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- Izanami and Izanagi › Who Was
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Izanami and Izanagi › Who Was
Definition and Origins
Izanami ('she who invites') and Izanagi ('he who invites') are the primordial gods of the Shinto religion who are believed to have created the islands of Japan and given birth to many of the other Shinto gods or kami.
The myths of Japanese popular religion derive from oral traditions codified for posterity in two books: the Nihon Shoki, published in 720 CE and the Kojiki written by an official of the Empress Gemmyo between 708 and 714 CE. An additional source, the Kogoshui was written in c. 807 CE by Imibe-no-Hironari who collected together oral traditions omitted from the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki.
THE CREATION OF JAPAN
The islands of Japan are the subject of a particularly colourful creation myth. Standing on the bridge or stairway of heaven (known as Ama-no-hashidate and which connected heaven - Ama - to earth), the two gods Izanami and Izanagi used a jewel encrusted spear to stir the ocean. Withdrawing the spear, salt crystallised into drops on the tip and these fell back into the ocean as islands. In another version, the spear dripped mud from the as yet murky and chaotic seas.
The first island to be created was Onogoro-shima and the gods immediately used the island to build a house and host their wedding ceremony. The ritual involved circling around a pillar (or in some versions the spear) with the two gods moving in opposite directions. However, during this sacred marriage ritual Izanami wrongly spoke first when they passed each other and as a consequence of this impiety their first child was a miscarriage and born an ugly weakling without bones. This was the god Hiruko (later Ebisu) who would become the patron of fishermen and one of the seven gods of good luck. Hiruko was abandoned by his parents and set in a basket for the sea to take it where it would. The second child was the island of Awa but Izanami and Izanagi were still not satisfied with their offspring and they asked their parents the seven invisible gods the reason for their misfortune. Revealing that the reason was their incorrect performance of the marriage ritual, the couple repeated the ceremony, this time making sure Izanagi spoke first.
IZANAMI & IZANAGI ARE CREDITED WITH CREATING THE EIGHT PRINCIPAL ISLANDS OF JAPAN.
The couple then continued to create more auspicious offspring, including the eight principal islands of Japan - Awaji, Shikoku, Oki, Tsukushi (Kyushu), Iki, Tsu, Sado, and Oyamato. Also created were a prodigious number of other gods. in fact, more than 800 kami (gods, spirits and natural phenomena) exist in the Shinto pantheon. Other notable children were Oho-wata-tsu-mi (god of the sea), Kuku-no-shi (god of the trees), Oho- yama tsu-mi (god of the mountains) and Kagutsuchi (god of fire), often referred to in hushed tones as Homusubi during ritual prayers.
IZANAMI'S DEATH & REVENGE
The birth of some of the gods came at a certain price though. Izanami was terribly burnt when she gave birth to Kagutsuchi and it is said that many kami were born from her tears as she suffered from her injuries until finally, she died. Revenge was swift though, as Izanagi cut the fire god to pieces with his sword. It is said that many new deities sprang up from each piece of the god.
Izanami & Izanagi
Izanagi, no doubt unable to live without his beloved wife, rashly followed her down into the underworld or Yomi (also called Ne-no-kuni, land of roots and Soko-no-kuni, the hollow land). Unfortunately, he was unable to rescue Izanami as she had already eaten food in the underworld and so was forbidden from returning to the realm of the living. However, Izanami pleaded with the gods to be made an exception of and made Izanagi promise that he would be patient and not try to see her in her present state. The process of release was long, however, and an impatient Izanagi could wait no more and so attempted to see his beloved. He was in for a shock though, for when he saw her, the body of the goddess was already decomposing.Izanami was more than displeased at her husband breaking his promise and seeing her in such a state but worse, the Eight Thunders and the Ugly Females chased the god out of the underworld. During his retreat, Izanagi stopped the pursuing Thunders by throwing his stick ( kunado-no-kami ) in their path and it was at this moment that the two gods of roads Chimata-no-kami and Yachimata-hiko were created (together known as Sae-no-kami or Dosojin).
