Wikipedia Trails: Susanoo to Yata no Kagami

Susanoo-no-Mikoto

After reading a story about Amaterasu and how she was scared out of Heaven by Susanoo (the original being a story that I read and intend to rewrite as well), I was interested in reading more about Susanoo. I was also interested in seeing if there was any additional information I could get for my own retelling. (Notably, it mentions that Susanoo drove her from heaven by destroying her rice fields, throwing a flayed pony at her loom, and killing one of her attendants.)

Amano-Iwato

Amano-Iwato is the "Heavenly Rock Cave" that Amaterasu hid herself in the same story I mentioned above. As above, I was interested to see if I could learn more about something that featured in the story I intend to rewrite, as well as to see if the cave held any more importance that I might be able to weave into my story. Apparently, there is a real cave that is considered to be the Amano-Iwato, which is a cave on one side of the Iwato River from a hall of worship named Nishihongu.

Imperial_Regalia_of_Japan

The article about Amano-Iwato mentioned that the mirror that Amaterasu was lured out of her cave with was the Yata no Kagami. I've heard of that mirror, but was not aware that it was the same as the golden mirror from this myth. Apparently, the mirror and jewels were what Uzume used to lure Amaterasu out of the cave, while the Kusanagi came from Yamata no Orochi's body. All three belonged to Amaterasu, the Kusanagi being an apology gift from Susanoo, and came down to Earth when Amaterasu sent her grandson down to Japan.

Yata_no_Kagami

The Yata no Kagami was actually the object I had gone to the previous page for, so when I saw that there was an individual article for it, I was interested in seeing if there was more about it specifically besides its identity as one of the Imperial Regalia. Unfortunately, it is a much shorter article and seems to have mostly the same information as the previous page.

Tech Tip: Word Counter - for Firefox!

Using Firefox, I found Word Count as a Firefox add-on rather than the Chrome version.

I've found it very useful for this class, given the word count requirements. I tend to be someone who writes too much, so for comments and such I'm fine but for stories it's extremely useful. It's a little annoying in that it will always put the word count at the bottom right of your main monitor - so if you're using multiple screens or have your browser not full screen, I can sometimes look in the wrong place and wonder whether the add-on is glitching for a moment. But other than that, it's very useful and allows for you to get the word count of any highlighted text with an option in the right-click menu.

Week 8 EC Reading Notes: Stories from Le Morte D'Arthur and the Mabinogion (A)

Of Arthur's Birth; And How He Became King

 Disneyland Sword in the Stone, by Dave Q from Wikimedia Commons

• Uther Pendragon ruled Britain
• Fell in love with Igraine of Cornwall, got rejected and fell ill
• Merlin offers to help Uther if Uther's son is given to him at the son's birth
• Uther agrees and Merlin gives Uther "the form of one whom Igraine had loved dearly"
• Igraine then marries Uther
• Merlin shows up to remind Uther about the deal 3 days before Arthur is born
• When Arthur is born, Uther commands for him to be taken to the 'postern-gate' to be given to an old man (Merlin)
• Uther fell sick not long after, gathered all his knights and barons and commanded them to obey his son
• By Merlin's suggestion
• Also says that his curse would be on his son if Arthur didn't take the throne
• Few people had seen Arthur, and were unwilling to be ruled by a child
• Civil war erupted
• Merlin had taken Arthur away to keep him safe from the upcoming civil war (which he had foreseen)
• Merlin gave Arthur to Sir Ector to raise alongside Ector's son Kay
• Didn't tell Ector that Arthur was Uther's son
• When Arthur was older ("tall youth"), Merlin advises the Archbishop of Canterbury and told him to call together "all the chief men of the realm"
• Merlin put a curse on the Archbishop to get him to comply
• When the men gathered, they saw a sword thrust through an anvil on a giant stone in front of the church
• Stone had "Whoso can draw forth this sword, is rightful King of Britain born" written on it
• Everyone present tried and failed to draw the sword
• Jousts were to be held in London at Easter for knights to show off their skill and try to draw the sword
• Ector rode to London with Kay and Arthur
• Kay and Arthur rode out, but Kay forgot his sword
• Arthur went back but the house was locked up
• Arthur thought of the sword in the stone and went to grab it
• Guards were gone due to tournament
• Arthur draws the sword and brings it to Kay, who shows it to Ector
• Ector and Kay pledge loyalty to Arthur
• They go to Archbishop and tell him what happened
• Arthur puts sword back in and draws it twice
• Others try to draw it after Arthur puts in back in the second time, but all fail again
• Arthur is sworn in as king

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(Reading is from Coming of Arthur up to How the Scabbard Was Lost)

Bibliography: Of Arthur's Birth; And How He Became King from Stories from Le Morte D'Arthur and the Mabinogion by Beatrice Clay. Web Source.

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

I would prefer to have a little more critical feedback in the comments I get from other people. While it is nice to hear about the things I am doing right, I think I would improve more if people were more willing to tell me what parts of my story don't quite work right and what I need to focus on in future stories.

In a similar vein, I think that I need to give a little more critical feedback in my comments to others. While I do try to comment on at least one thing that can hopefully help them improve, there is more I can do. I am worried about coming across as too critical, so I will need to think about ways to give my critique while making it clear that those are areas to improve, not places that are simply done poorly or that are bad.

 (cheezburger)

 I think it's important to look for patterns in feedback because if a single person points out an issue, it is possible that it's just that person who finds it to be an issue despite that section being fine. However, when multiple people point out the same thing (such as the centered text for my Storybook intro being difficult to read), it is indicative that the issue definitely exists.

Week 8 Progress

Currently, I'm decently happy with my progress so far, although I need to get better about doing assignments on time since I'm 8 points behind where I should be. Oftentimes I find myself having to use the time I'd previously set aside to do my work for this class doing other work, and then I can forget to do my work later that day. I'm thinking about possibly trying to start doing my work on different days in order to get around this - if I tell myself that I need to finish the Tuesday assignment by the end of Monday at the very latest, then even if I do accidentally miss it, I still have that extra day. Alternatively, if I can spend the time to get an assignment ahead and stay an assignment ahead, then the due dates become less of an issue that way.

 

 

Image: Greek Art - Foot Race - Panathenaic Vase from Wikimedia Commons, Meme created through Imgflip Meme Generator.