Japanese Myths

[Reloaded]

THIS IS NOT MADE UP ITS A REAL LEGEND

i think kishi got the idea from this. its all very similar

courtesy of narutofever.com




Legend of the Gallant Jiraiya
" Jiraiya (literally 'Young Thunder'), was the scion of a powerful clan from Kyushu. When the family fell on hard times he went to Echigo province, now Niigata Prefecture, became a freebooter and rose to the position of chief of a chivalrous band of robbers.

He was initiated into toad magic by an immortal who resided on Mount Myoko, popularly known as Echigo Fuji. He failed to overcome and kill a hated rival, an older man named Sarashina, who was the cause of his family's ruin.
 
Jiraiya fell in love and married Tsunade, a beautiful young woman who was skilled in snail magic. Later, one of Jiraiya's followers, Yashagoro, was overcome by the spell of a serpent and became skilled in serpent magic. He took the name Orochimaru (Orochi means `monstrous snake') and attacked Jiraiya. Together with his wife, Jiraiya battled with this magician, but they were infected with the serpent's venom and fell unconscious. Fortunately another of Jiraiya's followers, whose life he had once saved, came to his rescue. At this point, without conclusion, the tale abruptly ends. 

Toad, serpent, bird, spider, and snail magic were the principal types of magic practiced by thaumaturges in old Japan.

[vaizards]

great :D
Good Info

[destinator]

That was very very interesting o.O the only sad thing about this legend is that it has no end ... :( Still thanks a lot for this.

[Reloaded]

its very similar because of the toad serpent and snail. nad the names i wonder if Jiraiya will get married to Tsunade lol.

[destinator]

rofl i thought the same xD but i guess not ^^

[Rampages]

Yeah, its actually a popular tale in japan. I think kishi told that he took the characters from their in a interview, too.

[pjoto]

Together with his wife, Jiraiya battled with this magician, but they were infected with the serpent's venom and fell unconscious. Fortunately another of Jiraiya's followers, whose life he had once saved, came to his rescue. At this point, without conclusion, the tale abruptly ends. 


So, Tsunade and Jiraya is gonna get killed? Then Naruto is gonna kick Orochimarus ass?
This reminds me more of the first real fight Naruto had, when he used his Rasengan on Kabuto..
Jiraya was poisoned, by Tsunade, but still.. And Tsunade was helpless because of all the blood and stuff.. Then Naruto owned Kabuto.. However, he didn't touch Orochimaru.. hm.. well, still a nice tale :) seen allot of these on zeh interweb, which fits the Naruto storyline.. same with all the names of the characters... how they fit so well :)
Motokoshi or whatever the mangaku is called most have thought allot about the storyline before he even started .. nice work :)

[dharshana]

http://www.babot.co.jp/jiraiya/yane.gif

[walkie]

well it is true that some legends inspired kishimoto, not only this one..he used some legendary characters and some moves (chidori) but he doesnt use tales as exaclty as they are...may be oro will kill jiraiya or/and tsunade but we can not be sure about that...there is also a bijuu legend where kishi got inspired and more like enma (monkey king) and etc....

[Rampages]

Yeah, that he did.

[okyatoks]

Some more Facts and Trivia on Naruto: :D

From : Anime News Network (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=1825&page=22)



The names of the three Sannin (Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru) were taken from the "Legend of the Gallant Jiraiya" each of whom had a special magic they learned - toad, slug, and snake.

In Naruto, the frog is associated with Naruto and Jiraiya, the snake with Sasuke and orochimaru and the snail with Sakura and Tsunade. The triad of Snake, Snail and Frog is from Japanese mythology. The Snake is more powerful than the frog, the snail is more powerful than the snake, and the frog is more powerful than the snail, making a "paper, rock, scissors" sort of situation. These three are collectively called the Sansukumi.

The sword that orochimaru uses is a sword that is called the "kusanagi" this means grass cutter and this is from a legend. A god was one day banished from heaven and killed a 8 head snake and out of the snake popped a sword and that was the sord of kusanagi

The name Uzumaki means whirlpool, Naruto is named after the whirlpool of the city Naruto. Naruto is also a name for steamed fish-paste cake, sliced to decorate soup which has a spiral design in the middle.

