I’ve just returned from a visit to Japan where I noticed many cultural differences from my US-American culture.  I read a bit about Japanese mythology before I traveled. Because I was visiting several places in the south of Japan, I stayed for a while in Okayama, who has Momotaro (Peach Boy, defeater of ogres) for a hero representative.  Taking the train through the mountains and tunnels toward the western shore, I thought of Susanoo, who overcomes his past to slay a sea serpent. I realize, too, that topography and geography can greatly influence culture and a culture’s mythology.

We can take it a step further and look at our personal culture and home geography to see what impact they have on us and our Hero’s Journey. I live in the Sonoran desert where nearly all the plants have a prickly exterior. There is very little water. The native people and animals here have adapted to the heat and sporadic water.  There are mountains, washes, and wide arid stretches of land.  What kind of hero/myth makes sense to the people of this region? We can look at the Tohono O’odham people’s story of the Man in the Maze and see their perspective from living here for millennia.

How about where you live? How is it reflected in your own mythology? How will it reflect your Hero’s Journey?

Photo by Steve Sharp on Unsplash