BIRTH OF THE SHINTO GODS
On finally reaching the outside world, Izanagi blocked the entrance to Yomi with an enormous stone. Fortunate to escape unharmed from such a terrible place of darkness the god had to perform a cleansing ritual in the river Woto to rid himself of the impurities of the underworld. It was during these rituals that various gods were born: Amaterasu, the sun goddess, when he washed his left eye, Tsuki-yomi, the god of the moon, when he washed his right eye, Susanoo (or Take-haya- Susa -no-wo), the storm god, when he washed his nose and Shina-tsu-hiko, the god of wind was born from Izanagi's breath. In addition, when he cast off his tainted clothes in the river a further twelve gods were born from the twelve pieces. In reference to this episode, the practice of harai or cleansing before entering a sacred shrine ( jinja ) has become an important part of Shinto ritual.
IZANAMI & IZANAGI IN ART
In Japanese art the two gods are most often depicted standing on Ama-no-Hashidate stirring the ocean with their spear. The heavenly couple is also famously referenced in the shrine of the wedded rocks of Meotoiwa, on the coast of Futami. Here, two large rocks stand in the sea and are attached by a sacred long rope ( shimenawa ) of plaited rice straw weighing over a ton, symbolic of the matrimonial bond between the two deities. Atop the larger rock, which represents Izanagi, there is a white gate or torii which marks the site as a sacred shrine. Due to the obvious humidity of the site, the shimenawa is replaced several times a year with great ceremony.
Mount Fuji › Ancient History
Definition and Origins
Mt. Fuji ( Fujisan ) is the tallest mountain in Japan and, with its classically symmetrical snow-capped cone, has long been the symbol of that country. The volcano is regarded as a sacred kami or spirit in the Shinto religion, specifically that of Princess Konohanasakuya-hime (aka Fuji-hime or Sengen), and climbing its slopes is considered an act of pilgrimage for followers of that faith. The mountain also has several important sacred shrines, caves, springs and a waterfall. As of 2013 CE Mt. Fuji is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
GEOGRAPHY
Mt. Fuji, although generally envisaged as a single mountain, actually consists of three distinct volcanoes. Its classic symmetrical slopes are made all the more impressive by the mountain's isolation from any other peaks. Located on Honshu island and straddling the border between the Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures, Mt. Fuji is just 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Tokyo and can be seen from its tower blocks on a clear day. The mountain rises to a height of 3,776 metres (12,389 ft) and incorporates five lakes. The volcano is currently dormant with its last eruption occurring in 1708 CE, although between that date and 781 CE there were 17 eruptions recorded.
A SACRED MOUNTAIN
Considered sacred by the Ainu people, the indigenous inhabitants of ancient Japan, Mt. Fuji's name may derive from Fuchi, the Ainu god of fire and the hearth. Some Buddhist sects considered the mountain a holy place, and from the 12th century CE, it became a destination for those practising asceticism ( shugendo ) and seeking a 'rebirth' from their time on the mountain, in a mix of Buddhist, Taoist, and animist beliefs.
IN THE 15TH CENTURY CE, A MYTHOLOGY DEVELOPED WHICH ASSOCIATED MT. FUJI WITH KONOHANASAKUYA-HIME, THE BEAUTIFUL 'FLOWER-BLOSSOM PRINCESS.'
However, it is in the Shinto religion that Mt. Fuji holds a particularly special position. Eight major shrines were built around the foot of the mountain and hundreds of smaller ones have since been added. The most important Shinto shrine is the Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha which was first constructed in 806 CE, although by tradition, it was originally founded during the reign of Emperor Suinin (29 BCE - 70 CE) at another location at the foot of the mountain. The shrine's current building, with its unusual two storeys, dates to 1604 CE and the site is famous for its 500 cherry trees which blossom each April.
