Foundation and Creation Myths
in Korea and Japan: Patterns and Connections
Joo-Young Yoo
Faculty Mentor: Professor Mack Horton From: http://www.aad.berkeley.edu/uga/osl/mcnair/94BerkeleyMcNairJournal/07_Yoo.html
The present and future are constantly revealed through the past.
A country's early chronicles provide an essential means for understanding
its history, culture, genealogy, social structure, mythology, language
and literature. With that in mind, this paper focuses on the relationship
between Japanese and Korean mythologies as a means of understanding
the links between these two societies and cultures.
Despite the fact that Korea and Japan both have many myths which
share similar motifs and beliefs, little in-depth work has yet
been done on the comparative mythology of Japan and Korea. Japanese
scholars have done most of the work in this area and they have
primarily focused on the relationship between these two mythologies
in terms of ceremonial and religious theory. For example, Professors
Obayashi Taryo and Yoshida Atsuhiko of Japan have applied the important
theory of "the tripartite system" to Japanese myths,
following DumŽzil's system of comparative mythology. There
are, however, still more comparative studies that need to be done
on the mythologies of these two countries. While there are other
works of perhaps greater literary interest, I have chosen to study
two early works of Japanese mythistory, Kojiki and Nihon shoki,
and two from Korea, Samguk yusa and Samguk sagi. Given the reasons
for which they were written and the time during which they were
written, I think these national histories are the most important
for understanding early Japan and Korea. Of the many possible connections
to explore between these two nations' mythologies, I will focus
on 1) the origins of kingship, 2) the use of animal imagery in
the foundation legends of both countries, and 3) the role played
by shamanistic ritual. By carefully studying and comparing these
aspectsÑthe patterns in both countries' foundation myths
and the presence of shamanistic elements in Korean culture and
in Japanese mythÑthe deep historical connection between
these two cultures becomes clear, even if it remains unknown how
each influenced the other.
Before moving ahead to my analysis, I will first give a brief
description of these four collections as background.
The Two Early Mythistories of Japan
There are two main collections of myths in Japan, Kojiki (The
Record of Ancient Matters) and Nihon shoki(or Nihongi, Chronicles
of Japan) which were compiled in 712 A.D. and 720 A.D. respectively.
Kojiki was compiled by the imperial family, and consequently consists
of myths, legends, songs, anecdotes, folk etymologies, and so forth
centered around the imperial family and other leading families
of Japan at that time. It has three books ordered in a chronological
fashion: Book One deals with "The Age of the Gods"; Book
Two, the reigns of the legendary first fifteen sovereigns (from
Emperor Jimmu to Emperor Ojin); and Book Three, the imperial reigns
from Emperor Nintoku to Emperor Suiko (628 A.D.), the sixteenth
to the thirty-third emperors.
The second Japanese national history, Nihon shoki, was also compiled
for the purpose of justifying the imperial line. It was ordered
by Emperor Gensho and the chief compiler was Prince Toneri. Nihon
shokiis very much like Kojiki until the later sections of the work.
Although Kojiki is thought superior to Nihon shokiby many in terms
of both literary and historical value, it appears to be less accurate
in the later parts than Nihon shoki, and it ends about a half century
earlier. Thus Nihon shokiholds special value for continuing its
account to a later point in history and for the richness of this
later portion. Furthermore, Kojiki has been less popular than Nihon
shokiuntil recent times because it is written in less skilled Chinese
and perhaps more difficult Man'yogana (for place names and god
names), making it very hard to read. Nihon shoki, on the other
hand, is written in much more skilled Chinese and has been therefore
more historically accessible to scholars.
The Two Korean Mythistories
Compared to the collections in Japan, the ones in Korea are scanty
and were compiled far later; most of the earlier works were destroyed
during wars and invasions. Despite this unfortunate fact of history,
Korea still has some very important materials which include the
Samguk sagi (Annals of the Three Kingdoms) and Samguk yusa (Reminiscences
of the Three Kingdoms), compiled in the 12th and 13th centuries
respectively.
Samguk sagi was set down by a high official of the Koryo Dynasty,
Pu-sik Kim, in Chinese. It was strongly influenced by Chinese Confucianism,
omitting a great deal of embarrassing or indecorous matters, and
is very politically biased. Samguk yusa, on the other hand, was
also compiled under the Koryo Dynasty, but by the National Priest
Ilyon a century later (the 13th century) in order to better understand
his country's history. It preserves many important stories which
are absent from Samguk sagi, making it an even more valuable source.
Kingship Origins
Despite the fact that there is no creation myth in the Korean
collections, the collections of both Japan and Korea share many
similarities in their accounts of the establishment of kingship.
