Ame no Uzume, whom we didn’t get to in this episode, but another badass woman. Not only did her dancing bring back the sun, Amaterasu Ōkami, and give life to the world, but when Ninigi no Mikoto was heading down to earth and the way was blocked by the giant Saruta Hiko Ōkami. Who went forward to confront him? Why, Ame no Uzume, of course. Detail of Iwato Kagura no Kigen by Shunsai Toshimasa, 1887.

This episode we are going to take a pause and look at some of the truly exceptional women in the ancient stories. True, it may be questioned if some of these individuals existed at all, but there is a good argument to be made that their stories are, at the very least, rooted in some truth. Furthermore, we’ll take a look at some of the assumptions that we make about history in general.

Rather than recounting what we talked about previously, how about a few links and you can listen to their story again?

• Queen Himiko

• Yamato Totohi Momoso Hime

• Amaterasu Ōkami

• Saho Hime

• Kamuhashi Hime and Hayami tsu Hime

But really, there isn’t all that much to say: Women were always a part of history and in many cases were pretty badass. Deal with it.

References

• Ō, Yasumaro, & Heldt, G. (2014). The Kojiki: An account of ancient matters. ISBN978-0-231-16389-7

• KISHIMOTO, Naofumi (2013, May). Translated by Ryan, Joseph.  Dual Kingship in the Kofun Period as Seen from the Keyhole Tombs.  UrbanScope e-Journal of the Urban-Culture Research Center, OCU, Vol.4 (2013) 1-21.  ISSN 2185-2889 http://urbanscope.lit.osaka-cu.ac.jp/journal/vol.004.html

• Bentley, John. (2006). The Authenticity of Sendai Kuji Hongi: a New Examination of Texts, with a Translation and Commentary. ISBN-90-04-152253

• Piggot, J. R. (1999). Chieftain Pairs and Corulers: Female Sovereignty in Early Japan. Women and Class in Japanese History. Edited by Hitomi Tonomura, Anne Walthall, and Wakita Haruko. Center for Japanese Studies, The University of Michigan. ISBN 1-929280-35-1.

• Aoki, Michiko Yamaguchi (1997). Records of Wind and Earth: A Translation of Fudoki with Introduction and Commentaries. As published at https://jhti.berkeley.edu

• Chamberlain, B. H. (1981). The Kojiki: Records of ancient matters. Rutland, Vt: C.E. Tuttle Co.  ISBN4-8053-0794-3

• Aston, W. G. (1972). Nihongi, chronicles of Japan from the earliest times to A.D. 697. London: Allen & Unwin. ISBN0-80480984-4

• Philippi, D. L. (1968). Kojiki. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN4-13-087004-1