| Izanami-no-Mikoto | |
|---|---|
Primordial goddess of creation and death | |
 Searching the Seas with theTenkei (天瓊を以て滄海を探るの図,Tenkei o motte sōkai o saguru no zu). Painting by Kobayashi Eitaku, 1880-90 (MFA, Boston).Izanagi with the spearAmenonuhoko to the right, Izanami to the left. | |
| Other names | Izanami-no-Kami (伊弉冉神) Izanami-no-Mikoto (伊邪那美命) Yomotsu Okami (黄泉津大神) Chishiki no Okami (道敷大神) |
| Japanese | 伊邪那美 |
| Major cult center | Taga Taisha |
| Texts | Kojiki,Nihon Shoki,Sendai Kuji Hongi |
| Gender | Female |
| Region | Japan |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | None (Kojiki,Nihon Shoki) Aokashikine-no-Mikoto (Shoki) Awanagi-no-Mikoto (Shoki) Omodaru and Ayakashikone.[1] |
| Siblings | Izanagi |
| Consort | Izanagi |
| Children | Amaterasu Tsukuyomi Susanoo Hiruko Kagu-tsuchi (andothers) |
| Part ofa series on |
| Shinto |
|---|
 |
|
Izanami (イザナミ), formally referred to with the honorificIzanami-no-Mikoto (伊弉冉尊/伊邪那美命; meaning "She-who-invites" or the "Female-who-invites"), is thecreator of both creation and death inJapanese mythology, as well as the Shintomother goddess. She and her brother-husbandIzanagi are the last of theseven generations of primordial deities that manifested after the formation of heaven and earth. Izanami and Izanagi are held to be the creators of theJapanese archipelago and the progenitors of many deities, which include the sun goddessAmaterasu, the moon deityTsukuyomi and the storm godSusanoo. In mythology, she is the direct ancestor of the Japanese imperial family. InShinto and Japanese mythology, Izanami gave humans death, so she is sometimes seen as ashinigami.[2][3]
Her name is given in theKojiki (c. 712 AD) both asIzanami-no-Kami (伊弉冉神) andIzanami-no-Mikoto (伊邪那美命), while theNihon Shoki (720 AD) refers to her asIzanami-no-Mikoto, with the name written in differentcharacters (伊弉冉尊).
The namesIzanagi (Izanaki) andIzanami are often interpreted as being derived from the verbizanau (historical orthographyizanafu) oriⁿzanap- from Western Old Japanese 'to invite', with-ki /-gi and-mi being taken as masculine and feminine suffixes, respectively.[4][5][6] The literal translation of Iⁿzanaŋgî and Iⁿzanamî are 'Male-who-invites' and 'Female-who-invites'.[7][8]Shiratori Kurakichi proposed an alternative theory which instead sees the rootiza- (or ratherisa-) to be derived fromisao (historical orthography:isawo) meaning 'achievement' or 'merit'.[9]
The first godsAmenominakanushi andKunitokotachi summoned twodivine beings into existence, themale Izanagi and thefemale Izanami, and charged them with creating the first land. To help them do this, Izanagi and Izanami were given aspear decorated with jewels, namedAmenonuhoko (heavenly spear). The two deities then went to the bridge between heaven and earth,Ame-no-ukihashi ("floating bridge of heaven"), and churned the sea below with the spear. When drops of salty water fell from the spear,Onogoroshima was created. They descended from the bridge of heaven and made their home on the island.[10]
Eventually, they wished tocopulate, so they built a pillar calledAme-no-mihashira (天の御柱,"pillar of heaven"; themi- is an honorific prefix) and around it they built a palace calledYahiro-dono (八尋殿, onehiro is approximately 1.82 m, so the "eight-hiro-palace" would have been 14.56 m. In reality, "ya, was a sacred number to the Japanese, and may often be translated as 'myriad'"[11]). Izanagi and Izanami circled the pillar in opposite directions and, when they met on the other side, Izanami spoke first in greeting. Izanagi did not think that it was proper for the wife to speak first, but they copulated anyways. They had two children:Hiruko ("leech-child"), who later came to be known in Shinto as the godEbisu,[12] and Awashima ("island of foam"). However, they were born deformed and were not recognized as the pair's legitimate children.[13]
They put the children into a boat and set them out to sea, then petitioned the other gods for an answer as to what they did wrong. They were told that the male deity should have spoken first in greeting during the marriage ceremony. So Izanagi and Izanami went around the pillar again, this time Izanagi speaking first when they met, and their marriage was finally successful.
