![]() ![]() Izanagi and Izanami went on to create more landmasses and give birth to other divine entities, thereby giving form to the principal eight islands of Japan and over 800 kami. However, in spite of their apparent ingenuity, things soon fell out of favor, with their first union creating a deformed offspring – the god Hiruko (or Ebisu – discussed later in the article). ![]() Interestingly enough, most narratives concur that they were directed to do so by an even earlier generation of kami (divine beings) who resided in the plain of heaven.Įven more intriguing is the way the duo created the landmass, by standing on the bridge or stairway to heaven ( Ama-no-hashidate) and stirring the chaotic ocean below with their jewel-encrusted spear, thereby giving rise to the island of Onogoro. Called Izanagi (Izanagi no Mikoto or ‘he who invites’) and Izanami (Izanami no Mikoto or ‘she who invites’), the duo of brother and sister are perceived as the divine beings who brought order to the sea of chaos below heaven by creating the first landmass – in the form of the island of Onogoro. Like most creation myths, the Shinto-Japanese myth also consists of the primordial gods. Painting by Eitaku Kobayashi (Meiji period). To that end, most of the mythical narratives of the Japanese gods and goddesses are derived from the codified books Kojiki (circa 708-714 AD), Nihon Shoki (circa 720 AD), and the 9th-century Kogoshui (that compiled the oral folklores that were missing from the earlier two codified documents). In terms of history, the first of these mythologies were documented in written forms by the early 8th century – thus serving as a standardized (or at least generalized) template of the Shinto pantheon for most of Japan. In essence, Shinto, without any proclaimed founder or prescribed tenets, can be perceived as the evolution of local animalistic beliefs of Yayoi culture (300 BC – 300 AD) that were further influenced by both Buddhism and even Hinduism throughout the course of centuries.Īnd given the nature of these localized folklores (intermixed with the myths of venerated entities of Buddhism and Hinduism), the Japanese gods and goddesses are deities mostly based on the kami – the mythical spirits and supernatural beings of the land. And interestingly enough, much like Hinduism, Shinto, or kami-no-michi (‘the Way of the Gods’) is a polytheistic mode of religion that results from the highly pluralistic culture of Japan throughout history. ![]() When we talk about the Japanese gods and goddesses, we must understand that much of the mythology and pantheon is derived from the traditional folklore of Shinto – one of the major religions of Japan. ![]()
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