without action.
"I dare indeed, for I am the Sun and shall not be moved from the sky."
A wicked smirk spread across Amatsumikaboshi's face, even as the sound of crackling flames reached Amaterasu's ears. She turned, only to see Susanoo, surrounded by fire and face spattered with blood as he grinned evilly at Amaterasu.
Overcome with fear, Amaterasu fled the horrific sight. She fled out of Heaven all the way down to Earth, taking refuge in a hidden cave. Up in Heaven, Amatsumikaboshi laughed at the setting of the Sun, and lorded over the Earth in the sky along with the Moon. Susanoo left, his prank on Amaterasu complete.
The people on the Earth wailed at the loss of the Jewel of Heaven, and the other deities were filled with worry. While Amaterasu had her enemies, so too did she have allies and friends. Uzume, Goddess of Laughter, and Taji-Karao decided that something must be done.
Going to Heaven, they confronted Amatasumikaboshi, driving him off. After this, they went down to Amaterasu's cave, calling into it to speak to the Sun Goddess.
"Amatasumikaboshi has been driven out of Heaven, and Susanoo has fled! It is safe to return!"
Hesitantly, Amaterasu came out of her cave and followed Uzume and Taji-Karao back to Heaven, where she resumed her duties. The people on Earth rejoiced at the return of the Sun.
But that night, Amatsumikaboshi returned to Heaven. The very sight of him brought about the fear of Susanoo in Amaterasu, and when she remembered the bloodied and crazed face of her brother, Amaterasu fled wildly down to her cave on Earth.
Uzume and Taji-Karao once again managed to drive Amatsumikaboshi out, and return Amaterasu to Heaven; but every night, the Star God would come to drive Amaterasu out of the halls of Heaven.
This cycle continued endlessly, with the Sun and the Stars trading positions in the sky as Amaterasu fled and Amatasumikaboshi was driven out. Night became the dominion of the Stars, while the Sun would only be seen during the Day.
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Author's Notes: The original story was "The Miraculous Mirror", where Susanoo appeared in Heaven and drove Amaterasu down to Earth. An unnamed deity crafted a golden mirror, and Uzume drew Amaterasu out of her cave and stunned her by showing Amaterasu her own reflection. While Amaterasu was distracted, Taji-Karao blocked off the entrance to her cave with a boulder, and Amaterasu was returned to Heaven.
After reading another story that created an 'origin story' out of a different myth, I was inspired to do the same myself. By adding in Amatsumikaboshi (a malignant Shinto god, who was associated with other star deities in Chinese buddhism and Japanese mythology), I turned the story into an origin story for the cycle of day and night; Amatsumikaboshi, the stars, show up at night and scare Amaterasu, the sun, out of Heaven. When Amatsumikaboshi is driven out of Heaven, Amaterasu finally feels safe to return. Thus, the star and the stars only show up at different times, with the sun being up during the day but the stars being present during the night.
Image: Twilight Sky Red Cloud Sunset Sun East on Max Pixel
Bibliography: The Miraculous Mirror from Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney. Web Source
I really like the adaptation you did here! Turning a regular old myth into an origin story is such a cool idea. It always feels like I'm turning a myth into a "story". But you've inspired me to try to turn myths into other myths. Now that I think about it, that may be what I was supposed to do the whole time. Oops!
ReplyDeleteI really like what you did with this story. It is so cool how you can turn something so old and original and create your own origin story out of it. It was such a great story. I am glad I clicked on this story to read. I also really like the picture you chose. The sunset is radiating and make the clouds look beautiful and it is really fitting for your story.
ReplyDeleteHey Jason! I really liked your story, however it kind've felt like it was in passive voice or it just wasn't present, in-the-moment, like an active story that moves through the events. I think it was a really fun change and I loved how it was an origin story for the setting of the sun! But I was really confused about the relationships. It would be less confusing if you explained how Susanno and his sister weren't actually friendly and why she had the God of Stars as a specific enemy/why they didn't like each other in a more distinct way than just stating she has enemies. That would really help clear things up, but it was really good work!
ReplyDeleteHey Jason! I really enjoyed reading your story about Amaterasu the Sun Goddess. I am glad that you finally got around to creating an origin story from the myth of another story. I think it was really cool how you turned the story of the Miraculous Mirror into one of an origin story of the sun and the moon. I also liked how you incorporated Amatsumikaboshi into the story as he is from a different pantheon.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story! You did a great job of adapting this story into an understandable re-telling. You're also very talented at using imagery to pain the picture. I liked your phrase, "jewel of the sky".
ReplyDeleteI like that you combined both of the stories to create a new story with features of both! Great job and I look forward to reading more of your stories!