Part 1: Mythology Dissection 1

The Brush Gods

As I mentioned in the OP, Okami has many allusions to Japanese mythology, mostly Shinto mythology. Today's discussion will be about the Brush Gods.

We've met two of the Brush Gods so far: Yomigami and Tachigami.



The Brush Gods correspond to the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. The legend goes that long ago, the Jade Emperor decided to assign an animal to each year, on a 12-year cycle, to make it easier to keep track of the calendar. In order to choose the 12 animals, he announced he would hold a race. The first 12 animals to finish the race would be become part of the zodiac.

For the most part, the animals’ performance hinged how they crossed the Great River at the very end of the race. It was quite a barrier for many of them, as we’ll see!

Another version of the legend says that it was the Buddha, not the Jade Emperor, who assigned the animals to the zodiac. When it came time for the Buddha to depart from Earth, he summoned the animals to him, so that he may give them a blessing before he left. Only twelve animals answered his summons. To reward them, he named a year after each of them, in the order in which they arrived.

So, who are our Brush Gods?



Yomigami- The Dragon. God of Rejuvenation. Yomi is the Shinto underworld, but it's more likely that Yomi in this case is short for Yomigaeru, which means "to be resurrected."

Dragon traits: Magnanimous, stately, vigorous, strong, self-assured, proud, noble, direct, dignified, eccentric, intellectual, fiery, passionate, decisive, pioneering, artistic, generous, loyal. Can be tactless, arrogant, imperious, tyrannical, demanding, intolerant, dogmatic, violent, impetuous, brash.

The mighty dragon placed fifth. The Jade Emperor was quite curious how such a swift and powerful creature (not to mention one that could fly) would fail to finish first. The dragon explained that he had stopped on the way to make rain for some desperate farmers. Then, just at the finish, he noticed the rabbit clinging to a log in the middle of the river. He blew a small puff of wind so that she could float to the other side.

Rayquazigami



Tachigami- The Rat. God of Cutting Things. Tachi means "to cut," or "cutting."

Rat traits: Forthright, tenacious, intense, meticulous, charismatic, sensitive, intellectual, industrious, charming, eloquent, sociable, artistic, and shrewd. Can be manipulative, vindictive, self-destructive, envious, mendacious, venal, obstinate, critical, over-ambitious, ruthless, intolerant, and scheming.

The rat was a poor swimmer, and not very fast, but very clever. During the home stretch of the race, the animals had to cross a mighty river. The rat begged the largest and strongest animal, the ox, to let her ride on his back. The ox, being good-natured and a bit naïve, agreed. On the other side of the river, the rat jumped off the ox’s head and ran for the finish line. Thus, the rat came in first.

Pichigami