KOJIKI STUDY QUESTIONS/QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION #1 DUE IN

CLASS THURS, WEEK 3

Please prepare the following study questions based on the assigned readings
(Kojiki, and essays on Shinto, found in the xerox pac) for class this Thurs, and pick
ONE as the topic for a one-two page, typed essay, written in your best English,
logically and clearly. Put a cover sheet with your name etc on the front (don=t
waste space on the first page for this).
(1) Reflect on the Japanese kami (gods) whose lives, deeds, and physical
characteristics, are colorfully depicted in the Kojiki excerpt in the e-res pac.
Draw together several characteristics of the kami, seen as a whole, with examples
or suitable citations from Kojiki to help make your point.
(2) What kind of kami world is depicted? Describe it carefully, with details
extracted from Kojiki to clarify your claims. Say how, if at all, that world reflects
Japanese society itself.
(3) What kind of behavior or physical demeanor is seen as >bad= or undesirable in
kami society? What does this tell us about the world/social view of those who
created the legends? Give specific examples from your Kojiki excerpts.
(4) What exactly do the gods represent? How are they linked to Japanese
spiritual beliefs?
(5) Do the gods die and react to death in a human way? Where do the dead go?
Use concrete examples to make your point.
(6) Discuss the depiction of the Sun Goddess in this excerpt from Kojiki. What
features of the goddess= behavior, demeanor, etc., are emphasized and why?
(7) Briefly summarize the points made by Keiji Iwata OR Tetsu Yamaori in their
essays, The Roots of the Shinto View of Nature and the World and The Three
Key Concepts of Shinto. (E-res materials)