It is anachronistically inappropriate to regard Susanō's apotheosis as the result of his maturity because there was no concept of growth in Japanese ancient mythology. As is seen in Amaterasu's retreat into the Ama-no-Iwato cave or Ohonamuchi's visit to Ne-no-kuni, the legend of Susanō was constructed not on the modern linear sense of time but on the mythological circle of death and rebirth. In addition to his involvement in Amaterasu's disappearance and resurrection, Susanō himself was reborn as a god in Izumo after his exile from heaven. It is no wonder that his song of Izumo, in which Kokin-waka-shū-kana-jo found the origin of waka poetry, echoes Kojiki and Nihon-shoki in its image of resurrection. The aim of this paper is to explore the mythological logic of the ancient books while recognizing differences between them.

Omoide-no-ki has been read as Roka Tokutomi's autobiographical work. If the book is examined in terms of its contemporary reception, however, a little-known narrative method will be revealed. The narrator “I” makes efforts to rise in the world under the inspiration of many biographies of great persons. In the latter half of the story, however, he comes to believe that the lives of ordinary people are no less worth telling, writing, and reading. With this narrative development the autobiography of “I” is turned into the autobiographies of “we” which serve as a historical document of the time.

Nagaru Tanigawa's light novel Suzumiya-Haruhi-no-yūutsu can be read as an answer to the problem of our mass society where individuals are reduced to interchangeable parts. In the novel the author suggests two alternatives to this critical situation, both of which put an emphasis on the importance of commonplaceness. The first alternative is an assumption that individuality becomes irreplaceable in the process of familiarization. The other one is the affirmation of absolute individuality irreducible to any generalization. These apparently similar ways of thinking should be distinguished from each other in the degree of commitment to self.

How can literature be taught to children who can't read textbooks well? An answer to this question is to make them more culturally literate. Needless to say, culture is composed of basic assumptions shared in a community. It is indispensable for the understanding and appreciation of any literary work. By learning cultural assumptions through literature, children can improve their literacy skills. It is also important to painstakingly read a story in context because it will improve children's reading comprehension. Moreover they may know the pleasure of reading when such contextual reading leads to an encounter with something beyond their imagination. This paper presents my classroom practice of the theory with Haruki Murakami's short story “Kagami” as teaching material.