MYTHOLOGY INTERPRETED

Now, how should one interpret the mythological happenings described above ? The story of Susa-nowo's descent from "Taka-ama-hara" to Silla, and his crossing from there to Izumo would seem to symbolize the migration of part of the Japanese ancestors from the neighboring mainland of Asia by way of Korea. The subsequent descent of Ninigi on Mount Takachiho, in Hyuga, may similarly be taken to indicate that another stream of migrants came to Japan through Korea, landing in Kyushu .

The quarrels between Amaterasu and her impetuous brother seem to refer to the clash between a woman ruler and a brother or other male relatives jealous of her power; more specifically to the struggle between the leading clan in Izumo, which claimed descent from Susa-nowo, and Jimmu Tenno's descendants in Kyushu, which professed to represent their divine ancestress, Amaterasu. The concession of dominion by Ohkuni-nushi to the Emperor Jimmu reveals that the clan in Izumo were eventually conquered by the Yamato Court.

Now, where could be the place called "Taka-ama-hara" or "the Plain of High Heaven"? Numerous places in Japan, especially in the mountainous areas of Kyushu and Yamato, are called by this name, and many think that one of these places must be the actual homeland of Amaterasu.

But in view of the fact that the ancestors of Japanese people were immigrants from abroad, the name must have referred to the original place of abode where they had stayed prior to their coming to Japan. Then, where is the original "Taka-ama-hara"? The most interesting view, among so many, locates it in the steppe of the Central Asia, "Takhla Makhan," near Pamir Highland .

It is an established theory among scholars that the ethnic origin of the majority of Japanese people lies in Pamir Highland. An authority in the study of blood, Dr. Tanemoto Furuhata says, "The types of the blood and serum of Japanese people are closest to those of the inhabitants in Palestine. From this, we may believe that both Japanese and the Semitic races were branched off in the remote past from the common ancestor who had lived in Central Asia in the vicinity of Pamir Highland. Those I who descended the Highland toward the East became the ancestors of the Japanese; those who traveled toward the West, migrating to Persian plateaux and to the Mesopotamian plains, where the rivers Tigris and Euphrates flowed, became the ancestors of the Middle Eastern people. Although their physical features have been affected and changed by environments and by racial mixture, their blood types have scarcely changed."

It is often seen that immigrants name their newly established settlements after their own hometowns. For example, we find a lot of places in the United States, the names of which have their origins in Europe: Plymouth, Boston (both in England), New Orleans (France), New Amsterdam (Holland), to mention a few. Out of nostalgia, reverence, and pride, they wish to retain their past ties and identities in a new world by association of names. The same can be said about "Taka-ama-hara." In contrast to the natives of the Japan Islands, who lived in low plains near the waters, both Takachiho and Yamato clans a~ode in highlands; there are numerous "Taka-ama-hara" in the mountainous area of Kyushu, near Mount Hiko-san and Yabakei-valley.

The ancient Japanese costumes look quite appropriate for a life in the grassland area. They in fact closely resemble those costumes worn by the nomadic people of Central Asia even today. In view of this, the "Takhla Makhan" theory seems quite convincing.

From the time immemorial, the Central Asian plateau has been the area used as passageway between the East and the West. The passage has been known as the Silk Road, of which Takhla Makhan served as one of the main intermediate stations. Some o the nomadic races that had lived in Takhla Makhan traveled toward the east through Mongolia, China, Korea, and finally reached the islands of Japan.