There once was a Japanese priest who supposedly enchanted a teapot to never be empty at a party and was believed to be a tanuki. His name was Shukaku. Gaara's tanuki demon is named Shukaku.

Talk about the deja vu of Ino-Shika-Cho, The team 10 (Ino-Shika-Cho) has shared the three-member team from their fathers (Inoichi, Shikaku and Chouza), and so are their techniques and their origin came from the card game.

Kakashi's means Scarecrow and Hatake means Dry field, or... literally, "a scarecrow on a dry field"

Masashi Kishimoto, creator of Naruto, was a huge fan of Akira Toriyama's Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball. Also he loves all the Dragon Ball stories up until the first appareance of Freeza. His favorite Dragon Ball character is Kuririn, because he has the most "human" feel and because he relates with him a lot.

Masashi Kishimoto says that the world of Naruto doesn't differ very much from our present time. Television, refrigerators and air conditioners exist in the world. The only exceptions are weapons and explosives, which he decided to set in a much earlier era. That's why we don't see firearms in the world of Naruto.

[Reloaded]

heres one about itachi

can some admin change the name of this topic to "Naruto facts and legends"


Shinto Legend on the Creation of the World
At the beginning of the World, there is one Being by the name of Izanagi. After a visit to the Netherworlds, he used water to purify his eyes, and thus, from the left eye, created Amaterasu, while from his right eye, created Tsuki-Yomi. Amaterasu was the Sun Goddess and Tsuki-Yomi the Moon Goddess. Finally, Susanowo the Storm God, was born from Izanagi's nose.

Amaterasu and Susanowo argued and fought each other for supreme power. Susanowo finally went on a killing rampage to prove his strength and Amaterasu hid in a cave in heaven.



Similarities between the Legend and Uchiha Itachi
Susanowo - Itachi, like Susanowo, went on a rampage to prove his strength, although Susanowo did not went to the extent of wiping out his entire family.

Tsuki-Yomi - The Moon Goddess. Itachi's technique to brings the victim into a time warp zone where there is always a bloody red moon. Legends also has it that the Tsuki-Yomi killed Uke-Mochi, the Goddess of Food (Amaterasu's close friend) after she offended the Moon Goddess, making Amaterasu so angry she vowed to never see Tsuki-Yomi again (explaining why there are days and nights). Tsuki-Yomi's act of violence could also be the inspiration for the red moon in Itachi's technique.

Amaterasu - The Sun Goddess. Itachi's black fire technique to burn through barriers, also known as Great Shining Heaven.


http://narutofever.com/images/legends/tsukiyomi.jpg http://narutofever.com/images/legends/amaterasu.jpg

[Galth]

can some admin change the name of this topic to "Naruto facts and legends"


You can do that yourself, just modify the first post and change it's title, the first post's title decides the thread's title...

[Reloaded]

ok thanks i didnt know that

[glasskatana]

Also, in your post you mention bird magic, if you look at some of the covers of Naruto, Sasuke is seen on a bird, and he grows wings in curse seal level 2. Not to mention the fact that Chidori means 1,000 birds. (I believe)

[SchmoDawg]

THIS IS NOT MADE UP ITS A REAL LEGEND

i think kishi got the idea from this. its all very similar

courtesy of narutofever.com




Legend of the Gallant Jiraiya
" Jiraiya (literally 'Young Thunder'), was the scion of a powerful clan from Kyushu. When the family fell on hard times he went to Echigo province, now Niigata Prefecture, became a freebooter and rose to the position of chief of a chivalrous band of robbers.

He was initiated into toad magic by an immortal who resided on Mount Myoko, popularly known as Echigo Fuji. He failed to overcome and kill a hated rival, an older man named Sarashina, who was the cause of his family's ruin.

Jiraiya fell in love and married Tsunade, a beautiful young woman who was skilled in snail magic. Later, one of Jiraiya's followers, Yashagoro, was overcome by the spell of a serpent and became skilled in serpent magic. He took the name Orochimaru (Orochi means `monstrous snake') and attacked Jiraiya. Together with his wife, Jiraiya battled with this magician, but they were infected with the serpent's venom and fell unconscious. Fortunately another of Jiraiya's followers, whose life he had once saved, came to his rescue. At this point, without conclusion, the tale abruptly ends.

