Izanagi and Izanami: Japan's Cursed Creators

The Beginning of the End

The land and the sky, the forests and the sea; the very earth we inhabit may exist only thanks to a tragic tale of divine lovers. Thus, as my final post, allow me to raise the curtain on Japan’s Izanagi and Izanami, the parent deities of the island nation.

Primordial Soup

Credit: Kobayashi Eitaku

According to the Kojiki, before there was, there was not; in the heavens above an infinite void of formlessness, various elder kami (Japan’s gods) existed in the limitless space. After seven generations, the male kami Izanagi and female kami Izanami were tasked with creating something from the ocean of chaos that surrounded them.

Gifted a jeweled spear from the elders to assist in this task, they used it to stir the sea of chaos below. The drop that fell from the spear once lifted became the first island of Japan, Onogoro. Upon that island, they built a palace they would call home, and from there, they decided to start a family. Through a marital ritual that they first fumbled twice, the two successfully created the islands of Japan and its kami.

The Embers of Tragedy

However, all was not peachy and proper for the parents of this land; whilst Izanami safely gave birth to Japan’s islands and numerous kami of nature, when she birthed the flame kami Kagutsuchi, she was fatally burnt. Izanagi tried to save her, but it was all for naught.

Many more kami were created in her death, but Izanagi didn’t care; outraged by such a tragedy befalling his wife, he took out his rage on Kagutsuchi, cutting him down. Though unnecessary blood was spilt that day, countless more kami spawned from Izanagi’s tears and his bloodied blade.

The Journey to the Worst

Izanagi mourned the loss of his love long after her passing, until, ironically, the flame in his heart was spurred; he quested to Yomi, the land of the dead and darkness, to save Izanami. Through a great many trials and tribulations, Izanagi finally arrived at the palace of the dead.

He snuck in through the back, and deep within the palace’s corridors, he finally found her. Izanami awaited him with open arms, and whilst a loving reunion was had, bad news was quick to follow; she had eaten the food of Yomi, and as such, was no longer capable of leaving.

Izanagi didn’t care, however, and pleaded that she return with him. Whilst she couldn’t comply in that moment, she had an idea: she would appeal to the kami of Yomi, asking to return to the land of the living with him. However, Izanagi would have to remain outside, and not enter the palace no matter what. He agreed, took his leave, and waited eagerly for Izanami’s return… He waited… And waited… And waited.

Soon, an entire day had passed without word from within the palace. Izanagi, worried and impatient, forsook his promise to his wife and barged back into the palace.

That would be his ultimate mistake.

Credit: Caelan Stokkermans Arts on facebook

Making a torch out of his comb’s tooth, he treaded carefully through the pitch black halls of the palace. Indeed, he found Izanami, but she was no longer the same kami that created the world with him; her body lay collapsed, her flesh rotting, swarmed with magots, and various kami of thunder had formed from her limbs. Izanagi was horrified, speechless, and beyond grief stricken.

In the face of such overwhelming horrors, he ran. In his attempt to escape, the warriors of the palace, the thunder kami from his wife’s body, and Izanagi’s decaying corpse itself pursued close behind. Pushing past his fear and limits, he escaped the palace of the dead by a hair, before fleeing Yomi and sealing it behind him with a massive boulder.

Izanami would remain there, eventually gaining the moniker “Goddess of the Dead”, whilst Izanagi would purify himself in the sea. As he did, even more kami came into existence, chief among them being the sun goddess Amaterasu, the moon god Tsukuyomi, and the sea god Susano’o…

Izanagi’s looking a little different here… credit: atlus, sega.

Thriving in the Modern Era.

This tale of creation and destruction became the legend at the center of Japan’s greater mythos, being adapted, recreated, and referenced in media all throughout the world:

• The videogame Smite, a multiplayer game featuring gods from various mythologies, included Izanami as a core character.

• The protagonist of the game Persona 4 calls on a powerful spirit to aid him in his quest into the Shadow World, with that spirit being aptly named Izanagi.

• In the hit manga and anime series Naruto, the names of Izanagi, Izanami, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susano’o are given to godly techniques and powers used throughout the story.

The End of the End

From the creation of the world to the end of this blog and beyond, the world that the married two kami created, as well as the story they left behind, will live on to be re-experienced and retold long into the future. Thank you for reading.

