Izanagi

Izanagi emerges in the ancient Shinto texts as one of the primordial kami tasked by the celestial deities with shaping the world. Together with his consort Izanami he receives the order to descend from the floating bridge of heaven to stir the primordial ocean with the celestial spear Ama-no-Nuboko. The drops that fall from the spear when stirring the waters form the first island of Onogoro where both establish their dwelling. This narration appears in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki as the beginning of the creative process that will give rise to the Japanese archipelago and the principal deities. Izanagi represents the masculine principle of active creation and the subsequent ritual purification that allows the continuity of the cosmos.

After forming the initial island Izanagi and Izanami perform the ceremony of circumambulation around the celestial pillar and beget various islands that constitute the Japanese archipelago. Each island is born from the union of both kami and receives specific geographical attributes that reflect the real geography of Japan. Subsequently they generate the deities of the wind of the sea of the mountains and of fire. The birth of the fire kami causes the death of Izanami and marks the end of the shared creative phase. Izanagi then descends to the underworld to attempt to rescue her but returns transformed by the experience. This sequence establishes the model of divine parenthood and the separation between the world of the living and that of the dead in Shinto cosmology.

Upon returning from the underworld Izanagi performs an extensive purification ritual in the river to remove the contamination of death. From his garments and from his body new deities are born including Amaterasu the sun goddess Tsukuyomi the moon god and Susanoo the storm god. These three principal kami represent the cosmic forces that govern the natural order and the fertility of Japan. The act of purification establishes the foundation of the misogi rites that continue to be practiced in Shinto shrines to restore purity. Izanagi subsequently retires to a celestial dwelling leaving his descendants to govern the world. His spear and the generated islands remain as eternal attributes of his creative and paternal power.