Amaterasu, Susanoo and Ama-no-Iwato: a Stranger Things Analysis
in this post i want to talk about shinto mythology and elements that might relate to stranger things, considering will as a figure associated with light and jane as a figure associated with chaos. keeping in mind ode_to_icarus 's theory of will and jane as avatars of pelor (dnd god of the sun and light) and tharizdun (dnd god of chaos) respectively.
i wanted to look at it from a shinto perspective, specifically the conflict between amaterasu and susanoo.
amaterasu is the shinto goddess of the sun, usually regarded as the chief of the kami. her sibling susanoo is the god of the sea and storms, and he is often portrayed with conflicting and contradictory characteristics, both good and bad: he is brave but belligerent, heroic but insolent, rude and easily bored.
amaterasu is famously associated with the myth of ama-no-iwato, a cave in which she hid, upset by her brother susanoo's destructive behaviour: he destroyed the rice fields grown by the goddess, distrupted rites as she's performing them, teared her home apart, and scared her maids to the point one of them got hurt and died. he is specifically depicted as a chaotic force that seeks to disrupt borders, the wholeness of things, and the order and harmony resulting from social bonds, as he doesn't want to abide by the limiting norms of "good human behaviour".
enraged, amaterasu hid in a cave, and the world plunged into darkness. this is generally associated to a solar eclipse, which is considered an ominous event that calls for rituals of protection and purification: covering wells to protect them from being contaminated by the "poison" of the eclipse, performing misogiharae (water purification) rituals, lighting bonfires to restore light.
the same way the egyptian god aphopis disrupts the sun god ra during solar eclipses, it is seen as a temporary triumph of chaos over order, of darkness over light.
to bring light back into the world, she was lured out of the cave by the effort of other kami, led by omoikane, god of wisdom, intelligence, knowledge and foresight (the shinto equivalent of ioun from dnd).
ame-no-uzume, goddess of dawn, mirth, meditation, and the arts, performed for her a dance, shedding her clothes: this dance was seen as sacred, comical and erotic all at once, and intrigued amaterasu enough to make her peek out of the cave.
(*this event is also considered the inspiration for the shinto ritualistic dance kagura, which is also what inspires the demon slayer hinokami kagura, but we will talk about it in another post.)
the kami then hung a mirror outside of the cave, and amaterasu catched her reflection. while mesmerised by her own light, peeking out further from the cave to look, she was pulled out and the cave sealed shut to prevent her from hiding again. the light came back to the world.
after this episode, as punishment, susanoo was banished from the realm of the gods and exiled on earth. he then became a defender of humanity.
in the realm of theories, i espect a fight between will and jane, as siblings and avatars of opposing forces. not to say jane will be in any way in control of her actions, as i expect her to be controlled and eventually brought back.
i can see the cave as a dark place made of fear one is trapped in, when one gives in to grief and despair, or bottles emotions instead of being honest (looking at one mike wheeler). it is also an interesting place for death and rebirth when one looks at ascetic practices from shugendo (which i'll bring up in a later post), and combining it with the myth of plato's cave i could say: one emerges from the depts of illusion as a new person, having shed all that is fake and untrue. and, a reach, this could be a point where a fake-out death is inserted, at a crossroads: to keep being hopeless and fearful, or to trust that the void of uncertainty and possibility will bring on new life?
i can also see some revelation making will see himself in a new light, or see himself as the light he always was: theoretically, an event or confession, that would mirror his feelings. like amaterasu saw her own light reflected in the mirror, he will see his feelings in somebody else, and/or will see himself in all his splendor, after getting out of the darkness. this can also be applied, to an extent, to mike, as a paladin of will, finally seeing himself as mike the brave, and realizing he is that same person, mike the brave always was his own reflection.
this is, yet again, a tale of light vs darkness, order vs chaos, a triumph of mirth and liberation, as symbolized by the kagura dance, over rage and resentment. dance, or better, music, and freedom, and love, is what i believe will bring back the light and restore the world to its order. not the original order, but one born anew.