Toad, serpent, bird, spider, and snail magic were the principal types of magic practiced by thaumaturges in old Japan.


This is awesome, thanks a lot. I love reading speculation based on myths such as the 9 tailed beast legend.

[Reloaded]

Also, in your post you mention bird magic, if you look at some of the covers of Naruto, Sasuke is seen on a bird, and he grows wings in curse seal level 2. Not to mention the fact that Chidori means 1,000 birds. (I believe)


yeah and kidoumarou uses spider justsus.

[Rampages]

Someone post the story of the 9 tailed monsters ?

[Reloaded]

ok here it is ^^^.

Fox spirits in Chinese legends
Chinese mythologies bear the origin of Foxes as demons and spirits, which plays a key role in many of the Chinese mythologies.

One of the most famous series of Chinese supernatural folklore is the 'Liao Zhai' Tales. Many of the stories in 'Liao Zhai' and other Chinese legends describe the fox, who after meditating hard in mountain caves for centuries, attain magical shape-shifting powers.

The Chinese fox spirits normally acquire the form of a young beautiful provocative woman. They are often conniving and evil, seducing men for their 'yang energy' to help them gain immortality. Because of these strong Chinese legends of the fox demons, females who have an affair with married men are often referred to as fox spirits or 'hu li jing'.


Although most legends condemn fox spirits as vicious demons, there are stories that put the fox in a more tender position, whose simple desire was basically to seek a companion to share the human experience of love and happiness, but faces the tragic condemnation and punishment after their identities are discovered.


it explains naruto sexy no justu

[Rampages]

Hey, thanks. :thumbs

Do we know anything about the other bijuus tough ?

[Reloaded]

no i couldnt find any more but i found one about the monkey god

[Rampages]

Enma ? Yeah, I read that. Thx anyway.

[billion bruce lees]

what about enma? where?

[kyubisharingan]

Damn i gotta go to bed soon for school in the morning but i want to know, Does anyone have or know where i can find pretty much all or most of the Japanese myths. Of course like all the big Naruto fans know (like me), Kishimoto made Naruto using myths and making them in a modern style. That is wat got me interested in Jap. myths. I know there is the search thread but that is mostly myths realated to naruto. I just want to find ALL or most of the myths. Could someone help out plz? :smile-big

[Hyuuga Hanabi]

Kojiki
Nihon Shoki/Nihongi
Have quite a bit

[Kusachu]

If you want books, then i suggest amazon.com. That's where i got most of mine. Books on general mythology of Japan will most likely have brief overviews of them though, so if you want more specific ones you'll have to search for specific topics. I imagine though, that you are looking for a website or something, yeah? When searching, you may try searching not only mythology, but art as well, since myth/religion are major themes of art and often have very good descriptions as well as images relating to whatever you want to know. Well then...erm...good luck! Oh and if you happen upon something interesting that isn't mentioned in the Research Thread, would you be so kind as to link it in there to share with the rest of us? :)

[Ayah]

I'm surprised that no one suggested searching the library for books of Japanese mythology :oh

[RaZe]

yea; the library owns. ^^


uhh i have a .pdf version of "Kitsune: Japan's Fox of Mystery, Romance and Humor" by Kiyosho Nozaki.

thats about it. :|

[Kusachu]

yea; the library owns. ^^


uhh i have a .pdf version of "Kitsune: Japan's Fox of Mystery, Romance and Humor" by Kiyosho Nozaki.

thats about it. :|

*goes to amazon to look it up* XDDDDDDDDD Ever read "The Fox Woman"? so good. (sorry...off topic XP)

wait...it's a pdf?? where from? is that from foxtrots kitsune lore page?? i have pdf of the book "Kitsune" is that the same thing?

[kyubisharingan]

umm i meant like on the internet.

