The Age of the Gods: A Japanese Creation Legend

 



Japanese mythology is collectively chronicled in the Kojiki, the oldest historical record written in Japan in 712 AD, and in the Nihon Shoki written in 720. As was common practice before the age of script, these tales were passed on through oral traditions—the Teiki and Kuji, among others—for generations before they were ever recorded. The Kojiki and Nihon Shoki comprise the creation mythology of the Japanese and the Shinto religion, describing the formation of the heavens and the earth, the islands of Japan, the gods, and the creation of mankind.


It Begins in a Lifeless, Silent Cosmos…


Japanese mythology is collectively chronicled in the Kojiki, the oldest historical record written in Japan in 712 AD, and in the Nihon Shoki written in 720. As was common practice before the age of script, these tales were passed on through oral traditions—the Teiki and Kuji, among others—for generations before they were ever recorded. The Kojiki and Nihon Shoki comprise the creation mythology of the Japanese and the Shinto religion, describing the formation of the heavens and the earth, the islands of Japan, the gods, and the creation of mankind.



Seven Generations of the Age of the Gods


The next stage provides an account of the Kami, or gods, known as the Seven Generations of the Age of the Gods. In total, there are 12 deities chronicled during this period. Izanagi and Izanami were the last generations of kami and the pair are said to have created the Japanese islands, 14 in all. According to mythology, they were tasked with making, consolidating, and giving “birth to this drifting land.” Looking down on the earth from a golden bridge in heaven, they dipped their jeweled spear—which they received from the gods before them—into the sea, and the island of Onogo was formed (original names of some of the islands included Lovely-Princess, Prince-Good-Boiled-Rice, Brave-Good-Youth, Luxuriant-Sun-Youth, and Great-Lamato, the Luxuriant-Island-of-the-Dragonfly). They descended upon the island and created a home there. On this island, a great pillar, the August Pillar, was located. To procreate, they parted and walked around the pillar, Izanagi from one direction and Izanami from the other. They met in the middle and there wooed one another, Izanami saying “Oh, what a comely young man,” to which Izanagi replied, “How delightfully, I have met a lovely maiden.” But the gods were not pleased that Izanami, being a woman, was the first to speak, and they cursed the couples’ offspring.





Starting Over…


Hiroku, their first child, was said to have been hideous and cast out, and the subsequent children were also corrupted. The gods then explained the curse to Izanagi and Izanami, who subsequently took another trip around the pillar, this time Izanagi being the first to speak. The curse was lifted and the couple bore many offspring. First to be born were the Oyashimakuni, or the Land of Eight Great Islands, and then the six minor islands followed. Once this task was completed, the couple went on to create numerous kami ( spirits or divine beings worshipped in Shinto). The last kami born to the gods was Kagutsuchi, the fire god. He is said to have burnt his mother so severely during his arrival that she died as he slipped into the Land of Yomi, the Japanese Hell. Izanagi’s tears at Izanami’s death were the source of yet other deities. Izanagi so angered at the sight of his infant son, took his sword and beheaded him. The blood that collected on this sword thus formed eight martial kami, and eight kami of mountain and iron were formed from the blood pooling from Kagutsuchi’s limbs.

 




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