So we talked about Izanagi and Izanami last time, until their mortal separation, but the story according to Kojiki (古事記) did not end their just yet. Izanagi journeyed into the underworld to reclaim his wife, but what he found was more than he prepared for… Let’s follow his story!
Previous Articles:
Horror Stories to keep you chilled in Summer
Horror & Mystery Series Vol. 1: Japanese Phenomena
Horror & Mystery Series Vol. 2: Obon and Its Origin
Horror & Mystery Series Vol. 3: Strange Occurrences During Obon
Horror & Mystery Series Vol. 4: The Mystery of Aokigahara “The Sea of Trees”
Horror & Mystery Series Vol. 5: The Horror of Aokigahara Episode 1
Horror & Mystery Series Vol. 6: The Horror of Aokigahara Episode 2
Horror & Mystery Series Vol. 7: The Union of Izanagi and Izanami
The Land of Yomi
The Land of Yomi (黄泉の国, literally translated to “the Land of Yellow Spring”, implying as underground spring) is described as the World of Darkness. As the lights and lighter particles rose higher above them to create the High Heavenly Plain (高天原 Heaven) and the Central Land of Reed Plains (葦原の中つ国 Earth), the matters and particles that formed Yomi are all dark and heavy.
The following are the except from Kojiki itself.
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A Visit Upon the Land of Yomi
The god Izanagi, his yearning for his dead wife overflowed, descended unto the land of the dead, Yomi no Kuni, to follow the goddess Izanami wherever she might go.
There, inside a dwelling of god in Yomi no Kuni, he turned to his wife and asked:
“O, my beloved wife, the land that thou and I haveth made has not yet been finished. O please, whatever it takes, return with me”
However, the goddess Izanami replied. “So regrettable. Thou did not cometh sooner, the food of Yomi no Kuni, I have feasted upon it already, I cannot go back. But since thou, dear husband, came for me, I wish to return as well. Let me consult with the gods of Yomi no Kuni. Until then, do not look at me no matter what.” said the goddess, then heading into the back of the dwelling.
The time has passed for no one knows exactly how long. No matter how long he waited, the goddess Izanami never appeared.
Could wait no longer, the god Izanagi took out the ornate comb from the left bun of his hair, broke out one tooth of it and lit it on fire, and entered the dwelling.
There, he saw the form of the goddess Izanami, however, with festering maggots on her body, and thunder deities appearing on her head, chest, belly, and others.
Seeing that, the god Izanagi faltered, and attempted to flee from Yomi no Kuni.
As he did so, the goddess Izanami turned, “Alas, thou haveth gone and shamed me” said the goddess as she commanded Yomotsushikome* to go after the god Izanagi.
*Yomotsushikome (黄泉醜女) Ogresses or Hags of the Underworld. 醜女 Shikome means ugly women.
While the god Izanagi fled, he threw the ornate headdress made of black vine, and from where it fell grew a mountain grape vine.
While the pursuing group of Shikome busily devoured the grapes, the god Izanagi escaped.
Nevertheless, they continue the pursuit, so the god Izanagi took, this time, from the right bun of his hair the ornate bamboo comb, broke its teeth and threw them down, this time sprouted bamboo shoots, keeping the group of Shikome busy with consumption as the god Izanagi fled.
Then, the goddess Izanami unleashed the eight thunder entities (八雷神 Yakusa-no-ikatsuchi-gami) from her body, together with an army of 1,500, she commanded them to pursue. There, Izanagi unsheathed his sword** and swung it at his back while making an escape.
**Totsuka no Tsurugi (十拳剣 Ten Span Saber)
Nevertheless, the pursuit continued.
Finally, when the god Izanagi reached the foot of the Even Pass of Yomi***, he took from the peach tree growing there three peaches, waited and threw the fruits, sending the thunder deities back to Yomi no Kuni whence they came.
***Yomotsuhirasaka (黄泉比良坂 Flat Slope of Yomi, but in some literature, Hira is used for 崖 which means “cliff”, so it could be interpreted as Cliff Slope of Yomi)
Alas, the goddess Izanami herself pursued.
The god Izanagi then blocked the entrance to the Even Pass of Yomi with a huge, heavy boulder that require a thousand men to lift, and with the boulder between them, he and the goddess Izanami stood facing each other.
The goddess Izanami said. “O my dear husband, should thou do this to me, I shalt kill people in your land a thousand in one day.”
The god Izanagi replied. “O beloved wife, should thou kill a thousand, then I shalt build a thousand and five hundred parturition houses in one day.”
That is why, in a day, always a thousand of people die, and always a thousand five hundred are born.
Thus, the goddess Izanami became the great goddess Yomotsu. (黄泉津大神 Yomotsu-ookami)
The Even Pass of Yomi appeared in this story is said to be “Ifuyasaka” (伊賦夜坂) in the land of Izumo (出雲国).
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The Emergence of Three Precious Children
As Izanagi came back from such a dark, polluted world, he sought to cleanse himself in a form of purification ritual at Ahakihara (阿波岐原). Each item fell to the ground as he undressed and removed his adornment sprung into a deity, in total twelve goddesses. More even emerged as he brushed off the impurities, shaking off the curse, and washed his body, in total ten gods and one goddess.
On his last part of purification, Izanagi washed his face. From his left eye born Amaterasu O-mikami (天照大御神 “great goddess who brightens the heaven”, or simply Amaterasu). From his right eye born Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto (月読命 can be interpreted as “his majesty who counts the month” or “his majesty who reads the moon”, or simply Tsukuyomi, and unlike any other mythologies, Japanese moon god is a male). Lastly from his nostril, Takehayasusanoo-no-mikoto (建速須佐之男命 “his majesty swift impetuous” or simply Susano-o).
Rejoiced, he proclaimed the last three as “Three Precious Children” (三貴子 Mihashira-no-uzu-no-miko) and tasked Amaterasu to govern the High Heavenly Plain (高天原 Takama-ga-hara), Tsukuyomi to mandate the Dominion of the Night (夜の食国 Yoru-no-osu-kuni), and Susano-o to rule the unruly Sea Plain (海原 Una-bara).
Epilogue
Yet Susano-o, as unruly as the seas that is his domain, neglected his task and cried. When Izanagi asked him why, Susano-o replied that he wanted to go to the land of his late mother, the borderland of root (根の堅州国 Ne-no-kata-su-kuni). Thus, Izanagi banished Susano-o from the realm of gods, to the place he wished, the very Borderland of Roots. That was the last mention of Izanagi in Kojiki.
The myth did not end there, but I think we have enough of Japanese Myth for two weeks straight. So, in next episode, we will introduce you to a few Yokai that live normally as human during the day, like that of vampire. But when the night comes… well, as you know, you cannot really call them human with their extraordinary feats!
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