The Kawaguchi Asama Shrine was built in the 9th century CE in an effort to appease the anger of Fujisan after the eruptions of that century. In 1149 CE the Dainichiji temple was built near the peak by Matsudai Shonin where there is also a torii or sacred gate. Unlike most Shinto shrines, there is no honden building containing the goshintai, the sacred physical object which is the embodiment of the shrine's kami, as the mountain itself is regarded as that embodiment. There is also the shrine of Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Jinja which was founded during the reign of Emperor Keiko (71-130 CE) but rebuilt in 1718 CE following the eruption eleven years earlier. It is one of the preferred starting points to reach the top, and its torii is over 18 metres (60 ft.) high, making it the largest in Japan. It is likely to keep that record as it is rebuilt every 60 years, each time a little taller than its predecessor.
Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha
Climbing the mountain was and still is regarded as an important pilgrimage, an act which became popular from the 15th century CE even for those with no particular religious affiliation. Being a holy site, though, climbers had to be accompanied by a monk or priest guide ( Oshi ). Prior to 1945 CE women, considered in Shinto to be a source of impurity ( kegare ), were not permitted to climb the sacred mountain. There are five ascent routes with a total of ten stations. The climb, usually undertaken in July or August when the snow has melted from the peak, takes anywhere from 4 to 8 hours. Some 400,000 people make the effort each year, a good many of them doing so at night in order to catch the auspicious sunrise while at the peak.
Sometime in the 15th century CE, a mythology developed which associated Mt. Fuji with Konohanasakuya-hime, a princess renowned for her beauty whose name translates as 'Flower-blossom Princess.' According to the Kojiki ('Record of Ancient Things' compiled in 712 CE), the princess, daughter of the mountain god Oyamatsumi no kami, descended to earth and became the wife of Ninigi no mikoto, grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu and founder of Japan's imperial line.Konohanasakuya-hime became the goddess of Mt. Fuji. There are two lava caves formed by ancient trees being covered in a lava flow and then decomposing. Here adherents to the cult of Konohanasakuya-hime, known to Buddhists as Sengen, go through a ritual of 'rebirth.'
Mount Fuji
In the 17th century CE, Hasegawa Kakugyo founded a sect based on Mt. Fuji as the divine source of all life, which was popular in the 18th century CE and necessitated the building of 86 lodges. Kakugyo claimed he had seen the spirit of the mountain in a vision while he was practising asceticism in a cave on Fuji's slopes. Other sacred sites on the mountain include the Oshino Hakkai Springs which have an underground river as their source and the curved Shiraito Falls which are fed by the mountain's annual snowmelt.
Mt. Fuji is also believed to be a gathering point for the spirits of deceased ancestors, and prayers are offered to them as well as (prudently) safety from volcanic eruption, fire, and childbirth (a specific role of Konohanasakuya-hime). Even today, a dream in which Mt. Fuji appears is considered a sign of coming good fortune. Finally, the mountain not only has its own shrines but there are over 13,000 shrines spread across Japan which are dedicated to Fujisan. Many of these include small-scale replicas of the mountain which worshippers who are unable to climb the real thing ascend in symbolic pilgrimage.
Beneath the Wave off Kanagawa
MT. FUJI IN THE ARTS
Mt. Fuji has long captured the imagination of writers and artists. The 8th-century CE poetry anthology Manyoshu has several poems dedicated to the mountain; it appears smoking at the end of the c. 909 CE 'Tale of the Bamboo Cutter' ( Taketori Monogatari ), the oldest surviving work of Japanese fiction, and it is the setting of many medieval folktales. The mountain features in several of the haiku poems by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694 CE) too.
In the land of Yamato,
It is our treasure, our tutelary god.
It never tires our eyes to look up
To the lofty peak of Mount Fuji
Manyoshu (Dougill, 17)
More recently, Fuji was famously captured in the ukiyo-e woodblock prints of the noted artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849 CE) who produced a series known as the 'Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji' ( Fugaku Sanjurokkei ). One of the set, Beneath the Wave off Kanagawa, is perhaps the most famous of all Japanese artworks. The artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858 CE) was even more enraptured and produced an even bigger set of prints, his 'One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji' ( Fuji Sanjurokkei ) as well as his 'Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido Road' ( Tokaido Gojusantsugi ). The mountain also appears on the current 1000 Yen banknote.
This article was made possible with generous support from the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
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