How Did Tsukuyomi Influence Japanese Culture

In Japanese culture, people have respect for everything. The people respect each other, nature, and predominantly order. The Japanese loved order so much that they wrote many great tales of gods who restored it to them and the country. Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon, shows how Japanese culture likes order and stability. Tsukuyomi was given the power to rule the nighttime and the moon, unlike his sister Amaterasu, who was the goddess of the sun. When Tsukuyomi was introduced to the humans, they derived the word “moon-reading” from his name. This would turn into a tradition that happens at night at lavish parties. The humans would write stories of the moon god(mythopedia). These parties would occur in the homes of the great nobles of Japan.

Tsukuyomi was said to be very close to his sister Amaterasu. He had become so close to her that he decided to marry her(mythopedia). The two of them would rule the heavens together and watch over anything that would disrupt the order of the universe such as evil spirits. Tsukuyomi showed that he was willing to go the extra mile to keep the stability of the universe. He was willing to even go as far as killing the innocent. One night, Amaterasu was invited to a feast hosted by Uke Mochi, the goddess of the great feast. Unfortunately, she could not make it, so she had Tsukuyomi “represent” her. When he arrived, he discovered that Uke Mochi had made the feast by basically throwing it all up from her mouth. Repulsed, Tsukuyomi pulled his sword out and killed her instantly(mythopedia). Ashamed of what he did, he then returned to Amaterasu. Tsukuyomi was devastated for the actions he had made at the what was suppose to be a uniting feast. When Tsukuyomi returned to Amaterasu, he told her what he had done. Angered, Amaterasu left him for good and labeled him as an evil kami(mythopedia). The separation of the two brought evil into the world since there was no balance of day and night. This would lead him to chase her across the sky for all eternity to restore order in the heavens. Even though he was labeled as evil and was