History

The Shinto Mirror of Yata Inscription in Japan

Yata-no-kagami: the Mirror of Yata

Housed at the Imperial House’s Shinto shrine of Ise Jingu is the Mirror of Yata.  This mirror is considered a gift to Japan from the solar goddess, Amaterasu Omikami.  The emperors believed so much in the presence of Amaterasu in the mirror that they assigned their own daughter to minister as a priestess over the shrine together with a large royal entourage. 

In the legend of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun, she and her own group of maidens reigned over a beautiful heavenly plain.  They would tend the sacred rice fields, weave, dance and make contests.  Susanowo, Amaterasu’s brother, challenged her to a contest to see who could produce more gods.  Amaterasu took Susanowo’s sword and made three gods.  Susanowo took Amaterasu’s jewel necklace and produced five goddesses.  Amaterasu claimed victory since it was the female gods belonged to her.  All was peaceful until her brother, Susanowo, desecrated the heavenly rice fields.  Even worse, he butchered the heavenly horse and threw its skin into the room of Amaterasu, where she and her heavenly maidens were weaving.

Though Susanowo was banished for his crime, Amaterasu hid herself in a cave, causing darkness over the heavenly plain.  All the heavens and earth gathered outside the cave to draw out the sun goddess and restore light to the world.  Nothing would bring her out.  So they performed a dance and placed a mirror in front of the cave entrance.  Amaterasu peered out in curiosity at the festive sounds of laughter.  There she saw herself in the mirror and was drawn out by her own beauty.

There was a great celebration as the entire universe was lit up once again.  Even Susanowo repented for his irreverence and offered his own reconciliation gift.  He killed the eight-headed dragon, Yamata no Orochi, and gave the tail which became a sword to Amaterasu.

Having restored the universe, Amatersu turned to her son, Ame no Oshidomimi to offer gifts to the human emperor in order to maintain order until she return.  Her son was not able to overcome the chaos of the earth.  So she turned to her grandson, Ninigi no Mikoto.  He offered the emperor the jewel necklace of Amaterasu, the sword of Susanowo and the mirror of Yata that brought the light out of the cave.  The emperor of Japan placed these three gifts in the Shrine of Ise; the people learned the arts of agriculture, weaving and dance; the country was united under the Shinto faith; and the world was restored to order until Amaterasu returns.  The Shinto believe one day this Princess of the Sun will return through the mirror.

There is a clue to the return of this Maiden of Heavenly Enlightenment written on the back of this mirror.  This writing was recorded by Yutaro Yano, a Shinto believer, who was given special permission by the Ise priest after World War II.  The letters Yutaro copied are given below:

Figure 1: The Sacred Mirror Yata-no-KagamiFigure 1: The Sacred Mirror Yata-no-Kagami

Yutaro was inspired to write the text from the back of the mirror upon hearing rumors that the Hebrew name of God was written on the back.  Yutaro’s daughter, together with the Shinsei Ryujinkai Shinto believers, felt called after much prayer to reveal the letters to the Emperor’s family and later to the public in the book of Shinto researcher Wadoh Kohsaka. 

Since some of the letters appear Hebrew and others early Japanese, there has been confusion as to how to interpret the text.  Yet, notice the similarity between the Hebrew and early Japanese scripts below:




Worthy of notice are the common ‘ra’, ‘u’ and ‘hi’ syllables also found on the mirror.  However, even with these few common elements, sense was never made of the mirrors script from early Japanese.  However, this relationship between Hebrew and Japanese letters further confirms a Hebrew and Shinto shared influence on the script of the mirror.  Still others believe the text is written in ancient Greek, yet with no clear interpretation.  Clues to the decipherment involve the apparent name of God in Hebrew and the mythical tradition of the mirror, which was given to the Emperor of Japan by the solar goddess, Amaterasu.  This exchange occurred in the 2nd to 4th Century of our era.  Therefore, given the era of the script, a location of another similar script is needed for decipherment.

The regions between ancient Israel and Japan that may share influence in ancient writing and spirituality would be either located along the Silk Road or around the Indian Ocean and South Pacific sea trade routes.  India and China are two canditates, with India's Brahmi script appearing more similar to the inscription on the Mirror of Yata.  The Hebrew and the Brahmi scripts appear as the most likely candidates for a decipherment.  For example, ancient Brahmi and Hebrew match close to 80% of the letters (30/37) almost exactly, where even the early Japanese scarcely matched 20%.  Consider the chart below which names the Brahmi and Hebrew found on the mirror.



