Fudoki Fragments 1

The surviving fragments of some Fudoki are very brief, and this essay covers those from the Suruga, Izu, Ōmi, Mino, and Michinoku Fudoki. As might be expected, this is a rather miscellaneous collection. Among other brief stories, it includes three stories of marriages between humans and supernatural beings — two between men and women who descended from the heavens, and one that appears to describe a hereditary line of priestesses considered to be the wives of the kami.

Torii image © Dean Spencer, used with permission. All rights reserved.