[RaZe]

*goes to amazon to look it up* XDDDDDDDDD Ever read "The Fox Woman"? so good. (sorry...off topic XP)
nope, never heard of it. ^^ will look for it though :)



wait...it's a pdf??
yep.

where from?
Damned if i remember. ^^ im hosting it on megauploads for you all now.

is that from foxtrots kitsune lore page?? i have pdf of the book "Kitsune" is that the same thing?
could be; you tell me. ^^

*twiddles thumbs while waiting for upload*
the 33mb may cause dialupers to hate me; but i got it when i was on dialup, so deal with it. ;)


umm i meant like on the internet.
well; your in luck, upload complete:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z1DJ3QNZ

[kyubisharingan]

nope, never heard of it. ^^ will look for it though :)
yep.
Damned if i remember. ^^ im hosting it on megauploads for you all now.could be; you tell me. ^^

*twiddles thumbs while waiting for upload*
the 33mb may cause dialupers to hate me; but i got it when i was on dialup, so deal with it. ;)
well; your in luck, upload complete:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z1DJ3QNZ



cool but im looking for, not one Japanese myth, but all or most of them. Cuz of how Kishimoto used many myths.Im pretty sure i said that when i made this topic hmmm....

[pocketmofo]

I believe a lot of Naruto theorists draw their ideas from different wikipedia links. You might search for the kojiki and other famous Japanese "history" books for famous creation myths and other stories on wikipedia (this would also include descriptions of famous creatures and gods).

Check there first and then if you want additional information about certain myths in particular just ask about them and I'm sure someone will help you get a deeper understanding.

[RaZe]

cool but im looking for, not one Japanese myth, but all or most of them. Cuz of how Kishimoto used many myths.Im pretty sure i said that when i made this topic hmmm....

and im pretty sure i only have the one. ^^

but it's a start >.> if i find anything else ill let you know.

[kyubisharingan]

and im pretty sure i only have the one. ^^

but it's a start >.> if i find anything else ill let you know.


Ah thanks!!

[Ruth]

onmarkproduction.com ... i nice list for beginners. :notrust

[4ghost]

Try this link A thread from Narutofan Forums.

http://forums.narutofan.com/showthread.php?t=18165

[kyubisharingan]

onmarkproduction.com ... i nice list for beginners. :notrust


...? i cant get on there.

[Reloaded]

go on naruto fever then scroll house. it has some myths like the tale of jiraiya and the bijuus go here
http://narutofever.com/

[kyubisharingan]

go on naruto fever then scroll house. it has some myths like the tale of jiraiya and the bijuus go here
http://narutofever.com/


yea i know but thanks. Im just looking for Japanese myths not just myths that relate to Naruto. Thats wat im looking for

[Kusachu]

nope, never heard of it. ^^ will look for it though :)
yep.
Damned if i remember. ^^ im hosting it on megauploads for you all now.could be; you tell me. ^^

*twiddles thumbs while waiting for upload*
the 33mb may cause dialupers to hate me; but i got it when i was on dialup, so deal with it. ;)
well; your in luck, upload complete:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z1DJ3QNZ



OH YAY! I downloaded that and its not the same as what i got so thanks a lot for the link! I apreciate it! *sparkles*

[pocketmofo]

I posted this answer on the first page, but it seems to have gone unnoticed.

Look on wikipedia under Japanese myths, kojiki and other words mentioned in the first page of this thread. You will no doubt find many interesting stories about different Japanese creatures and creation myths.

Here's a link to one of the pages mentioned:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kojiki

If you click on words that interest you it should give you plenty of information about Japanese myths.

[Remus]

anyone got detailed pictures of the mythical 9 beats and other japanese demons. I know there is a site here but its kind of childish.

[Cloud]

All there is of Japanese myths is found in either the Kojiki or the Nihongi.

However, Kishimoto also makes use of various legends and folktales (the Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya, from which Jiraya's, Orochimaru's and Tsunade's names and parts of their character derives, is one example) and other references from Japanese folklore, and some references to Japanese literature (Sarutobi Sasuke) and Japanese history.

The references to Japanese folklore besides myths are more difficult to get an overview of, as most of the time, the reference isn't to any particular story, but to a figure or a motif, where the actual inspiration might be unclear.

Wikipedia is most likely the most accessable source, with a bunch of good articles (though some articles are in shambles, and others are slightly inaccurate due to many users' misunderstanding or poor grasp of folkloristic terms and matters).
I know a thing a two about Japanese folklore, and a lot about folklore in general, so if there is anything in particular that you're wondering about, I might have the answer.

