Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto

Japanese: 天鈿女命 - あめのうずめのみこと

In ancient times, she was the ancestor of the monkey goddess, who played the role of a shrine maiden in the Imperial Court festivals. In the Kojiki, she is Ameno-Uzume-no-Mikoto. In a festival to invite Amaterasu Omikami, who was hiding in the Heavenly Rock Cave, she danced while stomping on an upturned bucket, exposing her breasts and genitals, making the heavenly gods laugh out loud. Amaterasu, suspicious, opened the rock door slightly and asked what was going on. She replied, "I am happy because there is a god more honorable than you," and invited him to join her. Ameno-Tajikarao took her hand and pulled her out of the cave, and the dark world was once again illuminated by sunlight. When Ninigi-no-Mikoto was about to descend to earth, she laughed and exposed her breasts and genitals in front of Saruta-Biko-no-Kami who appeared to be blocking her path, and had the god reveal her name and lead Ninigi's descent to Takachiho-no-Mine in Hyuga (southern Kyushu). After escorting Saruta-Biko to the headwaters of the Isuzu River in Ise (Mie Prefecture), she gathered fish and had them swear to serve the son of the heavenly god, but the sea cucumber remained silent and did not respond, so she split its mouth with a knife. It is said that the sea cucumber's mouth is still split to this day. In the sense that she repeatedly paves the way for the sun goddess and the Son of the Sun to appear in the world by exposing her naked body, she bears a strong resemblance to the dawn goddess Ushas in ancient Indian mythology, who is said to open the way for the sun to pass by exposing her entire body to the eastern sky at dawn, and who is also said to "open the locked door of the cave." <References> Atsuhiko Yoshida, Yamato Takeru and Okuninushi

(Atsuhiko Yoshida)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

古代に宮中の祭りで巫女の役をした,猿女の祖先の女神。『古事記』では天宇受売命。天岩屋戸の内に隠れた天照大神(アマテラスオオミカミ)を招き出すための祭りで,伏せた桶を踏みとどろかして踊りながら,乳房と陰部を剥き出して,天神たちを哄笑させた。怪しんだアマテラスが,岩戸を少し開け,わけをたずねると,「あなたより,もっと尊い神がいられるので,喜んでいるのです」と答えて誘い,天手力男神に手を取られて,アマテラスが岩屋から引き出され,暗黒だった世界がまた陽光に照らされることになった。邇邇芸命(ニニギノミコト)が地上に降ろうとしたとき,道を塞いでいるようにみえた猿田毘古神(サルタビコノカミ)の面前でも,笑いながらやはり乳房と陰部を剥き出して見せて,この神に名を明かさせ,日向(九州の南部)の高千穂の峰まで,ニニギの降臨を先導する役を務めさせた。サルタビコを,伊勢(三重県)の五十鈴川の川上まで送ったのち,魚類を集め天神の御子ヘの奉仕を誓わせたが,ナマコだけが返答せずに黙っていたので,小刀でその口を裂いた。それでナマコは,今でも口が裂けているのだという。裸体露出により,太陽女神や日の御子が,世界に出現するための道を開く働きを,繰り返し果たしている点で,古代インドの神話で,夜明けごとに,東天に裸体をくまなく露呈することで,太陽の通る道を開くとされているうえに,「鎖された岩屋の戸を開く」ともいわれている,曙の女神ウシャスに酷似している。<参考文献>吉田敦彦『ヤマトタケルと大国主』

(吉田敦彦)

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