Ukemochi

Ukemochi’s myth and symbolism

Ukemochi is a Shinto Japanese food goddess who was sent down to Earth by the sun goddess Amaterasu in her myth. Because of the importance of the sun goddess in her origin story, I painted a sun. The legend says that boiled rice Ukemochi in the art work poured from her mouth when she faced the land, seafood when she faced the sea, and animals when she faced the mountains (Leeming, 2001). When the moon god, Tsukuyomi, visits her, she offers him food by expelling it through different orifices of her body. The god was offended by this gesture and considered all the food to be polluted. He, therefore, kills Ukemochi (Leeming 2001). Scholars feel as though the god’s outrage towards Ukemochi in the the food which he deemed as corrupt can parallel First Feast the misogyny of women living in Japan at the time of the myth (Sever 2016). The sun god visits Ukemochi’s corps and sees millets in her forehead, silkworms in her eyebrows, and rice in her belly. Certain interpretations of the myth go further to say that out of the dead body of Ukemochi came all the foods that humans eat now (Leeming 2001). Additionally, her myth could provide a possible interpretation for why the moon and the sun are not seen together as the moon god killed Ukemochi and his sister, the sun god, was outraged. She is known to symbolize fertility (Sever 2016) as she birthed many animals on the mountain. In my painting, I added a symbol for fertility above her which is located in the sun. Additionally, she symbolizes selflessness since she can forever provide nutrients for people.