Week 7 Story: Mirror, Mirror
When Susa-no-wo stormed into her palace last week, wreaking havoc and causing a huge ruckus, Amaterasu did what any sensible person would do: she hid. Susa-no-wo was not someone you wanted to mess with when he got angry-- she knew this because she had been on the receiving end of his rage multiple times. So, when he busted into her palace in Heaven, unannounced and uninvited, she ran for the hills as fast as the wind would carry her. Or, more specifically, she headed for the caves.
She had been living in this dank cave for a week now, and she was starting to like it. It was cozy and quiet, and most of all, it was kind of dark. As the Goddess of the Sun, Amaterasu was always bathed in her own sunlight. Her palace was built to reflect her sunlight all around the world, lighting the days for the humans her mother created and loved so much. Being so bright all the time could be tiring, and no one understood that more than Amaterasu.
One unsuspecting day, while Amaterasu was lounging in her newly appointed throne room with her handmaids, Amaterasu heard laughter echoing off the cave walls. The tinkling laughter, like ringing bells, disturbed the sanctity of the cave and made Amaterasu immediately angry.
Amaterasu stood suddenly from her throne, storming through the cave hallways, looking for the source of the laughter. "Who is that laughing?" she shouted. "What could possibly be so funny that you need to disturb my peace and quiet?"
As she rounded the corner, she came upon Uzume, the giddy and horribly annoying Goddess of Mirth and Laughter. Of course, she thought.
"What the hell is so funny, Uzume? Why are you disturbing me?" Amaterasu snapped at the lower goddess, but Uzume continued to smile at her like she knew something Amaterasu didn't. Amaterasu noticed she was holding a small mirror in her hand.
"What's funny, dear Amaterasu, is that you were once the most beautiful being in all the world. But, the second you locked yourself down here like a hermit, someone even more beautiful than you has been found. She lights the world with her smiles and brightens the days of all those who know her. What's funny is that you've only been here a week and the humans can scarcely remember your name," Uzume said mockingly, a small smirk on her face.
As Uzume told Amaterasu why she was laughing, Amaterasu's face grew red with rage. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists to keep from screaming or breaking something.
How dare those idiot humans forget her? How dare they sweep her aside for this new person like she meant nothing? How dare anyone be more beautiful and radiant than her? She was a GODDESS. No one can be more beautiful than a GODDESS, that's how it worked.
"Uzume, show me this woman. There's no way anyone could be more beautiful than me," Amaterasu demanded. Uzume had to be lying-- there was no other explanation.
"Sure! Good thing I brought my trusty hand mirror! It'll show us anyone we want to see. Just say "mirror, mirror" and then tell it to show you the most beautiful woman in the world, and it'll show you her. I'm warning you though, she might make you feel a little inferior. She's that great," Uzume replied, giving Amaterasu the magic hand mirror.
Amaterasu took the mirror in her hand, and, closing her eyes, told it, "Mirror, mirror-- show me the most beautiful woman in the world."
The mirror glowed and vibrated, and when Amaterasu opened her eyes, who she saw was genuinely the most beautiful person she had ever seen. Her skin was radiant and unblemished, her hair was long and flowing, she glowed with an internal light that no one could possibly match. Amaterasu only looked at the reflection for half a second before she smashed the mirror as hard as she could against the cave floor. She had never been more livid in her life.
More beautiful than me, huh, she thought. I'll show her who's more beautiful when I rip her head from her body.
Amaterasu knew what she had to do. The humans were her subjects to woo. They were supposed to believe in HER and worship HER. She gave them light, for god's sake. In her jealousy and untamable rage, she knew that her only option was to kill this woman, making her the most beautiful woman by default.
She stormed to the cave entrance, Uzume following behind her, chuckling. When she emerged into the dark world outside, she stopped in the clearing outside for a second to think about how she was going to find this woman. The world immediately filled with light, shining across the mountains and the sea.
