Since Japanese uses three different writing systems interchangeably, even yamato kotoba can be written in several different ways. However, kun'yomi can have one or multiple syllables, and those syllables are usually a CV structure, like the examples given above. For example, the on'yomi for the following kanji 刀, 魚, 紙, 山, 手, and 泳 are tō, shi, san, shu, and ei. Since on'yomi came from Chinese monosyllables (words with only one syllable), they themselves are also only one syllable, and like Chinese, they can have a CV or CVC structure. Yamato kotoba words use the kanji's kun'yomi. Most kanji (the Japanese version of Chinese characters) have two different kinds of pronunciation, on'yomi (the pronunciation of the kanji borrowed from Chinese) and kun'yomi (the native pronunciation of Japanese words that use the kanji). Usually, words with only one kanji are yamato kotoba, such as katana (kanji: 刀, hiragana: かたな, meaning: sword), sakana (kanji: 魚, hiragana: さかな, meaning: fish), kami (kanji: 紙, hiragana: かみ, meaning: paper), yama (kanji: 山, hiragana: やま, meaning: mountain) te (kanji: 手, hiragana: て, meaning: hand), and oyogu (kanji and hiragana: 泳ぐ, hiragana only: およぐ, meaning: to swim). Yamato kotoba in Japanese has much in common with native English words in that most of the everyday vocabulary comes from yamato kotoba, while Chinese loanwords words (much like Latin and French loanwords in English) are used for more formal situations (usually writing) and for specialized terms. It is one of the three main sources of Japanese words, along with kango (kanji: 漢語, hiragana: かんご), or Chinese loanwords, and gairaigo (kanji: 外来語, hiragana: がいらいご), or loanwords borrowed from languages other than Chinese (especially English since the post-WWII era). Yamato kotoba can also be called by its Chinese based name, wago (kanji: 和語, hiragana: わご). The word itself is also a native Japanese word, interestingly enough. Traditionally, the Sun Goddess is symbolized by a metallic mirror.Yamato kotoba (kanji: 大和言葉, hiragana: やまとことば) are words that are native to the Japanese language. It is generally represented with long black hair and dressed in a long white garment lined with red. Images of Amaterasu in human form appeared very late and are few. Very little or no carvings of the deities (except for the deity Inari in Shintoism ), some images. It should be noted that if Shinto mythology includes a large number of anthropomorphic gods and goddesses, unlike Buddhist deities, the latter is very rarely represented. Visitors cannot approach the heart of the sanctuary and must stay at the bottom of the steps that lead to it. It is also said that it is Amaterasu who developed the rice fields, the cultivation of wheat, the breeding of silkworms, and the art of weaving.Īmaterasu is worshiped in Naiku Shrine, Ise-jingu Inner Shrine, Japan's holiest Shinto shrine. According to the Kojiki, Amaterasu would be the direct ancestor of the emperors of Japan as she sent her grandson Ninigi to rule and the latter's grandson would be Jinmu, the first mythical emperor of Japan. The universe brightened up again and the worship of the sun goddess never dries up. All the kami came to beg her to come out and ended up, tricking her, by making her leave her cave. Legend also has it that, following an argument with her younger brother Susanoo, Amaterasu retreated to a cave, and darkness reigned over the world. It is represented in the Japanese flag, in the form of the solar disk.ĭaughter of Izanagi and Izanami, she would have been born from the left ear of her divine father. Humans constantly interact with supernatural beings who have reactions similar to those of human beings.Īmaterasu: the greatest deity of the Shinto religionsĪmong the many Shinto deities, Amaterasu, the goddess of the Sun, literally "the one who makes the sky shine", is the most revered. Here the relationship is less hierarchical than in the Western conception. This worldview involves an almost material, causal relationship with "God". This fault ( tsumi) activates the punishment or ( tatari), which one can ward off by purifying oneself ( harau). These deities and spirits are each animated by beneficial powers or/and a "spirit of violence" that can be awakened if ever one encroaches on their domain or if one is guilty of a related fault with their field of action.
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