The Mythology Book

220

T

he first heavenly deities

gave Izanagi (“He who

beckoned”) and Izanami

(“She who beckoned”) the task of

making Japan—known as the

kuniumi (“creation of the land”).

From their union, they were to

produce Oyashima, comprising the

eight largest Japanese islands, and

also six smaller islands. To do this,

the couple made an earthly home.

From the bridge between heaven

and Earth, Izanagi used a jeweled

spear to stir up the sea below. As

he withdrew the spear, clumps of

salt fell from it to form an isle where

Izanagi and Izanami were married.

During the ceremony, Izanami

spoke first, admiring her husband,

“What a fine young man!”

Birth and death

Izanami soon gave birth to two

islands, but they were misshapen.

The couple asked the spirits why

and were told that it was because

Izanami had spoken first at their

wedding. Repeating the ceremony,

they took care that Izanagi was the

first to speak. The next births were

the beautiful islands of Japan.

Izanagi and Izanami then

created many spirits to represent

Japan’s natural features. All was

well until Izanami gave birth to

Kagutsuchi (“Flickering Flame

Elder”), a fire spirit who burned her

so severely during labor that she

died. Izanagi took his sword and

beheaded Kagutsuchi, whose

corpse produced eight warrior gods

and eight mountain gods.

Izanagi then journeyed to the

Underworld to retrieve Izanami.

Standing outside the hall where she

was staying, he asked her to come

back to Earth. Izanami replied that

she had to seek permission to leave

because she had eaten food cooked

at the hearth of the Underworld, an

act that bound her there.

When Izanagi grew impatient

for a response, he looked into the

hall. There he beheld Izanami’s

IN BRIEF

THEME

The creation of Japan

and its spirits

SOURCE

Kojiki (“Records of Ancient

Matters”), O no Yasumaro,

712 ce.

SETTING

Japan in the Age of Spirits.

KEY FIGURES

Izanagi Creator god.

Izanami Izanagi’s younger

sister and wife.

Kagutsuchi A fire spirit.

Yomotsu-shikome A hideous

hag.

Tsukuyomi God of the moon

and night.

Amaterasu Goddess of the

sun and universe.

Susanoo God of the sea

and storms.

HAVING FINISHED

MAKING THE LANDS,

THEY WENT ON TO

MAKE ITS SPIRITS

IZANAGI AND IZANAMI

The eight islands

of ancient Japan

TSUKUSHI AWAJI

YAMATO

SADO

OKI

IYO

IKI

TSUSHIMA

US_220-221_Izanagi_and_Izanami.indd 220 01/12/17 4:23 pm

221

Izanagi brandishes the spear to

whip up brine to create Onogoro, the

island home of Japan’s creator deities,

in an illustration by 19th-century

Japanese artist Kawanabe Kyosai.

See also: Creation 18–23 ■ Creation of the universe 130–33 ■ Brahma creates

the cosmos 200–01 ■ Cherokee creation 236–38

ASIA

decayed body, crawling with

maggots. Angered that Izanagi

should see her like this, Izanami

sent the hag Yomotsu-shikome

(“Ugly Woman of the Underworld”) to

chase him away, along with eight

thunder spirits that had emerged

from her corpse and 1,500 warriors.

Izanagi fled back to Earth and

rolled a boulder across the portal

to the Underworld. Izanami and

Izanagi stood on either side of the

boulder, and he declared they were

divorced. Utterly bereft, Izanami

swore to strangle 1,000 people

every day, but Izanagi vowed to

counter this with 1,500 births.

Feeling unclean after his

contact with the dead, Izanagi

disrobed and bathed. His discarded

clothing became 12 spirits, and

when he washed his body, he

created 14 more. The last three

were the most mighty gods: from

his right eye came Tsukuyomi,

spirit of the moon; from his left eye

sprang Amaterasu, spirit of the

sun; from his nose came Susanoo,

who ruled the sea and storms. The

conflict between Amaterasu, also a

goddess of fertility, and Susanoo,

whose forces destroyed crops,

would soon rival the epic enmity

between Izanagi and Izanami. ■

Shintoism

Japan’s main religion, Shinto

(“way of the gods”) draws

on the nation’s indigenous

beliefs. Its practices were

first recorded in two early

8th-century texts, the Kojiki

(“Records of Ancient Matters”)

and Nihon Shoki (“Chronicles

of Japan”), both of which

include the creation myth

of Izanagi and Izanami.

With no particular founder and

no strict dogma, Shintoism

encompasses many different

traditions and influences. Its

most important feature is the

worship of kami (spirits),

which are often forces of

nature that reside in features

of the landscape such as rocks

and rivers. Kami also include

venerated ancestors who

perform the role of guardians

for their descendants.

Kami are revered through

prayer and ritual, which can

take place at small household

altars called kamidana (“god

shelves”), where the family

kami are enshrined and

offerings are laid. There are

also larger public shrines that

house national kami and the

sacred objects associated

with them.

The union of Izanami and Izanagi

is represented by the sacred Meoto

Iwa (“Wedded Rocks”), linked by a

rope bridge, near the Ise Grand

Shrine in southern Japan.

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