Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto

Japanese: 月読尊 - つくよみのみこと

The moon god who appears in Japanese mythology. He is the son of Izanagi-no-Mikoto, and was born after Amaterasu-Omikami and before Susanoo-no-Mikoto. "Tsuku" is an archaic word for moon, and "yomi" means to count one by one. Therefore, this god's name means to count the age of the moon. In the Kojiki, he is written as Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, and in the Nihon Shoki, he is also written as Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto and Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto. The only time this god appears in the Kojiki is when his father orders him to rule the land of night immediately after his birth, but in the Nihon Shoki, in addition to this story, there is also a legend that says that when Tsukuyomi killed Uketoshi-no-Mikoto, who spat out a lot of food from his mouth and tried to treat him to a feast, Amaterasu became very angry and said that she would never see her brother again, which is why Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, that is, the sun and the moon, began to appear in the sky at different times. <References> Matsumura Takeo, Studies in Japanese Mythology, Vol. 2

(Takashi Sasaki)

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

Japanese:

日本神話に登場する月の神。伊奘諾尊の子で,天照大神(アマテラスオオミカミ)の次,素戔嗚尊の前に生まれた。「つく」は月の古語,「よみ」はひとつずつ数えること。よって,この神の名は月齢を数える意。『古事記』では月読命と書かれ,『日本書紀』には月夜見尊,月弓尊と書かれた例もある。『古事記』に,この神が登場するのは,誕生してすぐに夜の国の支配を父に命じられる個所だけだが,『日本書紀』には,この話のほか,口から多くの食べ物を吐き出して饗応しようとした保食神をツクヨミが切り殺したために姉のアマテラスがひどく怒り,もう弟とは会わないといったのがもとでアマテラスとツクヨミつまり太陽と月とは時を隔てて空に出現するようになった,という伝承もみえる。<参考文献>松村武雄『日本神話の研究』2巻

(佐佐木隆)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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