Ancient Japan: Research, translations, hypotheses. Review of the book in two volumes “When Heaven and Earth Opened” by L.M. Ermakova

Abstract

The article reviews the book in two volumes by Ludmila M. Ermakova “When Heaven and Earth Opened” (Ermakova, L.M. (2020). Kogda raskrylis' Nebo i Zemlya. Mif, ritual, poeziya rannei Yaponii [When Heaven and Earth Opened. Myth, ritual, poetry of early Japan]. Moscow: Nauka - Vostochnaya Literatura. Vol. I. Research. ISBN 978-5-02-039868-9. Vol. II. Translations. ISBN 978-5-02-039869-6. (In Russian).). The first volume includes both new research by the scholar and some previously published works, revised and enlarged for the present edition. They are devoted to the problems of myth, archaic ritual, and early poetry of Japan. The review notes that all L. Ermakova’s research, without exception, includes reviews of modern Japanese and Western historiography of the problems, as well as a retrospective view of the phenomena, including their manifestations in modern life. The second volume of the edition presents the translations of four important texts of Japanese antiquity: “Nihon Shoki”, “Norito” (“Engishiki”), “Semmyō” (“Shokunihongi”) and “Yamato-hime-no Mikoto Seiki” with prefaces and detailed commentaries. The review emphasizes the original approach of L.M. Ermakova to any problem, deep penetration into it, and her broadest erudition.