Since antiquity, the Japanese have adored the round full moon. The custom of moon gazing is seldom seen in other countries. There are festivals celebrated on the full moon, but viewing and adoring the moon itself is an idea unique to the Japanese.

Why do the Japanese people feel so much for the moon? The story of the rabbit pounding mochi (rice cake) on the moon often appears in Japanese myths. Such episodes has its origin in the dark parts of the moon's surface, technically known as "seas", looking as if a rabbit was pounding mochi. In fact, this had its origins in the Taoism of China where they specially call this rabbit on the moon "Gyokuto" (jeweled hare).

Opposing the moon, of course, is the sun, and there were also creatures living there. It was a crow, but a weird one with three legs. "Kinnu" is what they called it. According to a Japanese myth, Kinnu was the bird that guided the first Emperor Jinmu out when he got lost in Kumano.

What is interesting is that this Kinnu is the enshrined god of the Kamo Shrine in Kyoto. In the Kojiki and Nihonshoki, this Kinnu that guided Emperor Jinmu is written as "Yatagarasu" The "Yata" is comprised of the Chinese character for "eight" and another related to "shaku" representing a length of 30.3 cm. In other words, this word indicates that the crow was quite large in size.

No wonder. According to the folklore associated with the Kamo shrine, this "Yatagarasu" was a human being by the name of " Kamotaketsunomi-no-mikoto" .

What is worthy of notice here is not the crow but the shrine that enshrined it. The Kamo shrine consists of Kamigamo shrine and Shimogami Shrine, both situated on the upper reaches of the Kamo River. It is located to the east of Heian-kyo. Presumably the shrine worshipping Yatagarasu, the sun incarnate, was situated there in the direction of the sunrise.

I presume so because names related to the moon, something often paired with the sun, is concentrated to the west of Heian-kyo, around Arashiyama and Sagano.

For example, near the large dam of Kuzuno in Arashiyama, is a bridge named Togetsu-kyo. Literally, it means a bridge connecting the ground and the moon. The other end of the bridge is the lunar world, the world of illusion where Gyokuto pounds mochi.

Then, what is the river that flows beneath it? Those who can answer this must know quite a bit of Kyoto. The answer is that the upper stream from Togetsu-kyo is called Ooseki River and the lower stream called Katsura River. The name Ooseki derives its name from the large dam ("ooseki") in Kuzuno, but what does katsura mean?

Famous in Kyoto is the "Katsura Detached Palace" which is also situated on the other end of Kagetsu-kyo, on the western bank of the Katsura River. Katsura Detached Palace was none other than a palace away from the ground and up in the lunar world. If so, on gets the grasp of what katsura may mean. Needless to say, it has something to do with the moon.

As the Chinese character "katsura" has "tree" on the left hand side, we know that this word represents a tree, simliar to cypress, cedar or pine. But is there anyone among the readers who had actually seen the Katsura tree? If there is anyone who has seen a chest or a chair or a pillar made of Katsura, please contact me so that I can ask you what you had actually seen. Those who claim they had actually seen one are either telling a lie or mistaken it for something else, because a tree by the name of Katsura does not exist on this earth. It only grows on the moon. An imaginary tree believed grow on the moon where Gyokuto pounds mochi.

As one can see, the east side of Katsura-river represents the lunar world. In fact, there is a rare kind of shrine here that worships the Moon God, "Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto", a shrine named Tsukiyomi shrine. People of the Heian period had probably gazed on the full moon, pondered the lunar world far away and recreated its image on the east side of the Katsura River.

Then who made all of this? It is clear that for such a person to recreate the whole lunar world, he must have designed the whole city of Heian. The key to this mystery is the lunar world.

The core of the lunar world would be no other than Tsukiyomi Shrine where the Moon God is enshrined. Then who constructed this? The building where the god is enshrined is not as large, and no caretaker lives there. But research through old records revealed the character of "Hata". Yes, the Hata clan had constructed and maintained it.

Near the Tsukiyomi shrine is the Matsuo Shrine, famous for the God of Sake. This shrine was constructed by Hata-no-Tori. He to, as one can see, was one of the Hata clan. This Matsuo Shrine, along with Kamigamo shrine and Shimogami shrine is called "Hatauji sannshomyoujin" (Three Gods of the Hatas). The Hata clan had undertaken construction of not only the shrine of the Moon but shrine of the Sun as well.

Furthermore, the one who built the big dam of Kuzuno upstream of Togetsu-kyo was, without a doubt, Hata clan. To tell the truth, the Hata clan had built the whole city of Heian. They must had incorporated the idea of the lunar world when they designed it.

Then what did the moon mean to them?

When we think of the Hata clan and the moon, the first thing that comes to our mind is the "Yuduki-no-kimi". Hata clan arrived in Japan from the Korean peninsula during the reign of the 15th emperor Oijin. And the name of the chief who lead the clan was "Yuduki-no-kami". "Yuduki" means crescent.

Hata clan was a tribe from the Silk Road, who originally lived in West Asia. Open a map and see that near Tienshan mountain was once a "Yuduki Kingdom" and chances are that the Hata clan once lived there. The name "Yuduki-no-kami" may have its origin there.

But could this be all? I would like to take deeper consideration in the fact that Hata clan has enshrined the Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto, because in writings in the Nihonshoki is the description "Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto". The order of the Chinese characters "tsuki" and "yumi" is reversed, so there must be some relationship here.

Furthermore, another point that deserves attention is the point that Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto has three phases. Phases of the moon, besides the invisible new moon are the first quarter, the full moon and the last quarter. One body with three faces. Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto has three personas. In a sense, this means although Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto exists as one, it is the union of three divine gods. And this reminds us of the Trinity, the Christian faith that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are in one God.

Athanasius, to begin with, got the hint of the Trinity from the three Sun Gods in Egypt. The God of the Sun in Egypt has three divine faces: Atum, the rising sun; Ra at noon; and Khepri, the setting sun. From here, Athanasius created the theory of the absolute god having three divine personas of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

If the sun had three faces, the moon also had three faces. The Hata clan being Jewish Christian, had used the crow with three legs to signify the absolute three gods, and the three faces of Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto to signify the same.

The ancient Hatas may have been offering prayers to the absolute three gods while gazing upon the moon.

Translated by Rie Ishida