The seven central letters are from the Hebrew script used at the time of the Roman persecution of the Jews (the Roman siege against Jerusalem by Emperor Titus, 67-70c.e. and the destruction of the Jewish communities of Salamis, Cyprus and Leontopolis, Egypt early in the 2nd Century c.e.).  The remaining letters appear to consistently match with the 2nd and 3rd Century c.e. Brahmi script in the regions of northwest India.  These Brahmi letters run from the top right counterclockwise covering the first 12 letters and continuing around the bottom 18 letters.  What is remarkable, is they also make sense read in reverse by intension to confirm the meaning of the text.  These Brahmi words can be understood by an early Sanskrit dictionary.  There meaning will unfold a definitive relationship between the mythology of Japan and India used to shed light on the situation of the 2nd Century c.e. Jewish diaspora.

The Brahmi and Hebrew Transcription



Brackets are used to name the three Hebrew letters among the 30 listed above.  Below the Brahmi transcription is a closely related syllable that appears more like the mirror (cl. jha) and variations of the same Brahmi letters of that time period (cl. dja. ja, and pa)




Five out of seven of the Hebrew letters have added marks on the letters of the mirror.  Perhaps the authors attempted to hide the Hebrew somewhat so the mirror was not broken by those causing the exile.  The extra lines may also be due to the author adding vowel and pronunciation marks as today’s Hebrew illustrates.  In each case, today’s lines or dots are replaced by lines in the same portion of the word.  Another possible word for the first three letters as noted by earlier researchers is the Hebrew word for light.  ‘Light’ applies to the reflection on the mirror as the alternative choice of ‘return’ reflects the hope of return from exile by those who wrote on the mirror.  Both words appear to match somewhat.  Perhaps the author intended both to be understood as ‘turn to the light’ of God.  The word God will be used in place of the actual Hebrew letters for Yahweh from this point on to respect the practice of keeping the word sacred.


The Brahmi and Hebrew Transliteration

The 7 central letters of Hebrew from the top right to the bottom left: (Hebrew is read from left to right)

          Sadi (?), Waw (?), Nun(?) – Yod(?), He (?), Waw(?), He (?)

The 12-18 letters counterclockwise in early Brahmi are: 

          Sa Ga Ra Ja Pa Aum (He) Sa Ga Shi Pa Ti
          Sagara japa aum (he–Hebrew) sa geshpati

          (Yod) Ma Ya Ma Dha Ja Ya Sa Pa Ma A (Waw) Ra Aum Ja Va Tha A
          (yod–Hebrew) Maya ma dha jaya sap ma a (waw-Hebrew) ra aum java tha a

The 18-12 letters clockwise in Brahmi are:

          A Tha Va Ja Aum Ra (Waw) A Ma Pa Sa Ya Ja Dha Ma Ya Ma (Yod)
          Atha(r)va ja aum ra (waw–Hebrew) ama pas yaja dha(r)ma yama (yod–Hebrew)

          Ti Pa Shi Ga Sa (He) Aum Pa Ja Ra Ga Sa
          Tip pash gasa (he-Hebrew) aum pajra gasa

The Hebrew and Sanskrit Translation

The three Hebrew letters hidden among the Brahmi script make Sanskrit vowel sounds, which add emphasis to the text.  But taken by themselves, these three Hebrew letters make up their own Hebrew word also:

‘He’, ‘Waw’ and ‘Yod’ make up the Hebrew word for “Woe!; Ho!; Alas!; Come forth!”
As above the central portion reads (7 letters from Hebrew):

          Return to God

Or with the three hidden Hebrew letters:

          Come forth! Return to God.

Or

          Come forth! Light of God.

This is the call of Amaterasu.  Also, these three letters are the three gifts Amaterasu gave to the Emperor of Japan.  The original symbolic meaning of each Hebrew letter as it corresponds to the three sacred objects of the Shinto Shrine of Ise are:

          ‘yod’ – the symbol for a jewel or bead (from Amaterasu’s necklace)
          ‘waw’  - the symbol of a spear or sword (the sword from the defeated dragon, Yamata)
          ‘he’  - the symbol for jubilation or dance (performed with mirror beckoning Amaterasu
               out of the cave of darkness).