Suddenly, she heard movement behind her and a crash. Whipping around, she saw Uzume leaning against a large boulder with another god, watching her. Amaterasu realized quickly that once she and Uzume had left the cave, the god standing outside rolled the large boulder in front of the door. She frowned at Uzume, who smiled delightedly at her.
"What is the meaning of this Uzume? What have you done?" Amaterasu snapped, turning back towards the cave.
"Well, if you hadn't smashed my mirror like a crazy hothead, you would realize that the mirror was showing you your reflection. We just wanted you to come out of the cave and bring light back to the humans. All the darkness was making everyone depressed," Uzume replied. "You're still the most beautiful being in the world, Amaterasu, but you serve no one as a hermit."
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed my story for this week. This week, I read the Japanese Mythology unit. One of the stories in this unit included one about Amaterasu, the great Goddess of the Sun (who is basically the most important goddess in Japanese Mythology). One day, after her brother Susa-no-wo comes to her palace in a rage, she decides to hide in a cave, thereby ridding the world of light. Uzume comes to her after a while, tricking her into thinking that there is a more beautiful woman in the world than her in order to get her to leave the cave. Once she leaves, they make sure she can never hide from the world and take away light again. I kept most of the story details the same, but I focused a bit more on Amaterasu's thoughts on the situation, added more dialogue, and threw in the "mirror, mirror" easter egg.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend" by E.W. Champney and F. Champney. Web Source: UnTextbook.
She had been living in this dank cave for a week now, and she was starting to like it. It was cozy and quiet, and most of all, it was kind of dark. As the Goddess of the Sun, Amaterasu was always bathed in her own sunlight. Her palace was built to reflect her sunlight all around the world, lighting the days for the humans her mother created and loved so much. Being so bright all the time could be tiring, and no one understood that more than Amaterasu.
One unsuspecting day, while Amaterasu was lounging in her newly appointed throne room with her handmaids, Amaterasu heard laughter echoing off the cave walls. The tinkling laughter, like ringing bells, disturbed the sanctity of the cave and made Amaterasu immediately angry.
Amaterasu stood suddenly from her throne, storming through the cave hallways, looking for the source of the laughter. "Who is that laughing?" she shouted. "What could possibly be so funny that you need to disturb my peace and quiet?"
As she rounded the corner, she came upon Uzume, the giddy and horribly annoying Goddess of Mirth and Laughter. Of course, she thought.
"What the hell is so funny, Uzume? Why are you disturbing me?" Amaterasu snapped at the lower goddess, but Uzume continued to smile at her like she knew something Amaterasu didn't. Amaterasu noticed she was holding a small mirror in her hand.
"What's funny, dear Amaterasu, is that you were once the most beautiful being in all the world. But, the second you locked yourself down here like a hermit, someone even more beautiful than you has been found. She lights the world with her smiles and brightens the days of all those who know her. What's funny is that you've only been here a week and the humans can scarcely remember your name," Uzume said mockingly, a small smirk on her face.
As Uzume told Amaterasu why she was laughing, Amaterasu's face grew red with rage. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists to keep from screaming or breaking something.
How dare those idiot humans forget her? How dare they sweep her aside for this new person like she meant nothing? How dare anyone be more beautiful and radiant than her? She was a GODDESS. No one can be more beautiful than a GODDESS, that's how it worked.
"Uzume, show me this woman. There's no way anyone could be more beautiful than me," Amaterasu demanded. Uzume had to be lying-- there was no other explanation.
"Sure! Good thing I brought my trusty hand mirror! It'll show us anyone we want to see. Just say "mirror, mirror" and then tell it to show you the most beautiful woman in the world, and it'll show you her. I'm warning you though, she might make you feel a little inferior. She's that great," Uzume replied, giving Amaterasu the magic hand mirror.
Amaterasu took the mirror in her hand, and, closing her eyes, told it, "Mirror, mirror-- show me the most beautiful woman in the world."
