In his book, “Shinkai Makoto Hon”, director Makoto Shinkai reveals that the story of Suzume no Tojimari was inspired by the myth of Amatoiwa, a famous Japanese myth.
In the book, Makoto Shinkai also mentions that the names of the main characters, Iwato Suzume, were derived from the god “Uzume” in that mythology.
Let me introduce overview of the myth and why it was the inspiration for the name of the main character.
The story of the myth is about the goddess of the sun named Amaterasu and her brother, the storm god Susanoo. The god Susanoo was a violent character who annoyed Amaterasu on a daily basis. One of his actions caused the death of a servant.
Amaterasu was so saddened by the incident that she hid in a cave called Amatoiwa and blocked the entrance with a rock herself. (please refer the image on this article, it is the place in north Japan)
As a result, the world became darkness.
The god Uzume appeared to somehow resolve the situation.
Uzume gathered chickens by the cave and clucked them, dancing and shaking their hair. His fellow Gods laughed loudly.
Amaterasu was surprised at the uproar, because she had thought that everyone was in trouble by her hiding. So she opened the door blocked by rock and went out of the cave to check the situation outside of the cave.
At that moment, Uzume blocked the cave with rocks again and tied a rope around it, so that Amaterasu could never return. This is how Uzume brought light back to the world!
In Suzume no tojimari, Suzume closed the door to stop the disaster brought by the worms.
In this myth, Uzume opens the door of the cave to bring sun light to the world.
It is the opposite action, but the same in that they were the one who brought light to the world.