The counterclockwise Brahmi translation is:

          Sagara japa aum (he-Hebrew) as Geshpati.    
          Sagara, King of the Solar Clan, pray softly the AUM; (Ah! Truly!) To reach towards
          Geshpati, the deity of invocations and speech.

          (yod–Hebrew) Maya ma dha jayasa pam a (waw-Hebrew) ra aum java tha a
          (Ee!) The horse’s cry causes victory and protection, take pity. (Oh!) With burning
          devotion AUM swift as a horse cry for our welfare, take pity. 


The clockwise translation of the Brahmi is:
        
          Atha(r)va ja aum ra (waw-Hebrew) ama pas yaja Dha(r)ma Yama (Yod-Hebrew)
          Atharva, fire priest who writes sacred text, born from the AUM of brightness
          and glory; (Oh!) The soul beholds the sacrificial worship of the trumpet 
          of Yama, deity of the underworld; (Come!)

          Tip pash gasa (he-Hebrew) aum pajra gasa
          Sprinkle the animal sacrifice together with the song.  (Ah!) AUM the stout offering, (of the
          stout deity, Ganesa), and the song.

Choice of Brahmi and Hebrew letters:

The central Hebrew letters correspond with a blend of 3rd Century c.e. Hebrew and ancient Indian Brahmi (200-300 c.e. Kshatrapa or 300-500 c.e. Gupta). Within the outer region, the three Hebrew letters are obtained from the central decipherment.

Of the top 12 letters, ‘sa’, ‘ga’ and ‘pa’ occur twice and match exactly with the Brahmi.  AUM is a near exact combination of the Brahmi ‘au’ and ‘m’.  The ‘m’ sounds like ‘ng’ and is represented by the dot in the upper right portion of the aum glyph.  The ja glyph is also an exact representation of the Brahmi.  The Hebrew ‘he’ exactly matches the Hebrew letter.  The two letters that appear questionable are the ‘ta’ and ‘sha’ appearing like the lowercase Roman numbers for ‘n’ and ‘m’.  Changing the sound to ‘ti’ and ‘shi’ or ‘ish’ makes sense in terms of the appearance of Brahmi consonants with an ‘i’ appendage added.  That is, the Brahmi script syllables vary based on the placement of the vowel around the fixed consonant, where ‘ta’ and ‘sha’ become near exact matches for ‘ti’ and ‘shi’ on the mirror. 

Of the lower 18 symbols, 8 have been deciphered in the above 12 and are exact matches.  However, the appearance of ‘ja’ changes, though both forms are acceptable in the early use of Brahmi.  More exact Brahmi letters are the first ‘a’, ‘tha’, ‘ma’ and ‘dha’.  Difficult to translate was the Brahmi ‘va’, the second ‘a’ and the two ‘ya’ letters.  Perhaps a look at the mirror’s exact text is needed.  However, these letters match well and only 7 of the 37 letters were not exact.  That is a certainty of 80%.  In the context of the diaspora Hebrews, an exact text may have exposed decipherment.  The appearance of the ‘ya’ sign in Brahmi is a particular give away for the language.  To hide this unusual letter the authors wrote the mirror’s ‘ya’ sign to be broken with the top appendage laid over the ‘ya’ to conceal it somewhat.  It makes the Brahmi appear more Greek or Roman.  Therefore, the authors hid the letters just enough to mystify the passerby, but not too much so the sound of the Trumpet of Yama might one day be heard.

Some important considerations: 

- The Three Hebrew letters in the Brahmi portion of the text taken by themselves as ‘He’, ‘Waw’ and ‘Yod’ make up the Hebrew word for “Woe!; Ho!; Alas!; Come forth!”  When taken to mean ‘Come forth!’ the word occurs once in the Hebrew Bible in the following verse: Zechariah 2: 6 – “Ho! Ho! Flee from the land of the north, says the Lord; for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, says the Lord. 7 – Ho! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.”
- The Hindu Aum occurs on the mirror.  This means that early Hindu and early Hebrew sages worked together in writing the message on the mirror. 

