Dual Organizaton and Marriage between different Generations in Ancient Japan

Abstract

(1) In ancient Japan, we find many cases of marriage between members of a higher generation and a lower generation. This type of marriage includes (A) Uncle-niece marriage, Auntnephew marriage, (B) Stepmother-stepson marriage, (C) Marriage with the daughter of a parallel cousin, (D) Marriage with women who are aunt and niece. These marriages are, therefore, those between the parent's generation and the children's generation, and not those with members of ego's generation. (2) Hoorinomikoto married a daughter of the Earth God (Kunitsukami), who was the Sea God (Watatsuminokami). His father married a daughter of the Mauntain God (Ooyamatsuminokami), and his son married a younger sister of his mother or maternal aunt, which means an aunt-nephew marriage. (3) The first emperor of Japan, Jinmu, a grandson of Hoorinomikoto, took a daughter (or a granddaughter) of Ookuninushinomikoto in marriage, and the second emperor married a younger sister of his mother. Jinmu's brother-in-law married Jinmu's mother, a case of stepmother marriage. In the Yamato district Ookuninushinomikoto has been considered as the Earth God, but in my opinion he is also the Sea God. Therefore these marriages can be regarded as marriages between the two groups, that is between descendants of the Heaven Gods (Amatsukami) and those of the Earth Gods (Kunitsukatmi). (4) In the "Kojiki" three emperors were married to the daughtes of Shiki-agatanushi. I suppose Shiki-agatanushi was a descendant of the Earth Gods or the Sea Gods. In a word, in the Yamato district the Heaven Gods and early Emperors, who are descendants of the former married the daughters of the Earth Gods or the Sea Gods. (5) In the Izumo district, Susanoono-mikoto married a daughter of the Earth Gods or the Mountain Gods and his daughter was married to Ookuninushinomikoto. These marriages represent marriages between the group of descendants of the Heaven God and that of desendants of the Earth Gods or the Mountain Gods. Both in the Yamato and Izumo districts in ancient Japan we are not able to find a trine organization consisting of descendants' groups of the Heaven Gods, the Sea Gods, and the Mountain Gods. Nevertheless we have some evidences to a dual organization there : the first moiety is that of the descendants' group of the Heaven God and the second one is the descendants' group of the Earth God. In consequence ancient Japanese society was a tribal society with a dual organization.