In Shinto mythology, Izanagi and Izanami are the central deities in the creation myth. They were descended from seven pairs of brothers and sisters who had appeared after heaven and earth had separated out of chaos. A mighty bridge floated between the heavens and the primeval oceans; standing on this,
Izanagi and Izanami stirred the waters below with a jewelled spear to form the first land mass. Their union gave birth to the islands of Japan and to various deities. In giving birth to the fire-god Kagutsuchi (or Homusubi), however, Izanami was fatally burnt and descended to the land of darkness, Yomi. When
Izanagi ventured into the underworld to seek his dead spouse, he found her alive but imprisoned in a decomposing body. Fleeing, Izanagi bathed in the sea to purify himself and in doing so gave birth to a number of deities, among them Amaterasu, the sun goddess, from his left eye, the moon-god Tsukumi from his right eye, and the storm god Susanowo from his nostrils. In Shinto religion, the purification practised in the harai ceremony commemorates
Izanagi's submersion in water. Research Izanagi
Abbreviations
Research Izanagi
