Izanami
Izanami-no-Mikoto
Japanese Living tradition
Shinto is a living religion; Amaterasu is enshrined at Ise, its most sacred shrine.
Creator goddess who, with Izanagi, made the islands of Japan, and later ruled the land of the dead.
Standing on the bridge of heaven, Izanami and Izanagi stirred the sea with a jeweled spear and created the first island, then many more islands and gods. She died giving birth to the fire god. Izanagi followed her to Yomi but broke his promise not to look at her; fleeing her anger, he sealed the way with a boulder.
Symbols
Jeweled spear Yomi, the land of the dead
In the ancient sources
The Kojiki (712 CE)
- Izanami
- “she who invites” Kojiki III
- Yomotsu-ōkami
- “great deity of the land of the dead” Kojiki IX
- Kojiki III Standing on the Floating Bridge of Heaven, she and Izanagi stir the sea with a jeweled spear; the brine dripping from its tip forms the island of Onogoro.
- Kojiki IV–V They circle a pillar to marry, but because she speaks first their first child is a leech-child, set adrift in a reed boat; they try again in the proper order.
- Kojiki VII Burned giving birth to the fire god, she sickens and dies; gods of metal, clay and water arise from her as she dies, and she is buried on Mount Hiba.
- Kojiki IX She has already eaten the food of the land of the dead. Izanagi lights a tooth of his comb and sees maggots and eight thunder gods on her body; at the boulder sealing the pass she vows to kill a thousand people a day, and he vows fifteen hundred births.
Cross-checked against these texts and records, in public-domain or freely available versions where they exist. Line, section and chapter numbers follow the standard editions, so a particular translation may differ slightly.
Correspondences Explore all
- Element
- Earth
These come from the tradition itself, and practice differs between regions, lineages and houses. To go deeper, learn from the people and communities who keep this tradition.