Significance of Military Power in the <i>Jindai Moji</i> Text <i>Hotsuma Tsutae</i>—With a Focus on Susanoo and Yamato Takeru
The <i>jindai moji</i> (神代文字—“characters of the Age of the Gods”) are pseudocharacters (疑字: “giji”) created in the early modern period, which purport to be an ancient Japanese writing script. One of the most famous examples of literature written in the <i>jindai moji</i> is t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/3/199 |
| Summary: | The <i>jindai moji</i> (神代文字—“characters of the Age of the Gods”) are pseudocharacters (疑字: “giji”) created in the early modern period, which purport to be an ancient Japanese writing script. One of the most famous examples of literature written in the <i>jindai moji</i> is the epic poem <i>Hotsuma Tsutae</i>, which is regarded as an account of the development of medieval mythology in the early modern age. It includes tales of evil lords known as the <i>hatare</i> (rendered as 魔王 in Kanbun), who bring chaos to the land and are vanquished by a divine army led by gods. Ultranationalists in early modern Japan enthusiastically embraced these <i>jindai moji</i> writings. This article examines the significance of the divine battles in the early modern <i>jindai moji</i> literature. |
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| ISSN: | 2077-1444 |