Myth in History

About the Book

Unlike most cultures, the Japanese culture has preserved its native myths as a connected system, and as a system Japanese myths have much to say about the human condition in the cosmos. The series, Mythological Essays by Professor Metevelis explores what this myth system seeks to tell us. Volume Two, Myth in History, focuses on the historical foundations of the Japanese Empire and its early myths. The volume also delves into Japan's solar myths and their place in East Asian solar mythology.

The series of essays took twenty years and long residence in Japan to research. It treats Japanese myths in the context of world mythology, and is interdisciplinary, oriented toward mythologists, historical folklorists, historians of religion, archaeoastronomers, Japanologists, and anyone interested in East Asian culture or history.

About the Author

Peter Metevelis is a folklorist who holds degrees in oriental languages, history, and religious studies. He has resided in Japan nearly twenty years, ten of them teaching in colleges while he did research in Japanese mythology.