Who are Izanagi and Izanami? Guide to Japan's Creators
Izanagi and Izanami are the primordial couple of Japanese mythology, the last of the seven generations of kami born at the beginning of the world. They stood together on the floating bridge of heaven and stirred the primordial sea with a jeweled spear. Drops that fell from the spear formed the first island of Japan. They descended, married, and gave birth to the islands and the many kami who inhabited them. Izanami died giving birth to the fire god. Izanagi descended to the underworld to bring her back, failed, and returned changed. Their story is the founding myth of Japan itself, and preserves the Japanese tradition’s oldest answers to how the world began, how death entered it, and why the living cannot rejoin the dead.
Key Takeaways
- Izanagi (Izanagi-no-Mikoto) and Izanami (Izanami-no-Mikoto) are the primordial creator gods of Japanese mythology - the last of the seven generations of kami who arose at the beginning of the world.
- Their names are variously interpreted as “he who invites” (Izanagi) and “she who invites” (Izanami), or as active/receptive complementary pair-names.
- Together they formed the Japanese islands by stirring the primordial sea with the ame-no-nuboko (heavenly jeweled spear); drops falling from the spear congealed into the first island, Onogoro.
- Descending to Onogoro, they married and gave birth to the eight main islands of Japan and to many kami, including gods of the sea, wind, mountains, and rice.
- Izanami died giving birth to the fire god Kagu-tsuchi, whose flames burned her.
- Izanagi descended to Yomi (the underworld) to retrieve her but broke her prohibition against looking at her, saw her corpse being consumed by maggots, and fled.
- Izanami, enraged, pursued him. He escaped and sealed the entrance to Yomi with a great boulder. Their final exchange - her promise to kill 1,000 humans each day, his answer to birth 1,500 each day - is the Japanese explanation for the imbalance between death and birth.
Who are Izanagi and Izanami?
Izanagi and Izanami are the primordial creator deities of Shinto, the indigenous Japanese religion. They are the last generation of the Kamiyonanayo - the seven generations of kami who arose at the beginning of the world - and the couple who created the Japanese archipelago and its earliest gods.
Definition - Izanagi and Izanami
The primordial creator couple of Japanese mythology. Izanagi and Izanami are the last of the seven generations of kami who arose at the beginning of the world. Together they created the Japanese islands and many of the kami who inhabit them. Izanami died giving birth to the fire-god; Izanagi’s failed attempt to retrieve her from the underworld is one of the tradition’s founding stories about the boundary between life and death.
Their names come from the Japanese verb izanau, meaning “to invite” or “to entice.” Izanagi is often glossed as “he who invites” and Izanami as “she who invites.” The Japanese tradition treats them as a paired opposite - the active male principle and the receptive female principle - though the mythology does not carry the full metaphysical weight the Chinese yin-yang tradition gives such pairs.
The creation of Japan
The story of Japan’s creation begins with the earlier generations of kami, who had already brought the primordial world into existence but had not yet given it form. The senior kami commanded Izanagi and Izanami to solidify what was still floating.
Izanagi and Izanami stood together on the Ame-no-Ukihashi, the floating bridge of heaven. They lowered a jeweled spear (the ame-no-nuboko) into the primordial sea below and stirred. As they lifted the spear, drops of brine fell from its tip. The drops congealed into an island: Onogoro-shima.
They descended to Onogoro. There they built a great pillar and a palace around it. Izanami walked around the pillar in one direction, Izanagi in the other. When they met on the other side, Izanami spoke first: “How lovely you are!” They joined, and Izanami conceived. But the first child born was Hiruko (the “leech-child”), a deformed being whom they placed in a reed boat and set adrift, and then the island of Awa. Their marriage had begun wrongly.
They consulted the elder kami, who told them that the woman had spoken first, which was an error. They repeated the walk around the pillar, and this time Izanagi spoke first. This second marriage was fruitful. Izanami bore the eight great islands of Japan - Awaji, Shikoku, Oki, Kyushu, Iki, Tsushima, Sado, and Honshu (the main island) - and many kami who inhabited them: kami of the sea, of the wind, of mountains, of rivers, of trees, of grain. Read the creation of Japan by Izanagi and Izanami and the tale of the heavenly pillar.
The death of Izanami
The final child Izanami bore was Kagu-tsuchi, the god of fire. His flames burned her as he was born. She died from the burns. Read the birth of fire god Kagu-tsuchi.
Izanagi wept beside her body. In his grief he drew his sword and killed Kagu-tsuchi, dividing the fire-god’s body into pieces that themselves became mountain kami. But this did not bring Izanami back.
He resolved to descend to Yomi, the underworld, to bring her home.
Izanagi in Yomi
Izanagi descended to Yomi. He found Izanami at the door of the underworld’s palace. She stood in shadow, speaking to him through the door. She told him she was glad he had come - but she had already eaten the food of Yomi, and this bound her to remain. She would ask the gods of the underworld if she could return, and he must wait outside and not look at her.
He waited. She was gone a long time. He grew impatient. He broke a tooth from the comb in his hair, lit it as a torch, and stepped inside to look for her.
He saw her. She was lying in the shadows, her body swollen and rotting, maggots crawling through her flesh, thunder-kami born from her decay. She saw him seeing her and was overcome with rage and shame.
She sent the eight ugly women of Yomi to pursue him. He fled. He threw down his hair-comb, which turned into wild grapes to delay them. He threw down other objects, which became bamboo shoots and peaches. The pursuers stopped to eat each of these and lost time. Izanami herself joined the pursuit at the last moment.