The mirror glowed and vibrated, and when Amaterasu opened her eyes, who she saw was genuinely the most beautiful person she had ever seen. Her skin was radiant and unblemished, her hair was long and flowing, she glowed with an internal light that no one could possibly match. Amaterasu only looked at the reflection for half a second before she smashed the mirror as hard as she could against the cave floor. She had never been more livid in her life.
More beautiful than me, huh, she thought. I'll show her who's more beautiful when I rip her head from her body.
Amaterasu knew what she had to do. The humans were her subjects to woo. They were supposed to believe in HER and worship HER. She gave them light, for god's sake. In her jealousy and untamable rage, she knew that her only option was to kill this woman, making her the most beautiful woman by default.
She stormed to the cave entrance, Uzume following behind her, chuckling. When she emerged into the dark world outside, she stopped in the clearing outside for a second to think about how she was going to find this woman. The world immediately filled with light, shining across the mountains and the sea.
Suddenly, she heard movement behind her and a crash. Whipping around, she saw Uzume leaning against a large boulder with another god, watching her. Amaterasu realized quickly that once she and Uzume had left the cave, the god standing outside rolled the large boulder in front of the door. She frowned at Uzume, who smiled delightedly at her.
"What is the meaning of this Uzume? What have you done?" Amaterasu snapped, turning back towards the cave.
"Well, if you hadn't smashed my mirror like a crazy hothead, you would realize that the mirror was showing you your reflection. We just wanted you to come out of the cave and bring light back to the humans. All the darkness was making everyone depressed," Uzume replied. "You're still the most beautiful being in the world, Amaterasu, but you serve no one as a hermit."
Amaterasu in the cave. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed my story for this week. This week, I read the Japanese Mythology unit. One of the stories in this unit included one about Amaterasu, the great Goddess of the Sun (who is basically the most important goddess in Japanese Mythology). One day, after her brother Susa-no-wo comes to her palace in a rage, she decides to hide in a cave, thereby ridding the world of light. Uzume comes to her after a while, tricking her into thinking that there is a more beautiful woman in the world than her in order to get her to leave the cave. Once she leaves, they make sure she can never hide from the world and take away light again. I kept most of the story details the same, but I focused a bit more on Amaterasu's thoughts on the situation, added more dialogue, and threw in the "mirror, mirror" easter egg.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend" by E.W. Champney and F. Champney. Web Source: UnTextbook.
Hi Abbi! I really enjoyed reading your story this week! I also chose this story from the collection Japanese Mythology to read this week, and I feel like this was a really fun and unique way to retell it! I really enjoyed how you used a mix of current language and the language used to tell the original story. It makes it more relatable and easier to read! I also enjoyed how you utilized Amaterasu's own perspective to tell the story! Knowing how she was feeling every step of the way helped me to better understand and enjoy this story! Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Abbi,
ReplyDeleteGreat story! I liked the way you combined elements of Snow White into it with the mirror part. I wonder why Uzume had a problem with Amaterasu? Who was this other god that helped Uzume with the boulder? And why wasn't any of them blame put on Susa-no-wo and try to talk to him? Or why didn't Uzume and the god try to talk to Amaterasu first instead of resorting to tricking her?
Hello Abbi,
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting story. I am not very well versed in Japanese folklore so stories like this one that are told in a way that is easily understood are very helpful in comprehension. One thing that I did notice with this story is that you didn't provide any context to who was the other god who was standing behind Uzume. This is a great retelling of a classic tale but next time make sure you pay attention to detail.
Hi Abbi!
ReplyDeleteI thought your story was really well-written and fun to read. I really liked your dialogue and thought it was a really nice addition to the story and it made me want to add more dialogue in my future stories. I also like how we got to hear all of Amaterasu's thoughts, especially when she was asking herself the questions like "how dare those idiot humans forget her" because they were humorous but also gave us insight to her. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your stories!
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your story! I thought it was really clever how they tricked the goddess to come out of her cave. Although it didn't make sense to me how someone so full of them self that loves to be worshiped would hide in cave. It also makes me wonder how the Uzume found her in the first place or why she couldn't tell that she was looking at her self in the mirror.