A group of Hebrews in exile must have arrived in India.  In order not to overwhelm their hosts, they split up their group spreading out their clans across the East toward Japan.  Perhaps the Shinto and Hindu priests felt compassion toward the Hebrews in their exile and recorded the inscription together on the back of the Mirror of Yata as a memorial of this struggle. 

Choice of Sanskrit words:

The Mirror of Yata

Yata is also a Sanskrit word for ‘all people’, ‘to engage’ or ‘to control’.

There may be a play on this word as a lesson of wisdom for rulers to engage all people.  Firstly, they are to Turn to the Light of God and the king is subject to Him. 

The Bhagavad-gita 5.25 contains this word Yata as if to teach the meaning of a true ruler:

labhante brahma-nirvanaam
rasaayaha ksaanaa-kalmasaah?
chinna-dvaidha yatatmanah?
sarva-bhuta-hite ratah?

SYNONYMS
labhante — achieve; brahma-nirvanaam — liberation in the Supreme; rasaayah? — those who are active within; ksaanaa-kalmasaah? — who are devoid of all sins; chinna — having torn off; dvaidhaha — duality; yata-atmanaha — engaged in self-realization; sarva-bhuta — for all living entities; hite — in welfare work; rataha — engaged.

TRANSLATION
To achieve true freedom in the Supreme be as those active (within the heart and mind), free from sin, having torn off duality, engaged in self-realization with all living things work for their welfare truly engaged.

Return to the light of God 

The Prince and Priest of Japan (any nation or people) is being given the name of Yata in its full Sanskrit meaning so that when he looks in the Mirror of Yata all that he sees is the light of God, not himself.

Sagara japa aum ? as Geshpati.    
Sagara (King of the Solar Clan) pray softly the AUM; Truly! To reach towards Geshpati (the deity of invocations and speech).

The Leader of Peoples is given a second name:

Sagara

Sagara is the ancient Hindu King of the Solar Clan.  Sagara attempts to prove his supremacy by a horse sacrifice.  As well, Indra (the Supreme Being of the day who separated the earth from sky and dwelt in between) uses a horse to ride the sun as a chariot.  This is why Indra stole the horse of Sagara and prevented the sacrifice.  The 60 000 sons of Sagara dug a hole to capture the horse and found it beside the sage Kapila in deep meditation.  They accused him of theft, but when he opened his eyes of innocence they all perished.  The ancient message: all face eternal death in the hole of the underworld looking into the mirror of our soul trying to find our innocence.   

Sagara’s decendents (grandson and great grandson) were used to retrieve the horse by being more polite to Kapila.  Just like Amaterasu, it is the son who fails and the grandson who succeeds.  The sage Kapila not only gave the horse back, but he also graciously imparted wisdom to enable all of Sagara’s sons to resurrect from the dead.  The key was to convince the queen of living water, Ganges, to pour her river upon the earth.  But this could only be done if the water was tempered and purified through the hair of Siva, creator deity of destruction and the moon.  The proper homage was given to these deities and when so much as a drop of the river touched a bone of the dead, they were restored to life.  The Shinto in Japan also practice misogi, the ritual cleansing of the body in the river near the shrine.  The message: the Creator has provided the rivers of the earth, not merely to grow all living things, but also to serve as a symbol for the cleansing of the contrite human spirit.  Like the Hebrew musician wrote in the Psalm (72.5) below, the sun, moon and elements are used by the sages of all spiritualities to express the life of the Lord of Creation to the people.

       May he (the king of justice) live with the sun and before the moon, through all generations!    

japa

Japa is a form of prayer that is hummed or muttered using sacred incantations of the Hindu.  The prayer is almost silent for only the still hearted to comprehend and to protect it from irreverent ears.

aum

The sacred word and prayer (japa) of India. 

