Izanagi and Izanami
Like many other myths of creation, the gods represent human beings pretty well in a variety of different ways. The part that struck me this time was Izanami's death by childbirth. Who would think that gods would be capable of dying, let alone in a way that is utterly human?
The marriage scene was very silly to me. Not only was it rooted in traditional gender roles (man speaks first because he is more important yada yada), but also the fact that they redid the whole thing due to superstitions arising from those roles was pretty humorous to me. Could you imagine if that were to really happen at someone's wedding? ("Let's call this off - the groom was led in by his father instead of the bride" tsk tsk)
The Miraculous Mirror
That first paragraph was hilarious!
It's interesting how Amaterasu and her hand maidens are involved in creating both good and bad things.
It's interesting to see Amaterasu's reaction to the mirror. It was completely opposite to Narcissus' reaction when he saw his own reflection. Of course, Amaterasu was ignorant to what the mirror was doing, but still.
The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi
Wow, Suanoo can be a real great guy when he's irately chasing his sister out of the kingdom of heaven into a terrible cave!
The Heaven-Descended
"Don't shoot the messenger" wasn't really applied here, I guess. It might not have been his fault though, because nobody told him not to shoot the messenger!
The Fortunate Fish Hook
If the fish hook is past the "bounds of the ocean", where is it? What makes it not ocean?
Woah, a marriage that was actually based in love! I'm glad to hear that the woman was actually consenting to the marriage, not just "wed" or "taken as a bride" as many of these kinds of stories seem to describe marriage. It was cool to see.
The Labors of Yamato - The Rescue of the Princess
Where did the idea for the mermaid come from? The part about Yamato chasing after the mermaid would make for a nice side story.
Yamato must have had very interesting facial features to be able to pass as a beautiful woman by just wearing a tiara and putting on a woman's clothing!
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Fortunate fish hook
Bibliography: Stories from Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E.W. and F. Champney. Source.
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