[lupinos]

I know of a site that calls themselves an 'encyclopedia mythica' which attempts to archive information on all myths and religions outside of the three monotheistic faiths. I can tell you they are not 100% accurate, I have seen many errors, but they have the basic concepts correct for the majority of their archived information. Another thing you have to remember with a site like this, most religions were passed down word-of-mouth through many generations in the forms of stories and traditions. So unless you spent your entire lifetime doing nothing but studying religions, you would never know the 100% truth as there are numerous variations to each story. Each time a story is retold it is told differently with new info and it excluded some info. I went off on a tangeant but this website is fairly accurate, although you may have to dig through a great many articles in order to find what you seek.

If you wish to research more on the web, instead of 'Japanese Myths' search for Shinto and Buddhist teachings or folklore.
Any way go to www. pantheon .org and click on Asia, then on Japanese Mythology, and finally on available articles. Ignore the geneology tables on this site, other than Norse and Greek mythology their geneology tables aren't totally accurate.

[Cloud]

Encyclopedia Mythica certainly isn't a bad place to start for info, though it's far from being the best, or even great. It contains a lot faulty info, as you mentioned. Especially concerning Oceanic and Native American mythologies, and contributers sometimes confuses myths, legends and folktales, and some contributions don't even exist (some of the "gods" on, for example, the Norse mythology-page have never been believed to exist, and don't show up in any literature or other sources).

It's true that there are a lot of variants when it comes to folklore, even for myths, but a thing to note that different cities, cults, tribes, etc., sometimes had their own variant of a particular story. Often this was because the story was retold enough times to allow for variants (like lupinos said), or the general story was of a specific tradition, and the particular story a group had was simply their interpretation or understanding of the particular tradition.
Of course, there is no one correct version, at least from a folkloristic point of view.

[tidal_alchemist87]

I found this article on wikipedia which talked about a Japanese tale called Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari.

taken straight from wikipedia:
Jiraiya (児雷也 - literally "young thunder"), the title character of the Japanese folktale Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari (児雷也豪傑物語, "The tale of the gallant Jiraiya"), is a ninja who uses shapeshifting magic to morph into a gigantic toad. The heir of a powerful clan in Kyūshū of the same name, Jiraiya fell in love with Tsunade, a beautiful young princess who masters snail magic. His arch-enemy was his one-time follower, Orochimaru, who mastered in snake magic.

Anyways if u want to link is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiraiya_Goketsu_Monogatari

[mrcongojack]

All I can say is ....wow....

Sorry to tell you this, tidal alchemist 87, but this has to be the 19th thread on this topic.
Here's a thread already on the topic:
http://mangahelpers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1730

[tidal_alchemist87]

Er...sorry then mrcongojack , to be honest I actually would have been suprised if no one discussed this b4, i mean wikipedia isn't exactly an unknown quantity to begin with. Does this mean this thread has to be shut down?

[taimoor2]

Actually, I recommend you look at theinformation thread in naruto toshkan, it has information about this and many other legends. You will find it interesting.

[TWNJ]

Its a good theory but wikipedia isnt exactly reliable. But it does make a lot of sense. Uzumaki naruto is meant to be the name of a small town somewhere on the cost of japan with whirlpools and hot air thingy-majigs which are called narutos. so i guess he picked that name for naruto because of the whirliness.

[kyuubifrique]

A lot of the Naruto-related folklore that I have seen comes from www.narutofever.com. There is also an explanation of Itachi's Tsukiomi, Ameratsu and his yet to be seen jutsu (depending on Kishimoto's faithfulness to the folklore) Susanoo. it takes naruto from being a cool manga/anime to something with a bit more meaning. There is also an explanation for a few of the names.

[Decorus]

No Itachi only has Grasping Moon and his Sun technique. He specificly states he only has 2 MS techniques that he can only use each one once per day. Going looking for extra meaning in the Japanese legends that Kishimoto is borrowing names from is a fruitless exercise in futility this is not the first Manga that has borrowed elements of different Japanese and Chinese folk tales.