Memorize Japanese and Celtic Mythology: 80 Flashcards from Izanagi to the Ulster Cycle
Deck MD4058 is two decks in one: 40 Japanese cards from the Kojiki and 40 Celtic cards. Real examples, a study plan for each half, and the cards to fix.
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Deck MD4058 — Japanese & Celtic Mythology (80 cards) is really two decks sitting in one stack, and knowing where the seam is makes it twice as easy to learn. Cards 1–40 are Japanese: a narrative run through the Kojiki creation myth. Cards 41–80 are Celtic: a name-and-source glossary covering Ireland, Wales and Gaul. They share no gods, no geography and no writing style — so don't study them in one sitting.
Study this deck: Japanese & Celtic Mythology
1 / 10Japanese mythology
Tap the card for the answer · swipe right if you knew it, left if not
What the 80 cards actually cover
Japanese half: Shinto and the kami, Kojiki (A.D. 712) and Nihon Shoki (A.D. 720), Izanagi and Izanami, Ame-no-nuhoko, kuniumi and kamiumi, Ōyashima, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo, Kagutsuchi, Yomi, the shikome, Ame no Uzume's dance, Ryujin, Momotarō, oni, yōkai and Jorōgumo, Yamato Takeru, Emperor Jimmu and Ninigi, Motoori Norinaga, Fudoki, Man'yōshū, Shintōshū, the Jōmon–Yayoi–Kofun periods.
Celtic half: Tuatha Dé Danann, the Fomorians, the four Irish cycles, the Táin Bó Cúailnge, Cú Chulainn, the Dagda, the Morrígan, Lugh/Lleu/Lugus, Goibniu, Dian Cecht, Brigid, Manannán mac Lir, Lebor Gabála Érenn, the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, Plant Dôn, Plant Llŷr, Brân the Blessed, Mabon ap Modron, the Otherworld and the echtrai, dindsenchas, Ogham, the Coligny calendar, the Gundestrup cauldron, Taranis, Teutates, Esus, Ogmios, Caesar's Gaulish interpretatio Romana.
Ten cards that show the two styles
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| Ame-no-nuhoko | The "Heavenly Jeweled Spear" dipped into the primordial waters to raise the first island, Onogoro |
| Ōyashima | The eight great islands: Awaji, Iyo (Shikoku), Oki, Tsukushi (Kyushu), Iki, Tsushima, Sado, Yamato (Honshu) |
| Shikome | The horde of Yomi that chased Izanagi; he drove them off with peaches |
| Ame no Uzume | Danced to lure Amaterasu out of her cave and end the world's darkness |
| Kagutsuchi | Fire god whose birth killed Izanami; Izanagi killed him, and more gods came from his corpse |
| Momotarō | Peach Boy, born from a peach, who sails off to defeat the oni |
| Tuatha Dé Danann | The supernatural race behind the main Celtic gods of Ireland |
| Longest and most important tale in the Ulster Cycle | The Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley) |
| Ogmios | Led men chained by their ears to his tongue, as a symbol of eloquence |
| Coligny calendar | Evidence of Gaulish writing using Greek, Latin and Old Italic alphabets |
Two halves, two techniques
The Japanese cards are stories, so learn them as one chain: spear → islands → kami → Izanami's death → Yomi → purification → Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo → cave → Ninigi → Jimmu. Recite the chain out loud before you review; every card falls into a slot.
The Celtic cards have no chain — they are labels attached to four sources (Lebor Gabála Érenn, Ulster Cycle, Mabinogi, Roman testimony). Sort them by source, then by function (smith, healer, sea, thunder, sovereignty), and tag every name Irish, Welsh or continental: the deck packs Lugh/Lleu/Lugus into one card and expects you to keep the three apart.
Two cards to repair
Card 40 (Christianity in Japan) is off-topic and wrong: Francis Xavier landed in 1549, not the 14th century, and the 1597 Nagasaki martyrs numbered 26, not twenty. Delete it. The deck also skips Susanoo's most famous myth — slaying Yamata no Orochi and pulling the sword Kusanagi from its tail — so write that card yourself, plus one for the Three Sacred Treasures.
Watch the borrowed names too: Queen Medb, the Battle of Moytura, Nuada and Balor all appear inside answers but have no card of their own. Four blank cards fix that before your first review.
Deck code MD4058, in the Mythology category. Open Flip It and search the library.
Same series, already covered: Greek and Roman mythology and Egyptian and Hindu mythology.
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