Hokusai
Ame no Uzume
Japan (1816)
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Totoya Hokkei
Ame no Uzume
Japan (1820)
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Kawanabe Kyosai
Otafuku, the Goddess of Mirth (Uzume), Holding a Baby Crane
Japan (1875)
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Odake Kokkan
The Enticement of Amaterasu by Ama no Uzume,
Japan (20th century)
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Hereās one last deity from the Shinto creation cycle: Ame-no-Uzume-no-mikoto / 天å®åå£²å½ / 天éæå„³å½, or Uzume or for short. Her name meansĀ āheavenly alarming femaleā, and sheās the goddess of dawn, mirth and revelry.
Weāve mentioned her before, in the story of how AmaterasuĀ fled to a cave, depriving the world of sunlight. But letās tell the tale from her point of view:
All the Heavenly Kami worked together to bring about the return of the source of light. The ancient texts deal with the actions, objects and potentialities assembled in great detail: jewels and a sacred mirror and a Hinoki palace were among the things made.
All the myriads of Kami assembled and it was then that Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto kindled many sacred bonfires, wrapped heavenly club moss around her as the Obi/sash, made the Kazura/head dress from the spindle tree, made the Sasa-ba/bamboo grass leaves into a bouquet, took into her hand a Hoko/spear wreathed in eulalia grass and danced the 1st archetypal Kagura on a sounding board (overturned wash tub) outside the door of the rock dwelling.Ā
The statue of Ame-no-Uzume atĀ Amanoiwato-jinja
Japan
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During the performance of this dance she also invented the flute and koto. As she danced she made the divinely inspired utterance Kamu Gakari, recited the HI-FU-MI Norito and pulled her clothes open to expose her private partsā¦Ā This divine dance made all the assembled Kami so happy they laughed, shouted and made ālife soundsā as well as songs of praise.
Versions Iāve read say that Amaterasu got curious about the laughter and had to emerge from her cave. (Iāve always wondered if there was an element of queer eroticism to this.)
Yoshitoshi Tsuikioka
Amaterasu Omikami appearing from the cave
Japan (1876-1882)
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⦠she saw her glorious reflection in a mirror which Uzume had placed on a tree, and slowly emerged from her hiding spot.
At that moment, the god Ame-no-Tajikarawo-no-mikoto dashed forth and closed the cave behind her, refusing to budge so that she could no longer retreat. Another god tied a magic shimenawa across the entrance. The deities Ame-no-Koyane-no-mikoto and Ame-no-Futodama-no-mikoto then asked Amaterasu to rejoin the divine. She agreed, and light was restored to the earth.
I really like this story. Not just because itās a story that celebrates female sensuality rather than prudery. But also because itās all about an artist saving the world. In a time of crisis, what do you do? You dance, you sing, you make people laugh. Maybe, just maybe, thatāll make the sun come out again.
Amaterasu Emerges from the Cave
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Today, Uzume is still worshipped as a kami, and revered for inventingĀ kagura dance, which is hella influential:
Originally called kamukura or kamikura (ē„åŗ§), kagura began as sacred dances performed at the Imperial court by shrine maidens (miko) who were supposedly descendants of Ame-no-Uzume. Over time, however, these mikagura (å¾”ē„愽), performed within the sacred and private precincts of the Imperial courts, inspired popular ritual dances, called satokagura (éē„愽), which, being popular forms, practiced in villages all around the country, were adapted into various other folk traditions and developed into a number of different formsā¦
Kagura, in particular those forms that involve storytelling or reenactment of fables, is also one of the primary influences on the Noh theatre.
Uzume herself lives on in the kagura stock character of the okame, the woman who revels in her sensuality:
Okame mask for kagura performance
Japan
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Kagura dance of Iwato: Uzume
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What a nice mask to wear. Letās join her in her revels.