? (the Hebrew He)

This letter represents the number 5 and is the most sacred of the ancient Hebrew whose use of Kabala aided in the transmission of beliefs in times of persecution.  The letter is a sacred talisman representing the hand and a silent way of expressing the sacred Name of God.  Notice in India and other Indigenous art works containing the eye of enlightenment upon the hand.  The symbol fits well here on the mirror for only the eye of the sacred to see.  ‘He’ is also the symbol in Hebrew for thread (early Phoenician origins).  The Hebrews were commanded to tie fringes (threads with five knots called tzitzit) to the corners of their garments.  This is also a Shinto tradition; ie. shimenawa, the rope with hanging knots for priestly garments, used in marriage or to mark off sacred grounds.  The most famous shimenawa is the Meoto Iwa, or husband and wife wedded stones representing Izanagi (the large) and Izanami (the small).  These are the divine parents of Amaterasu.

(For Meoto Iwa see http://www.wayfaring.info/2009/06/10/rocks-that-rock/ )

For clarification on the Hebrew significance of this sacred fringe thread see Numbers 15:38 and Deuteronomy 22:12.   In Hebrew, such a fringe also means a lock of hair, like that of which the angel grasped to lift up Ezekiel and carry him between heaven and earth (cl. Ez. 8:1-3).  This raising of Ezekiel occurred before the captive priests of Israel.  The angel that raised him appears like fire from the waist down and as a bright man from the waist up.  The Hebrew presents a play on words between fire (esh) and man (ish).  The letter ‘sh’ on the mirror contains the appendage possibly reflecting this play on words.  There is a significant relationship between the remainder of Ezekiel 8 and the Hindu mythology of Sagara.  Ezekiel 8 also expresses the digging of the hole through a temple wall; the finding of evil (lit. Lucifer) when exposed to light in the dark mirror; the purification of the self; the identification of the Creator of the sun (much like the Hindu Prajapati or Lord of Creation); the return to Jerusalem from the North (as in Zachariah 2: 6 above) and the purification of Jerusalem.   This purification of the man, ‘ish’, is a purification by fire, ‘esh’, much like in the Shinto Shrine of Ise.       

as Geshpati.    

Embrace the deity of speech (Geshpati).  The naming of another Hindu deity while using the name of God in Hebrew on a Shinto mirror suggests that these sages belonged to the three different spiritual backgrounds and were sharing their faith in a unified, yet distinct manner on the mirror.  The message: embrace enlightenment through prayer, teachings and living by them with the appropriate actions and rites, while embracing all others of various spiritual backgrounds.  In this regard the mirror offers an invaluable lesson to the world today torn apart by misunderstandings that often lead to suffering and war.

(yod–Hebrew) Maya ma dha jayasa pam a (waw-Hebrew) ra aum java tha a
(Ee!) The horse’s cry causes victory and protection, take pity. (Oh!) With burning
devotion AUM swift as a horse cry for our welfare, take pity. 

Maya ma

The horse of the Hindu and Japanese myths is perhaps the horse of time or season (ma). Ma also means poison.  It was at the Churning of the Ocean the horse appears, but also the grey ocean soup, which was poison to humanity.  Shiva swallows this poison to save the earth.  Together with Yama, this underworld sacrifice appears to be represented in the Brahmi ‘ya’ glyph.  The glyph is broken and pierced through (see transcription of ya above), as if the Hebrew/Brahmi authors intended to illustrate the sacrificial offering signified in the coded word. 

dha jayasa pam a
To cause the victory together with protection.  Pam may also be the word for drinking, as in drinking of the poison causes victory over death, the deity of the Underworld.

Ra aum java tha a

The burning fire of devotion, AUM, swift as a horse, this prayer for help.  The Brahmi ‘a’ letters appear to be left hanging in the reverse, but in Sanskrit they can mean to take pity.  It fits well in the mirror text.

Atha(r)va ja aum ra a ama pas yaja Dha(r)ma Yama ?
Atharva (Fire deity or priest who writes sacred text) born from the AUM of brightness (heat, love, splendor); And more! The soul beholds the sacrifice (worship) of the trumpet (teachings) of Yama (deity of the underworld); Come!

Atha(r)va

In Sanskrit, the Atharvan’s are the priests of the fire altars and keepers or writers of the sacred word of god.  Both the Brahmi writing Atharvan sages and the diaspora Hebrew priests were faithful in kepting their fires lit for ceremony or travel and both groups protected the sacred writings. 

ja aum ra

The Brahmi and Hebrew sages use another play on words with the name of the Egyptian sun god, Raa.  But ‘ra’ is used as a modifier of the act of standing before God (aum – juxtaposed).  The ‘ja’ means in Sanskrit, to be born by; born by the ‘aum’, the constant silent prayer we face when we turn to the true sun of justice, our own Creator by way of ‘ra’, burning devotion.