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Sebastian Switzer, best known for his short story Ronin, lives in southern Ontario with his family. Sebastian began writing in 2018, specializing in suspenseful, high-fantasy fiction, and dabbling in as much mystery as he can manage; a sucker for action, his style’s never found standing still. He’s currently aiming his attention towards this very blog, where he covers myths and folklore from Japan’s storied history. Sebastian is often accompanied by his two cats, who frequently find themselves seated stoically between himself and his work.

Be My Yuki Onna: A Deep Dive into Japan's Elusive Snow Woman

Overview

The leaves tumble and the winds chill, the winter storms are nigh as November casts a chilling shadow on the fading fall. However, be wary; a final stroll through the twilight days of autumn may lead to an icy encounter with the Yuki Onna, the mystical Snow Woman of northern Japan! With skin as pale as ice, a translucent white robe, and hair like a pitch black- wait, white? White hair? But… Huh, this one ain’t so cut and dry…

Credit: Sawaki Suushi

A Primer

The Yuki Onna is a Japanese Yokai, or spirit, whose written origins date back to 1333 – 1573. Since then, tales involving the Yuki Onna have sprung up all over the place, generally in the northern, colder regions of Japan. In essence, she’s a snow spirit, though what she actually does, as well as her exact appearance, are mysteries with no concrete answers; for every story about her, there’s a wildly different depiction in tow. However, the most well-known story about her, and the one you’re likely familiar with if you’ve heard of the Yuki Onna before, comes from a writer named Lafcadio Hearn in 1905.

Hearn’s Version

credt: KWAIDAN: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, by lafcadio hearn

In Hearn’s telling, two woodcutters, a master and apprentice, end up trapped in a blizzard that forces them to take shelter in a ferryman’s cabin for the night. However, the apprentice awakes in the night to find an icy white woman leaning over his master, whilst a chilled breath flows from her mouth; the master is already dead. The woman plans to do the same to the apprentice, but stops when she notices his beautiful youth. She tells him that she’ll let him live for now, but will return to take his life should he tell a soul about that night.

The apprentice survives the rest of the storm, and the next year, he encounters a woman who’s passing through his town. After some conversation and a visit to the apprentice’s house, the woman decides to stay there, and eventually, the two are wed. They live happily and raise numerous children, but one night, a chance bit of lighting from the window behind his wife reminds the apprentice of when he saw the Yuki Onna. So, he tells her about it… Much to her dismay.

Once the words had left his lips, the wife’s expression turned from cheer to anguish. She revealed that she is the Yuki Onna from all those years back, and were it not for the children they raised together, she’d kill him just as she did his master. Instead, she vanishes into the air, never to return, and leaving the apprentice heartbroken, regretting his every word…

Folktales

Now, whilst that may be the most popular depiction of the Yuki Onna, it is far from the only one. Stories dating as far back as the 1300s paint her in a bevy of different lights; the monk Sogi wrote that, on his travels through the Echigo province, he encountered a ten-foot tall, snow-white woman standing outside his house during a blizzard. When he tried to talk to her, she simply vanished, and he later learned from some locals that what he saw was the Yuki Onna.

In Yamagata prefecture she’s known as the moon goddess, who became bored and fell to earth, but can no longer return home. Meanwhile in Aomori, Miyagi, and Nigata prefectures, she’s known as something of a “snow vampire” who feeds on the life force of travellers; the moral spectrum of the Yuki Onna is a broad one indeed…

Credit: The Pokemon Company, Gamefreak, Nintendo

Modern Media

These days, things have changed; like with many mythical monsters and legends, the Yuki Onna has been depicted and referenced in countless forms of media. In the gaming sphere, the Yuki Onna has appeared as a boss fight in Nioh, and has also served as the inspiration for Froslass, a character from the massively popular Pokémon series (pictured left). The anime Kyokou Suiri features the Yuki Onna as a key character, and she acts as an attendant to the protagonist in Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan.

Whilst her legends have existed since ancient times, the Yuki Onna’s legacy remains strong today, chilling the bodies and minds of readers and travellers alike.

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Sebastian Switzer, best known for his short story Ronin, lives in southern Ontario with his family. Sebastian began writing in 2018, specializing in suspenseful, high-fantasy fiction, and dabbling in as much mystery as he can manage; a sucker for action, his style’s never found standing still. He’s currently aiming his attention towards this very blog, where he covers myths and folklore from Japan’s storied history. Sebastian is often accompanied by his two cats, who frequently find themselves seated stoically between himself and his work.