The Mother Who Became Death
Izanami is the primordial female deity who, with her brother-husband Izanagi, birthed the Japanese archipelago and a host of nature kami. Her name means "she who invites," the feminine counterpart to Izanagi's "he who invites," the shared iza- root carrying a sense of beckoning or alluring.
The couple's creative work began awkwardly: in their marriage ritual Izanami spoke first, producing a malformed child. Reversing the order, they then bore the islands and many gods in succession.
Tragedy followed when Izanami died giving birth to Kagutsuchi, the fire kami, who scorched her. She descended to Yomi, the shadowy underworld. When Izanagi came to retrieve her, she had already eaten its food and could not return; humiliated when he glimpsed her decaying body, she became a goddess of death, vowing to claim a thousand lives each day.
This parting myth explains both human mortality and the strict Shinto dread of kegare, the pollution of death — from which the kami like Susanoo and Amaterasu would ultimately spring through Izanagi's cleansing.
Births the islands and kami beside Izanagi.
Rules Yomi and vows to take a thousand lives daily.
Common Questions
Why couldn't Izanami leave the underworld?
She had eaten food cooked in Yomi, which bound her to the land of the dead forever.