? (Waw)

The Hebrew ‘waw’ can be meant hear in two ways, as a joining together or an inverting.  The meaning: on the mirror the soul is meant to invert from evil tendencies to good by joining to the light of God.  The Hebrew letter also represents the number six, a symbol for death.  Yet, Ezekiel 8 has the six persons (all the dead) that flank the angel much like the symbol of the menorah.  All are called to be raise up like Ezekiel into enlightenment, purification, eternal life, just as the Hindu sons of Sagara.  

ama pas yaja

The soul beholds the sacrifice (the worship, the fire and offering).  The words match the theme and present a contrast to the Atharvan fire priest.  To be a true Atharvan, the soul must also go through the fire.  Then the person looking through the fire may present anything at all and it will be a pure offering. 

Dha(r)ma

Dhamma (Pali) and Dharma (Sanskrit) refers to the law, the teachings, and how to live by them.  It may also mean to hold or a trumpet.  Consider the holding of the trumpet as a first step to Dhamma, and then the blowing of the trumpet as a second step.  However, one must practice and hold the sound itself in exactly the tune fit for the occasion.  Such a skill requires a community, a mentor, a practice and a performance.  This is the path of the apprentice on the spiritual journey to acquire a sense of belonging by developing a skill to honor God and the community by way of training, passage-rite and functional ceremony.
 
Yama

Yama is the Hindu deity of the Underworld, who has two guard dogs with four heads each.  Notice in the Japanese myth of Amaterasu, Yamata is the eight-headed dragon killed, whose tail became a sword and sign of peace for Japan.  And the Shinto shrines contain two koma-inu guard dogs facing each other.  In Sanskrit, Yama means ‘raised’, like Ezekiel was raised by the angel by the hair into the sky.  Yama may also mean a driver, a chariot or a twin, which relates the deity of the Underworld to Indra, the deity who drives the sun in a chariot.  The twins as sun and moon, represent the twins within our own soul; the one who tends to evil and the one who tends to good.  Venus as Morning and Evening Star is also represented as the twins of the Underworld.  Venus is lost in the light of the sun for six days; on the seventh day, Venus is restored.  The twin sister of Yama is Yami, the first born from the sun (vivasvat).  The trumpet of Yama is used to herald the rising of the sun.  The Dhamma of Yama is the teachings of enlightenment and the actions that prove the teachings are real.  This ultimate reality is called in the Rig Veda, ‘rta’ (the Chinese ‘tao’, the Hebrew ‘torah’ or Christian ‘logos’):

          O Indra, lead us on the path of Rta, on the right path over all evils. RV 10.133.6

Therefore, dhamma may also literally mean reality and the laws of the natural realm, but also creations way of living by those laws and maintaining harmony.  Message: all travel the path of the sun, even through the underworld at death.  Therefore taking a good look in the mirror with the eye of our Creator is necessary.  Those invested in Dhamma are kind to all living things and they have a certain respect for the elements.  

? (Yod)

The Hebrew ‘yod’ is the 10th letter and represents perfection.  Message: ‘come’ to the mirror of creation and participate in perfection.  It closes the message on the mirror and appears in its earliest pictoglyph form as an arm.  Message: the arm of God holds the sun and moves us to enlightenment.

Tip pash gasa (he-Hebrew) aum pajra gasa
Sprinkle the animal sacrifice together with the song.  (Ah!) AUM the stout offering, (of the
stout deity, Ganesa), and the song.

Tip pash gasa

Sprinkle the animal sacrifice and sing.  The Shinto shrine ceremonies include cleansing, offerings, prayers and dances to the ancestral kami. 