These resemblances are significant, since the collections in both
countries were made with the purpose of justifying their respective
rulers at that time. In Japan's mythistories, the grandson of the
sun goddess Ama-terasu, Ninigi, becomes the first ruler of the
country. Similarly in the Korean collections, Dan'gun, the grandson
of the Heavenly Ruler, becomes the first ruler of Korea. In both
cases, the first to descend from Heaven is not the one who eventually
rules: the first ruler of each country is a son born to a heavenly
deity's son. The ruler is, therefore, someone from the land. In
the case of Korea, Dan'gun is born of a woman (originally a bear),
who lives on the mountain from which the Heavenly Ruler's son first
descended. More interestingly, both countries hold the jewel, sword,
and mirror as the symbols of kingship. Although these objects are
mentioned less frequently in the Korean collections than in those
of Japan, it is certain that these objects hold meaning in the
mythic accounts of how each countries' kingships were established.
In both traditions, it is made clear that the ruler descended from
heaven and was sent to the people of the earth who needed a ruler.
Animal Imagery
Obayashi Taryo (1977) argues for a distinction in animal images
used to represent land, water, and sky in the legends of Emperor
Jimmu's eastern conquest in Japan and of Chumong's founding of
Koguryo in Korea. He also believes that there are positive and
negative values accorded to each animal and claims that land animals
have a negative value while the water and sky animals have positive
values. An interesting link between both countries' legends is
that these animals not only represent the same three dimensionsÑland,
water, and skyÑbut also have similar reasons for appearing
in the myths: they appear whenever the sons of heavenly deities
(Emperor Jimmu and Chumong) run into difficulties and need help.
Through these seemingly coincidental incidents of animals rendering
their assistance, the Emperors develop a miraculous air and are
thereby set apart from ordinary people.
I have also found these three dimensions of land, water, and sky
to be represented in the animals appearing in the legend of Haemosu
in Korea. In the case of this legend, Haemosu initiates a contest
with the river god Hwabak to prove that he is truly the Heavenly
Ruler's son. The legend of Haemosu is of course very different
than that of Jimmu or Chumong. Rather than being helped by animals,
the contestants are themselves magically transformed into animals
representing the three dimensions. But these magical transformations
again demonstrate the supernatural power of the Heavenly Ruler's
son, Haemosu, as well as that of the river god Hwabak. At the same
time, they share a similar division of animal images into land,
water, and air, reflecting one way both the people of Korea and
Japan divided their worlds. Both the legend of Haemosu and those
of Jimmu and Chumong reflect the tight link between the magical
or supernatural and the divine.
Shamanism
Based on Mishina Shoei's view that Japanese mythology evolved
from a stage of primitive, to ceremonial, to political mythology,
Kim Yeol-kyu (1977) has claimed that it might be the case that
Korean shamanistic ceremonies were brought into Japan and blended
with kingship origin myths to produce a mixture of both. The myth
of the Sun Goddess Ama-terasu in Japan is a perfect example to
support Kim's hypothesis: the myth of Ama-terasu has traces of
shamanistic ritual and similarities to the legend of Yonorang and
Syeonyo of Korea.
As for shaman rituals in Japanese myths, the gods in heaven use
a bird to summon the Sun Goddess Ama-terasu after she hid herself
in a rock-cave. They then dig up a "True Sakaki Tree of Heaven," hang
jewels, a mirror, and blue and white fabric offerings and perform
a mimic dance. Finally, as a result, Ama-terasu opens the rock-cave
and light is returned to the world. This is exactly what a shaman
does in summoning spirits.
At the same time, we find a connection between Ama-terasu in Japan
and the Korean legend of Yonorang and Syeonyo. As the gods in the
heavens lost the sunlight when Ama-terasu hid herself in the rock-cave,
people in Silla once lost the sunlight when a huge rock took Yonorang
and Syeonyo to Japan. Furthermore, Ama-terasu is associated with
weaving: when attacked by Susa-no-wo in her sacred place, she was
weaving "the garments of the Gods." Similarly, garments
woven by Syeonyo restored the sunlight to Silla, although Yonorang
represents the sun while Syeonyo is associated with the moon. Interestingly
enough, Kojiki contains a legend which is almost identical to the
legend of Yonorang and Syeonyo, though it doesn't record the absence
of sunlight in Silla. Even when taking into consideration the differences
between the various legends, it seems clear that these two countries'
mythologies are closely related to each other.
Conclusion
I have introduced only a portion of the mythologies of Japan and
Korea, comparing some of their legends and myths as found in Kojiki,
Nihon shoki, Samguk yusa, and Samguk sagi. The three different
points I have presented help to reveal the connections between
the two mythologiesÑthe similarities in kingship origins,
in the division of animal imagery in the foundation myths of both
countries, and in the creation myths surrounding Ama-terasu. These
examples clearly demonstrate a close connection between the myths
of Japan and those of Korea, which is not surprising given the
close proximity of the two countries. Naturally, such a connection
in mythological beliefs reflects a strong cultural connection between
the two nations beyond the texts. Doubtless, many more connections
remain to be studied in the future.
Endnotes
1The application of Dumézil's theory to Korea presents
certain difficulties which would require special attention beyond
the scope
of this article. I will not be applying Dumézil's tripartite
system in this article.
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