As we already have an article about the Yata no Kagami Mirror, it is only fair to talk about the other treasures. By the way, we are talking about the three sacred treasures of the Imperial Regal of Japan. Which are, the mirror Yata no Kagami, the Yasakani no Magatama Gem, and the Kusanagi Sword.
We already have an article talking about the mirror, so now let's talk about the Yasakani jewel no magatama. But before we start, we have to give a brief introduction on the subject of Magatama.
For those who don't know, magatama is a kind of jewel that has a specific shape. It has been made since ancient times in Japan. But it is not known for sure where it originated. but it became very important and valuable to Japanese society over time.
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Magatama
The Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki are two collections of Japanese short stories. These books, tell tales and history that serve as the basis for many aspects of Japanese society and its traditions and culture. for example, the Nihon Shoki, largely describes the mythology of Japan.
They were completed in the 8th century, they are nothing less than the most important books in the country. They have numerous references to magatama. For example, in the first chapter of Nihon Shoki we already see one.
In this chapter it is mentioned that Susanoo, god of the sea and storms, received five hundred magatama. Which were given to him by Tamanoya no mikoto, or Ame-no-Futodama-no-mikoto, the deity who made jewelry.
Susanoo went to the sky and introduced them to his sister, the sun goddess Amaterasu. Amaterasu then divided the magatama into equal parts and blew them to create other deities. In legend, Amaterasu later, for some reason, closes himself in a cave.
Ama-no-Koyane-no-mikoto then thought of a way to lure Amaterasu out of the cave. She then hung a magatama, among other objects, on a five-hundred-branched sakaki tree. And so he managed to lure Amaterasu out of the cave.
Jimmu
So, let's introduce Yasakani no Magatama. As we have already said, this is one of the three sacred treasures that are part of the Imperial Regalia of Japan. one important thing to know, is the importance that swords, mirrors and jewelry had.
For example, these things were so important that they ended up becoming something like a nameplate. These objects were commonly used to demonstrate status to regional rulers in Japan. This practice emerged in the Yayoi period, but was even more widespread in the Kofun period.
The Yasakani no Magatama is stored in the Kashiko-dokoro. This is the central shrine of the Three Palace Shrines in the Tokyo Imperial Palace. which is used in the enthronement ceremony of the Emperor of Japan.
According to legend, this Yasakani no Magatama was the stone that, along with other objects, drew Amaterasu out of the cave. And in turn, it was given by Amaterasu to her grandson, Ninigi-no-mikoto along with the other two treasures. This happened when he was sent to pacify Japan.
After a while, Ninigi passed the treasures to his great-grandson, Jimmu. This happens to be the first emperor of Japan. that is, an almost direct descendant of the goddess Amaterasu. But let's not go into details about offspring.
Is Yasakani no Magatama lost?
Daniel Clarence Holtom made a statement in 1928 at Japanese enthronement ceremonies. He stated that among the three treasures of imperial regalia, only the Yasakani no Magatama exists in its original form.
It is speculated that replicas of the sword and mirror were made as early as the 9th century. The originals were entrusted to other sanctuaries. Theories are many, and the versions of what happened are many. But no one so far has proved anything.
The most we can say is that these are treasures of a country that is one of the greatest world powers. If your treasures were easy to find, they would be stolen quickly. So what this is for us is just speculating.
But anyway, do you have any questions, suggestions, guesses or something about this subject? Leave it in the comments, enjoy and share the site on social media, it helps a lot. Anyway, thanks for reading this far, until the next article.