Aum pajra gasa

AUM … the stout offering and the song.  Ganesa is the Hindu elephant head deity.  He was a son of Shiva killed by decapitation and brought back to life with an elephant head.  His elephant call can be likened here to the trumpet of Yama.  His body is also very stout and so represents the stout offering mentioned here.  The shape of Ganesa’s body is identified in India with the AUM symbol.  He has a missing tusk he used to write with, which represents the justice and mercy of the god.  Ganesa is the head of the ganas or followers of Shiva.  The ganas were resurrected from death by the cleansing hair of Shiva, and Shiva’s celebration with drum and dance gave him the title, Lord of the Dance.  In Japan, the kagura are the ancient ritual dances of the Shinto accompanied by musical instruments.   In the sacred Hindu text, Chinmayananda’s upamantro 8, a prayer to Ganesa reflects the tone of the chant on the mirror:

         O Lord Ganapati! You are the Trinity Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire 
         [Agni] and air [Vayu]. You are the sun [Surya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman.
         You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven].
         You are Om. That is to say, You are all this.  

A Shinto Prayer

The following Shinto prayer, found in the Yengishiki, shows the Shintoists' intermingling of their spiritual feeling with nature and complements the prayer on the mirror:

I declare in the great presence of the From-Heaven-shining-great-deity who sits in Ise.
Because the Sovereign great goddess bestows on him the countries of the four quarters over which her glance extends,
 
As far as the limit where Heaven stands up like a wall,
As far as the bounds where the country stands up distant,
As far as the limit where the blue clouds spread flat,
As far as the bounds where the white clouds lie away fallen-
The blue sea plain as far as the limit whither come the prows of the ships without drying poles or paddles,
The ships which continuously crowd on the great sea plain,
And the roads which men travel by land, as far as the limit whither come the horses' hoofs, with the baggage-cords tied tightly, treading the uneven rocks and tree-roots and standing up continuously in a long path without a break-
Making the narrow countries wide and the hilly countries plain,
And as it were drawing together the distant countries by throwing many tens of ropes over them
He will pile up the first-fruits like a range of hills in the great presence of the Sovereign great goddess, and will peacefully enjoy the remainder

Conclusion:

The writing on the back of the Mirror of Yata of Japan has been copied faithfully enough to decipher from ancient Brahmi, from northern India.  There is also Hebrew letters and words on the back of this mirror.  A further study of the few letters that correspond with early Japanese is recommended.  Therefore, both Japan and India received diaspora Jews from the early centuries of our era and there was an exchange of gifts and some sharing of culture and spirituality.  The gifts included a mirror and with the mirror came a sacred message hidden in a cave of mystery one day to be revealed to unify humanity towards a new dawn of enlightenment.  The researchers own Judeo-Christian background may limit his perspective, but the interpretation is made clear for scholars to reproduce in order to confirm this research.  Therefore, this research stands as a draft only, until Hindu, Hebrew and Shinto scholars have an opportunity to review, complete and/or adjust the perspective.

This research clarifies that India and now also Japan were safe havens for many Hebrews during the diaspora.  The significance of this history was downplayed for colonial and political reasons and much of this story has yet to be rediscovered from the ancient past.  Therefore, this research warrants a deeper investigation regarding the substance of the Aryan invasion theories and the underlying purpose of proposing such theories against the backdrop of relations between Indigenous cultures and colonial empires.  More important would be the open dialogue among scholars and the vital study regarding the genuine transfer of universal knowledge and spirituality between the cultures, in this case, between early India, the Middle East and the far East.  And how these cultures grew up together like brothers and sisters under the care of a common yet diverse family of sages who together were enlightened by the Lord of Creation (Prajapati).

References

1.  http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=317
2.  http://japanesereligions.blogspot.ca/2009/03/shimenawa-spelling-dilemma.html
3.  http://www.isejingu.or.jp/english/myth/myth4.htm
4.  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Indus_Script_and_Brahmi_Script.gif
5.  http://www.spi.com.sg/spi_files/shinto_shrine/secrets_of_shinto2.htm
 

28-Oct-2012

More by :  Anonymousfor JoshuaMessiah


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Views: 4800      Comments: 1



Comment I would like to be in touch with researchers documenting the parallels between Hebrew and Japanese script as well as with anyone documenting the presence of Jewish artifacts in an ancient Shinto shrine in Kyoto. The connection between Judaism and Shinto observance was mentioned to me by a good Japanese friend and it fascinates me. I am a Hebrew teacher, ritual director, writer, and artist, and would love to learn more.

Gloria
02-Aug-2013 11:55 AM




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