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Live in America
Gold VCD
1991
Geffen / Amuse America Inc.
UMVCD 55005
'
Hajimari
Sozo
Koi
Orochi
Nageki
Matsuri
Reimei
approximate running time 55 minutes
This story is adapted from the original Kojiki, the ancient chronicle of the creation of Japan.
Hajimari
In the Beginning
In the beginning, the heavens and the earth were one. The sky
was a mass of angry black clouds and the sea was nothing more than a seething,
murky swamp. Life as we know it did not exist.
Then one day the clouds began to swirl and grow, thunder crashed and a terrible
rain began to fall. It rained night and day for weeks and months, as if it had
done so forever.
At last the rain stopped, and the heavens and the earth had separated. From the
wather and mud the gods began to appear, like young shoots of grass springing
forth from the earth.
This is how the world began.
Sozo
The Birth of a Land
The last of the gods to rise up from the chaos were Izanagi and the goddess Izanami. From the bridge of rainbows in Takamagahara, far above where the other gods live, they stirred the sea with a spear. When they resdrew the spear, the drops of mud that fell from it created a most beautiful group of islands. Izanagi and Izanami went to live in the land, and were married. There, Izanami gave birth to many gods including those of the wind, the sea, the mountains and the earth.
Koi
Love and The Death of Izanami
The last god to be bron was the god fire, after which Izanami died. Her death caused her son Mikoto, the god of the night, terrible pain and grief. At last his father, Izanagi, disturbed at his son's weakness, expelled him from the land of the gods. After much wondering, Mikoto found himself in a village terrorized by the Eight-Headed Dragon and where the beautiful mailden Kushinadahime lived. It is here that Mikoto first discovered love.
Orochi
The Eight-Headed Dragon
The dragon was a terrible creature with eyes as red as Chinese lanterns. It had eight giant heads and tails long enough to span eight mountains and valleys. The monster dragon had already destroyed the village and devoured Kushinadahime's seven sisters, and it was feared he would soon return to claim the fair maiden. Using all of his cunning and strenth Mikoto defeated the monster in a long and brutal battle.
Nageki
Sorrow in a World of Darkness
After Mikoto was thrown out of the land of gods, his sister Hikaru, goddess of the sun, took pity on him and invited him to come live with her in Takamagahara. Mikoto was happy to do so, but his mischief soon caused Hikaru much grief. Hikaru fell into great despair and went to hide in the Celestial Rock Cave, plunging the world into total darkness. For this, Mikoto was thrown out of Takamagahara.
Matsuri
The Festival
Mikoto prayed and prayed to his father izanagi to get Hikaru to come out from the cave. Meanwhile, some of the other gods gathered around the cave to sing and dance in a happy and joyous festival. Hikaru, thinking it strange that people were holding the festival in the dark and cold world, opened the stone gate before the cave to see what was happening. Just then Tajikaro, the god of strenth, pushed away the stone and pulled Hikaro from the cave. The festival had been nothing but a trick.
Reimei
The New Dawn
As HiKaru came out from the cave, her light shown brilliantly in Takamagahara and throughtout all the lands. Flowers began to bloom, birds began to sing and peace returned. With Hikaru's blessing, Mikoto and Kushinadahime were married and lived a happily ever after. It was the beginning of a new dawn in Yamato (Japan).
© 1991 Amuse America Inc.