Izanagi reached the boundary of Yomi and sealed it behind him with a great boulder. Izanami, on the other side, called out that she would kill a thousand of his people each day. Izanagi called back that he would then cause fifteen hundred to be born each day. Read the tale of Izanami in Yomi the underworld.
The boulder is where death and life were separated. The daily mathematics between them - 1,000 deaths, 1,500 births - is what the tradition preserves as the reason humans exist in growing numbers rather than in equilibrium.
The purification of Izanagi
Izanagi, defiled by his contact with the dead, went to purify himself in a river. During this purification, many kami were born from him. From his left eye came Amaterasu (the sun). From his right eye came Tsukuyomi (the moon). From his nose came Susanoo (the storm). From other parts of his body came many other kami.
Izanagi divided the world among his three most important children. He gave the heavens to Amaterasu. He gave the night to Tsukuyomi. He gave the seas to Susanoo. Then he withdrew from the world’s active affairs. The tradition does not preserve a death for him; he simply retires. Some later accounts say he lives on in a shrine on Awaji Island, one of the first islands he and Izanami created together.
Izanagi and Izanami compared to other creator couples
The Izanagi-Izanami pattern of a primordial couple who create and are then separated appears widely in world mythology.
| Tradition | Creator couple | Creation | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | Izanagi and Izanami | The Japanese islands and their kami | Separated by death; final exchange at Yomi |
| Egyptian | Geb and Nut | Earth and sky | Separated by Shu (air) |
| Greek | Gaia and Uranus | Earth and sky | Uranus castrated by his son Cronus |
| Polynesian (Maori) | Rangi and Papa | Sky and earth | Separated by their son Tane |
| Chinese | Fuxi and Nuwa | Humanity | Continued as culture-founders |
| Sumerian | An and Ki | Sky and earth | Separated by their son Enlil |
The pattern of a primordial couple who must be separated for the world to function is one of the most widespread motifs in world mythology. The Japanese variation is unusual in that the separation is caused by death and by the crossing of the underworld boundary, rather than by a child pushing the parents apart. But the underlying theme - the couple who create together must eventually be sundered - is preserved.
Read the stories
Izanagi and Izanami appear in the earliest chapters of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. Some entry points:
- The Creation of Japan by Izanagi and Izanami
- The Tale of Izanami in Yomi the Underworld
- The Birth of Fire God Kagu-tsuchi
- The Tale of the Heavenly Pillar
- The Legend of the Kojiki’s Creation
- The Tale of the Nihon Shoki’s Compilation
- Amaterasu Hides in a Cave (Amaterasu is their daughter, born from Izanagi’s purification)
Izanagi and Izanami are what the Japanese tradition kept as the origin of everything Japanese: the islands, the kami who inhabit them, the sun and the moon and the storm, and even (through the mathematics of the sealed underworld boundary) the reason there are more humans born than die. Their story preserves not a beginning that succeeded but a beginning that ended in loss - and the tradition trusts that loss as the reason the world continues, unbalanced and generative, the way it does.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do the names Izanagi and Izanami mean?
The names come from the Japanese verb izanau, meaning “to invite” or “to entice.” Izanagi is often glossed as “he who invites” and Izanami as “she who invites.” Together they form a paired opposite - the active male principle and the receptive female principle - though the Japanese tradition does not carry the full metaphysical weight the Chinese yin-yang tradition gives such pairs.
How did Izanagi and Izanami create Japan?
They stood together on the Ame-no-Ukihashi, the floating bridge of heaven, and stirred the primordial sea below with the jeweled spear ame-no-nuboko. Drops of brine fell from the spear’s tip and congealed into the first island, Onogoro. They descended to Onogoro, built a palace, and married. Izanami then bore the eight main islands of Japan and many kami.
How did Izanami die?
She died giving birth to Kagu-tsuchi, the god of fire. His flames burned her during the birth. Izanagi, in grief, killed Kagu-tsuchi with his sword, dividing the fire-god’s body into pieces that became mountain kami. But this did not save Izanami.
What happened when Izanagi went to Yomi?
Izanagi descended to Yomi (the underworld) to bring Izanami back. She met him at the door and told him she had already eaten the food of Yomi, which bound her there, but she would ask the underworld gods for permission to leave. She made him promise not to look at her while she asked. He waited a long time, grew impatient, and lit a torch to search for her. He found her decomposing body swarming with maggots. She saw him seeing her, was overcome with shame and rage, and sent the ugly women of Yomi to pursue him. He fled, sealing the entrance to Yomi behind him with a great boulder.
What is the final exchange between them?
At the sealed boundary of Yomi, Izanami called out that she would kill one thousand of Izanagi’s people each day. Izanagi called back that he would then cause fifteen hundred to be born each day. This daily balance - a thousand deaths against fifteen hundred births - is the Japanese explanation for the imbalance between death and birth, and for why humanity grows rather than remains stable.
Are Izanagi and Izanami worshipped today?
Yes, though less centrally than some other Shinto kami. Their principal shrine is the Izanagi Jingu on Awaji Island, one of the first islands they created. Other shrines throughout Japan honour them, particularly in connection with marriage rites - since they are the primordial married couple, they are invoked at weddings and in prayers for successful marriages and childbirth. Their worship is part of active Shinto tradition, not merely a historical or literary matter.