Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto
Amenouzume (Japaneseアメノウズメ, also Ame -no- Uzume -no- kami, or Ame -no- Uzume -no- mikoto ( Kojiki and Nihon Shoki ); Karl Florence translates the name as " the deterrent wife of Heaven" ) is a female Kami in the mythology of Shinto. The Dance of the Amenouzume is considered the archetype of the sacred Shinto dance Kagura.
Dance for Amaterasu
Shortly after Susanoos last visit with his sister Amaterasu before his exile from Takamagahara taught this great evil in the heavenly realms and devastated much of what had been built previously by heavenly order.
Amaterasu expressed her so scared and upset that they hid in the Heavenly Rock Cave ( Ame -no- iwa -ya ) and the door shut behind him, what is eternal night ( toko - yo ) in the heavenly realms and on earth and was immediately broke out a wail among the eighty myriads of Kami. So they gathered on the river bed of the Tranquil River of Heaven and devised a plan to figure out again Amaterasu out of the cave.
The proportion of Amenouzume was to perform a sacred dance. To this end, she took various relics (including a hand supporting band ( Tasuki ) from lobe club moss from the celestial Kagu Mountain, Headdress ( Kazura ) from the leaves of the spindle tree ( Kojiki ) and the Sakaki ( Nihon Shoki ), a hand bouquet of bamboo grass ( sasa - ba, not in the Nihon Shoki ) and a spear ( hoko, not in the Kojiki ) ), lit a fire (not in the Kojiki ) and hired a sound board ( uke fusete; Kojiki ) or an inverted trough ( uke, Nihonshoki ) in front of the cave, then stomped on it and did with pantomimic gestures as if she was in possession and divine inspiration. The fact directly following passage is probably one of the most discussed in the Shinto mythology. It is found that only in the Kojiki. In two alternative narratives of Nihonshoki the dance is not mentioned in the main version of the Nihon Shoki and the Kogoshūi lack the kriminierten as obscene parts of the dance from the Kojiki, the Basil Hall Chamberlain into English in 1906 compelled in its translation to the appropriate place to change into Latin ( usque ad private partes):
" [ Amenouzume ] pulled out the warts of her breasts and pulled the hem band of her gown down to the pubic. Since the realm of High Heaven and the eight hundred myriad gods rocked all laughed together. "
Amaterasu heard this laughter and was so amazed at the exuberance shown as open despite it caused darkness in the sky that they open the door to a little rock apartment opened and asked the reason. Amenouzume you meant then that the Heavenly Kami would all rejoice because a deity would be there, which is more glorious than Amaterasu. At the same time put the other Heavenly Kami before a specially prepared on mirror so that Amaterasu - curious as to who was the more glorious Kami and baffled by her own face - was finally pulled out when peeking out of the cave and again everything was bright.
Service for Ninigi
As Ninigi was sent by Amaterasu and Takamimusubi to earth to reign over them, was on the heavenly crossroads eight ( Yachi - mata ) a Kami, whose identity was initially unclear. He seemed terribly, or at least to be very powerful, so Amenouzume was sent ahead to find out who this Kami. Amaterasu and Takamimusubi gave her, according to the Kojiki the order with the words:
"If you're even just a schwachhändiges wife, thou art but a deity, the victorious looks ahead to [ hostile ] conflicting gods. Therefore, you shall go alone and therefore ask, ' Who remains as such on the ways in which our noble child wants to bring about the descent from heaven ' "
In Nihon Shoki, the other Heavenly Kami showed very scared before the mysterious Kami at the crossroads and it precedes provided by Amenouzume to the Kami question this passage:
" Ame no Uzume entbößte hereupon her breasts, pulled the lace of her woman skirt to below the navel down and kicked him so scornfully laughing over. Since the God of the Stations of the Cross asked them, saying, Ame no Uzume! for any reason you do that ' she answered and said: ' I will permit myself to ask who is the one who stays at this [ boorish ] way on the way to along the child of Ama- terasu Oho -mi- kami about? ' "
The Kami then introduced himself as the earthly Kami Sarutahiko, who had heard of the impending descent Ninigis and now humbly waiting for him to offer him upon his arrival services as guides ( saki ). Ameonouzume reported this in heaven or accompanied Sarutahiko in his leadership Ninigis.
The following and worship
From Ninigi got Amenozume According to the Nihon Shoki for their services the name of the discovered from her deity as Kabane and Uji. He gave her and her offspring, therefore the name and title Sarume no Kimi ( Saru -me is translated by Florence with " Affenweib ", it is the front part of the name of Sarutahiko. These Sarume to have been the first dancers in festivities, forerunner of Miko ).
Some commentators consider this to be a marriage between Sarutahiko and Amenozume, which would explain why they are mapped in some pictorial representations together and as husband and wife. In the worship in Shinto, the two often share the same dogs a shrine, for example in Yūtoku - inari Shrine ( Kashima, Saga Prefecture, where it bears the name Ōmiya -no- me- no-kami ), along with Uga - tama -no- mikoto to Fushimi Inari Taisha and Saruta - hiko -jinja ( a massha of Mitsumine shrine in Saitama Prefecture ). Other names by which she is worshiped are, among others, Miya -bi -no- kami, Ō- ichi -hime, Ō- miya -hime and Ō- yama -hime.
Alone Amenozume is revered in just a few shrines, including the Reino mimae -sha ( a massha of Atsuta - jingū ). In other Kami except Sarutahiko it is, among other things enshrined in Ebisu -jinja ( a sessha of Himuka shrine in the district of Higashiyama -ku Kyoto ) and Ichido -sha ( a by- shrine of Kibitsu shrine in Okayama ).
The Dance of the Amenouzume is a model for many kagura dances in all sorts of rituals to high for Daijō -sai, part of the accession of Tennō in Imperial Shinto. Special worship she receives through her dance for Amaterasu traditionally by the various guilds or organizations professional dancer in Japan.
A popular motif (especially for Netsuke and masks of the Noh theater ) in Japanese art is her smiling moon face with chubby cheeks that are down thicker than above, the above forehead, flat nose, thin and curvy eyes as well as the small, open mouth. This motif, which is not nice, but still happy and charming look, also means Okame or Otafuku.