Post by Lady Anastasia on Feb 1, 2007 18:00:51 GMT -5
In Japanese mythology, Amatsu-Mikaboshi ("August Star of Heaven"; also called Ama-no-kagaseo, "Brilliant Male") is the god of evil and of the stars, specifically the pole star.
Category:Japanese godsCategory:Stellar gods
Amatsu Mikaboshi, Guardian of Soku-No-Kumi, God of Hell
[edit] Origins
The exact details and characterizations of the Amatsu-Mikaboshi are very cloudy or unclear, as he (or it) is rarely if ever mentioned in any of the typically referenced texts of East Asian Mythology.
From what can be gleaned and pieced together from ancient Japanese myths, the Mikaboshi is not a physical god in the sense like Amaterasu or Susanoo, but a dark Force that existed before the universe, reigning alone in absolute darkness and control.
Something happened, however, and in one brief instance the iron control of the Dark Force of the Mikaboshi was shattered by the movement of In and Yo, which brought forth the Universe and the active chaos of life and movement, which later became the gods and humanity.
The solidity of the Primordial Darkness had been destroyed, but its residue still lingered on in the hearts of all beings and is allegedly the cause of human passions.
The idea of the Mikaboshi as the god of evil is slightly a misnomer, however, as the Mikaboshi is not a Japanese "Satan figure" or anything of the sort. It originated as an antithesis to the positive forces of life in Shinto, thus its lack of a singular form.
It is a force of absolute domination that feeds off of human emotions that, if left unchecked, result in social, emotional, or physical destruction. For instance, a desire for success can lead to greed and lust for power, which is the result of the influence of the Mikaboshi's residue. Love for another can lead to obsession or jealousy, also result of these dark influences.
In later centuries, certain creatures that are by nature dark or demonic were said to be connected to the Mikaboshi in a sort of slave relationship to its power.
Souls that died with strong attachments and came back to hurt the living were said to have become physical agents to the Mikaboshi's force in a more direct way than simple greed or lust when living, and such creatures as oni (goblins), Ama-no-Jaku, and Demons were also results of certain natural elements falling prey to passions fed by the Mikaboshi's temptations. The ultimate goal, it is said, was to absoultely destroy everything by dissolving it back into chaos, whereby the static, controlling power of the Mikaboshi could return.
[edit] Ama-no-Kagaseo
The term Ama-no-Kagaseo came about when certain Japanese Onmyoji (sorcerers) or members of the Imperial house attempted to establish a cult of worship of the Mikaboshi in the attempt to shamanistically direct its power of destruction against one's enemies. Ama-no-Kagaseo was said to be the corporal form of the Mikaboshi (having become much closer to a Satan representation by this time) who drew his power from the Pole Star.
The idea was that if you let the Mikaboshi feed your passions for greed or lust but then turned to control them through intense discipline, you yourself could harness its power of control and establish dominion over a territory or even the world. The last known figure to openly invoke such was the Japanese Queen Hitoke of Yamato, who worshipped the Mikaboshi until turning to more diplomatic techniques for establishing rule with her opening of Japan to trade with the Chinese court of Wei.
Talk of the Mikaboshi surfaced once again for a very brief period immediately after World War II as part of an attempt among certain circles to explain the atrocities of the Empire during the Pacific War. It was noted (though never quite proven) that the Imperial flag with a red sun with shining red rays was the same insignia used by Queen Hitoke for the worship of the Amatsu Mikaboshi, and possession by such power was the reason for the cruelty committed in the name of Empire.
[edit] In modern media
The mythology and characterization of the Sith Empire in George Lucas' Star Wars' Expanded Universe drew heavily from these myths, which, though interesting, contributes to the hesitancy of Japanese scholars to take modern study of the Mikaboshi legends very seriously.
Mikaboshi was also featured in the Marvel Comics miniseries Ares where the titular character and the members of his pantheon waged war with the Japanese God's evil minions, after he had defeated the Japanese pantheon first.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Category:Japanese godsCategory:Stellar gods
Amatsu Mikaboshi, Guardian of Soku-No-Kumi, God of Hell
[edit] Origins
The exact details and characterizations of the Amatsu-Mikaboshi are very cloudy or unclear, as he (or it) is rarely if ever mentioned in any of the typically referenced texts of East Asian Mythology.
From what can be gleaned and pieced together from ancient Japanese myths, the Mikaboshi is not a physical god in the sense like Amaterasu or Susanoo, but a dark Force that existed before the universe, reigning alone in absolute darkness and control.
Something happened, however, and in one brief instance the iron control of the Dark Force of the Mikaboshi was shattered by the movement of In and Yo, which brought forth the Universe and the active chaos of life and movement, which later became the gods and humanity.
The solidity of the Primordial Darkness had been destroyed, but its residue still lingered on in the hearts of all beings and is allegedly the cause of human passions.
The idea of the Mikaboshi as the god of evil is slightly a misnomer, however, as the Mikaboshi is not a Japanese "Satan figure" or anything of the sort. It originated as an antithesis to the positive forces of life in Shinto, thus its lack of a singular form.
It is a force of absolute domination that feeds off of human emotions that, if left unchecked, result in social, emotional, or physical destruction. For instance, a desire for success can lead to greed and lust for power, which is the result of the influence of the Mikaboshi's residue. Love for another can lead to obsession or jealousy, also result of these dark influences.
In later centuries, certain creatures that are by nature dark or demonic were said to be connected to the Mikaboshi in a sort of slave relationship to its power.
Souls that died with strong attachments and came back to hurt the living were said to have become physical agents to the Mikaboshi's force in a more direct way than simple greed or lust when living, and such creatures as oni (goblins), Ama-no-Jaku, and Demons were also results of certain natural elements falling prey to passions fed by the Mikaboshi's temptations. The ultimate goal, it is said, was to absoultely destroy everything by dissolving it back into chaos, whereby the static, controlling power of the Mikaboshi could return.
[edit] Ama-no-Kagaseo
The term Ama-no-Kagaseo came about when certain Japanese Onmyoji (sorcerers) or members of the Imperial house attempted to establish a cult of worship of the Mikaboshi in the attempt to shamanistically direct its power of destruction against one's enemies. Ama-no-Kagaseo was said to be the corporal form of the Mikaboshi (having become much closer to a Satan representation by this time) who drew his power from the Pole Star.
The idea was that if you let the Mikaboshi feed your passions for greed or lust but then turned to control them through intense discipline, you yourself could harness its power of control and establish dominion over a territory or even the world. The last known figure to openly invoke such was the Japanese Queen Hitoke of Yamato, who worshipped the Mikaboshi until turning to more diplomatic techniques for establishing rule with her opening of Japan to trade with the Chinese court of Wei.
Talk of the Mikaboshi surfaced once again for a very brief period immediately after World War II as part of an attempt among certain circles to explain the atrocities of the Empire during the Pacific War. It was noted (though never quite proven) that the Imperial flag with a red sun with shining red rays was the same insignia used by Queen Hitoke for the worship of the Amatsu Mikaboshi, and possession by such power was the reason for the cruelty committed in the name of Empire.
[edit] In modern media
The mythology and characterization of the Sith Empire in George Lucas' Star Wars' Expanded Universe drew heavily from these myths, which, though interesting, contributes to the hesitancy of Japanese scholars to take modern study of the Mikaboshi legends very seriously.
Mikaboshi was also featured in the Marvel Comics miniseries Ares where the titular character and the members of his pantheon waged war with the Japanese God's evil minions, after he had defeated the Japanese pantheon first.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/