The Origin of the Crown Jewels of Japan

Crown Jewels

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Category :History

This article is all about Japanese crown jewels. Read the below given article to study about them in detail.

The Japanese Royal family is believed to have temporal powers and the divine right to rule. The Japanese crown jewels are thus considered sacred. Their origin is worth examining. When we try to unravel the mystery that surrounds them we find that legends about them abound. According to legend, these artifacts were brought by Ninigi-no-Mikoto. The Japanese royal family traces their roots to him.

As per mythology Ninigi-no-Mikoto was sent to pacify Japan by his grandmother, the Sun Goddess Amaterasu.He came and planted rice in Japan. His grandson was the Emperor Jimmu.

Legends tell us that when Amaterasu came down to pacify Japan he carried with him three celestial gifts for use by the emperor. They were the sword, Kusanagi, the mirror Yata no kagami, and the jewel, Yasakani no magatama. These constitute the Royal jewels of japan.These portray to the world that the emperor of Japan is the descendant of Amaterasu herself and thus is supposed to have a divine origin.The Nihon Shoki or 'Chronicle of Japan' mentions that Ninigi no Mikoto was sent to earth. This book is spread over 31 volumes is the oldest written record of Japan. It was translated only in 1896 by W.G. Aston.

The origin of the items is still shrouded in mystery. Knowledgeable people and popular belief trace their origin to the bronze age. The legend is worth recounting. It says that when when Amaterasu hid in a cave from her brother Susana, the result was catastrophic as light vanished and darkness reigned all around.. The goddess Ama-no-Uzume came on the scene and hung the mirror and jewels outside the cave and lured her out. Susanoo is thought to have expressed his regret to Amaterasu later and presented her the sword, Kusanagi. As per legend this sword was obtained from the body of Orchi -an eight headed serpent.

The Japanese crown jewels have a psychic hold on Japans people. It is worth pondering over the fact that during the second world war when the American army was advancing and heavy bombing of the cities was on, the emperor was more concerned about the safety of the crown jewels than with the destruction of Japan. The Historian Donald Miller has a lot to say about this..

It must be mentioned that the Japanese crown jewels are most likely to be the oldest existing crown jewels. Most of these are kept at the royal shrine at Ise, a small town south of Nagoya and are not on public display.

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Madan G Singh

An early retired Gp Capt from Air Force who is an Executive Director in the Corporate world. Loves to write fiction and articles. Published over 60 short stories and his novel" Romance of the Frontier" is published from Notion Books.His second novel is on way for publication. The author also has close to 10,000 articles on the b net with millions of views