| relig. |
The divine couple, brother and sister "inviting male and inviting female" who according to the myth cycles recorded in the Nihongi and Kojiki were the seventh generation of kami and by discovering sexual union gave birth both to the land of Japan and its people. Izanami dies giving birth to the fire god and becomes a goddess in the underworld (yomi). With the aid of magic practices Izanagi tries to follow her to the the underworld where he encounters Izanami's decayed and putrefying body. He escapes from her pursuit, placing a rock between the world of the living and the dead. During his purification in a stream many other kami are born from parts of his body and from his clothing, including Amaterasu from his left eye and Susa-no-o from his nose A Popular Dictionary of Shinto (Brian Bocking) |
