Episode 1: The Weight of a Story

Myths are more than ancient stories; they are the foundations upon which civilizations build ideas of identity, authority, and meaning. In this first episode, we explore the Kojiki — Japan’s oldest surviving written text — and uncover how tales of gods, creation, and divine ancestry shaped Japanese history, politics, and culture. From the birth of the islands by Izanagi and Izanami, to the heavenly lineage of Amaterasu and the imperial family, we examine how mythology became intertwined with co