From their union were born theŌyashima, or the "great eight islands" of the Japanese chain:
They bore six more islands and many deities. Izanami died giving birth to the childKagu-tsuchi ("incarnation of fire") or Ho-Musubi ("causer of fire").[12] She was then buried onMt. Hiba, at the border of theold provinces ofIzumo andHōki, near modern-dayYasugi ofShimane Prefecture. Izanagi was so angry at the death of his wife that he killed the newborn child, thereby creating dozens of deities.
TheKojiki talks of the death of Izanami and her tomb, which was located at the boundary between country Izumo and Hōki. It implies that Izanami transferred hersoul to ananimal and ahuman before her death, but does not state whether or not Izanami had incarnations.[14]
_(14593788578).jpg)
Izanagi-no-Mikoto lamented the death of Izanami-no-Mikoto and undertook a journey toYomi ("the shadowy land of the dead"). He searched for Izanami-no-Mikoto and found her. At first, Izanagi-no-Mikoto could not see her for the shadows hid her appearance. He asked her to return with him. Izanami-no-Mikoto informed Izanagi-no-Mikoto that he was too late. She had already eaten the food of theunderworld and was now one with the land of the dead. She could no longer return to the living but would try to ask for permission to leave.[15]
The news shocked Izanagi-no-Mikoto, but he refused to leave her in Yomi. While Izanami-no-Mikoto was sleeping, he took the comb that bound his long hair and set it alight as a torch. Under the sudden burst of light, he saw the horrid form of the once beautiful and graceful Izanami-no-Mikoto. She was now a rotting form of flesh with maggots and foul creatures running over her ravaged body.
Crying out loud, Izanagi-no-Mikoto could no longer control his fear and started to run, intending to return to the living and abandon his death-ridden wife. Izanami-no-Mikoto woke up, shrieking and indignant, and chased after him. She also sentYakusa-no-ikazuchi-no-kami (demons who are likeRaijin) andshikome (foul women) to hunt for Izanagi-no-Mikoto and bring him back to Yomi.At this time, Izanagi throws a peach to drive away the gods. This narrative feature is of Chinese influence: in China, the peach is treated as a sacred amulet fruit.[citation needed]
Izanagi-no-Mikoto burst out of the entrance and pushed a boulder in the mouth of theYomotsuhirasaka (黄泉津平坂; cavern that was the entrance of Yomi) to create a separation between the world of the living and the world of the dead, as well as separating Izanagi from Izanami.[15]
Izanami-no-Mikoto screamed from behind this impenetrable barricade and told Izanagi-no-Mikoto that if he left her she would destroy 1,000 residents of the living every day. He furiously replied he would give life to 1,500 residents.
Izanagi is said to have performed ritualistic cleansing,harai, after witnessing the decomposing body of his wife. This is the traditional explanation for the purification rituals often performed at Shinto shrines in Japanese religion, where shrine-goers wash themselves with water before entering the sacred space.[16] While he bathed, Izanagi gave birth to the sun goddess,Amaterasu, from his left eye, the moon god,Tsukuyomi, from his right eye, and the storm god,Susanoo, from his nose.[12]
While similar in many aspects, the version of the tale of Izanagi and Izanami in theNihonshoki differs from theKojiki version in that Izanagi does not descend into the Underworld (Yomi), instead residing permanently on the island of Awaji in a temple. Additionally, in theNihonshoki, the three deitiesAmaterasu,Tsukiyomi, andSusanoo were said to have been created by both Izanagi and Izanami, instead of Izanagi alone.[17]
InTenrikyo, Izanami-no-Mikoto is one of theTen Aspects of God's Providence (十全の守護,jūzen no shugo).[18]
Izanami appears as a playable god in the video gameSmite.[19] She also, alongside Amaterasu and Susanoo, appears in the video gameDKO (Divine Knockout). Izanami is a recurring important character in theMegami Tensei video game series; such as being the true primary antagonist inPersona 4.
| Kuni-no-Tokotachi | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Toyokumo [ja] | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Uhibi [ja] | Suhiji [ja] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tsunugi [ja] | Ikugu [ja] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Ihodonoji [ja] | Otonobe [ja] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Omodaru [ja] | Ayakashikone [ja] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Izanagi | Izanami | ||||||||||||||||||||
Media related toIzanami at Wikimedia Commons| Mythic texts |   | |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese creation myth | ||
| Takamagahara mythology | ||
| Izumo mythology | ||
| Hyūga mythology | ||
| Human age | ||
| Mythological locations | ||
| Mythological weapons | ||
| Major Buddhist figures | ||
| Seven Lucky Gods | ||
| Legendary creatures | ||
| Other | ||
| Main Deities |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Head Shrines | ||
| Branch shrines | ||
