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DOI: 10.46698/VNC.2023.21.14.003
EAST ASIA AND THE NORTH CAUCASUS: EPIC HERITAGE AND CROSS-CULTURAL PARALLELS
Hisaoka, Kae
Kavkaz Forum. 2023. Issue 14.
Abstract:
Recently, studies of cross-cultural parallels in the material and spiritual
cultures of peoples have acquired particular relevance. Of special interest is the
discovery of similarities between ethnic groups, which are geographically and
civilizationally significantly separated. This paper discusses the parallels found
between the plots of the Ossetian Nart epos and the Kojiki, a Japanese creation
myth written in the 8th century. The parallels between the Kojiki and the Ossetian
Narts’ epos was pointed out in 1976 by Yoshida Atsuhiko, a Japanese mythologist
who was a close friend of G. Dumezil. Yoshida suggested to the influence of the
myth of Scythians in the Kojiki, and this background was due to the academic
impact of Egami Namio, an influential archaeologist in post-World War II Japan.
In his book «States of Equestrian Peoples»,written in 1967, Egami argued that the
cultural influence of the Scythians and other Eurasian equestrian peoples, may
have been widespread in Japan around the 6th century, when Kofun, a circular
tomb of a king similar to a Kurgan, was constructed mainly in Honshu and Kyushu.
The parallels with the Ossetian Nart epos, including the plot of the brothers and
hero Susanoo in the Kojiki, seems to confirm the influence of the Scythian culture
in ancient East Asia. In addition to the Nart epos, this paper examines cultural
influences from Eurasia to East Asia, with the example of harps and other musical
instruments common in the Caucasus and East Asia.
Keywords: Ossetian Narts’ epos, Batradz, Kojiki, Susanoo, Scythians, East Asia.
For citation: Hisaoka, K. East Asia and the North Caucasus: epic heritage and
cross-cultural parallels. KAVKAZ-FORUM. 2023, iss. 14 (21), pp. 73-89. (In Russian).
DOI 10.46698/VNC.2023.21.14.003
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