Myths about folklore

The miniature deity Sukunabikona, after working alongside Ookuninushi to establish and develop the land of Japan, climbed a tall, swaying millet stalk. As the flexible stem bent under his featherlight weight and suddenly rebounded, he was flung across the ocean into Tokoyo-no-Kuni, the mythical Eternal Land. This dramatic departure marked the end of his earthly partnership in the nation's...

This myth tells the story of the gentle god Okuninushi, then known as Onamuchi, who traveled to the land of Inaba alongside his eighty jealous brothers. Along the way, he showed compassion to the flayed White Hare of Inaba, who prophesied that Onamuchi would win the hand of the beautiful Princess Yakami-hime. Despite his brothers' cruelty and attempts on his life, the princess rejected the...

During a journey to win the hand of Princess Yakami, the compassionate deity Ōkuninushi encountered the White Hare of Inaba, who had been flayed by sea beasts and further tormented by Ōkuninushi's cruel brothers. Ōkuninushi kindly advised the suffering hare to wash in a freshwater river and roll in the healing pollen of cattails. Once restored, the grateful hare prophesied that Ōkuninushi...

The myth of Ōnamuchi (later Ōkuninushi) and his eighty brothers who travel to the province of Inaba to court Princess Yakami. While his proud brothers force Ōnamuchi to carry all their heavy luggage, they encounter a suffering, skinless hare on the coast of Inaba. The brothers trick the hare with painful advice, but the compassionate Ōnamuchi offers the correct remedy, earning the gratitude...

This myth, originating from the New Kingdom 'Tale of Two Brothers,' recounts the supernatural journey of Bata, who survives betrayal and death through a series of transformations. After being wronged by his brother's wife and then his own, Bata undergoes cycles of reincarnation as a bull and two Persea trees. The story culminates in Bata's final rebirth as the son of his treacherous wife,...

Long before the great philosopher Confucius was born, his mother Yan Zhengzai experienced a miraculous visitation by a Qilin on the slopes of Mount Ni. The mythical beast, representing supreme virtue and benevolence, knelt before her and spat out a jade tablet prophesying that her son would be a 'throneless king.' This divine encounter marked the beginning of a life that would eventually...

In the Spring and Autumn period, a master guqin player named Yu Boya found his only true musical soulmate in a humble woodcutter named Zhong Ziqi. When Ziqi died, Boya was so overcome with grief that he smashed his instrument and cut its strings, vowing never to play again as the only person who understood his music was gone. This legend is the origin of the term 'Zhiyin,' meaning a soulmate...

This legendary tale follows Erlang Shen, the divine nephew of the Jade Emperor, as he embarks on a perilous quest to rescue his mother, the goddess Yaoji, who was imprisoned beneath Mount Peach for the crime of marrying a mortal. After years of rigorous spiritual training and the opening of his celestial third eye, Erlang wields a massive, magical axe to split the mountain asunder. The story...

The legend of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, known as the 'Butterfly Lovers,' tells the tragic story of two young scholars who fall in love despite social constraints and a family-arranged marriage. After Liang dies from a broken heart and Zhu joins him in his grave, their spirits are reborn as a pair of butterflies, symbolizing eternal love and freedom. This ancient tale is a cornerstone of...

In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a young woman named Zhu Yingtai disguised herself as a man to pursue an education in Hangzhou, where she formed an inseparable bond with her classmate Liang Shanbo. After three years of shared study, their attempt to marry was thwarted by a forced betrothal, leading to Liang's death from grief and Zhu's eventual suicide at his grave. Their spirits famously...