Saturday, February 20, 2010

Ame no nuhoko

Ame no nuhoko

Ame no nuhoko or called "heavenly jewelled spear" is the name given to the naginata in Japanese mythology that is used to improve the ancient land mass, Onōgoro-shima, from the sea. According to Kojiki, the gods Izanagi and Izanami are responsible for creating the first ground. To help them do this, they were given a naginata decorated with jewels, named Ame-no-nuboko. The two deities then went to the bridge between heaven and earth, Ame-no-ukihashi ( "floating bridge of heaven"), and churned the sea below with naginata. When the drops of salty water fell from the end, they formed the first island, Onōgoro-shima. Izanagi and Izanami then descended from the bridge of heaven and make their homes on the island.

Kanji characters used in American-no-nuboko in correctly pronounce ame-(no)-Numa-hoko, with Numa means "Marsh, swamp, or bog". This will be translated as "heavenly spear swamp".