Myths of Creation in Japan

An essay by Surendra on the legends of the Shinto religion (Part 1)

Shinto

Shinto is the ancient, animistic belief system in Japan. There are many similarities with the pagan world view. In shinto, kami, or spirits, abide everywhere. They are in rocks, in rivers, in trees, in mountains, in the wind. Kami inhabit and invigorate all life on earth and beyond. Over time, many shinto shrines, which people could visit, were built to house and invoke one or more particular kami. As caretakers of the larger shrines, resident shinto monks were tasked with facilitating harmony between humans, nature and the kami.

The origins of shinto are intertwined with Japanese myths of creation. In the beginning was silence and stillness: an empty, vibrant potential. As particles began to form and move, sound was created. Different frequencies emerged, the highest being light. Light dominated the ‘high heavens’ above the clouds. Below was the earth which contained the lowest frequencies. So far, so good.

The perspective of the early legends

As the various legends developed, they included surprises and even shocks. They began in a long-established, ancient oral tradition. Then, in the 7th century, at least two large volumes of written accounts emerged. As records of the past, they could incorporate the views of the recorders. As might be expected, there were inconsistencies and biases within each volume and between the two volumes. In visual depictions which came later, the artists gave the gods the contemporary clothes they were familiar with.

In many ancient myths, ‘the earth’ often equates not with the whole world but only with their country of origin. In this case it is the archipelago of Japan. Also, the merging and interchanging of spirit forms and qualities with earthly forms is ubiquitous in Japanese legends. Another, sometimes surprising feature is that Japanese deities can display noble and/or offensive qualities.

Many have commented that shinto does not have a moral code or esteemed values. This is true. The most important thing in shinto is to observe and practise the rituals faithfully. Such a tradition does not bode well for Japanese critical thinking. It has created a highly-obedient nation, zealous in following the rules.

The birth of the earth and the earthly gods

The earth was an undefined blob of matter. Two heavenly, sister and brother omnikami – Izanami and Izanagi – were nominated to give it form. It is said they descended on a Celestial Floating Bridge. Using a magic spear provided, from the bridge, they shaped the seas and lands into the geography of earth. This became known as the Central Plane of Reeds. It contained deep within it, on the border of the Izumo province, the dark and damp land of the dead, Yomi.

As female (Izanami) and male (Izanagi) kami, they set about procreating earthly kami to inhabit and generate life there. Their first attempts failed as they only produced a strange and ugly ‘leech baby’. They decided to float this baby away on the water, in a cradle made of reeds. Disappointed with their first attempt to procreate, they sought advice from the other heavenly kami. The deformed baby was attributed to the fact that Izanami took the initiative in speaking and in having sex. Izanagi should be the one who begins such interactions.

If we consider the impact of many of the Japanese legends, we can see they often contain culture-shaping messages, or conditioning. Regarding personal behaviour, this one is a big one, clearly emphasising the importance of male domination and female subservience. Many would see this as endemic in Japanese society to this day. Socially, this is often the case. Inside the home, it can be a different matter. There, most men soon learn their place.

Izanami and Izanagi took the advice of the gods. Izanagi instigated and Izanami followed. They experienced more pleasure and clearly enjoyed the whole process of procreation. After more than thirty kami were produced, however, Izanami attempted to give birth to the god of fire, Kagutsuchi. Her body, ethereal or otherwise, could not cope and she was burned to death. Embittered with the pain of grief Izanagi drew his sword and cut Kagutsuchi into eight pieces. This created eight fire gods and eight volcanoes.

A pause in reproduction

Izanagi solemnly carried Izanami’s body to the entrance to the land of Yomi and watched as she disappeared inside. Soon, in desperation Izanagi called out to his beloved. After persisting, he eventually got a response. Izanagi pleaded with Izanumi to come back to him and continue their joys of creation. Izanami said she was no longer able to do this. She had eaten food in Yomi and, anyone who does so is unable to return to earth.

Izanagi would not give up. He continued pleading with Izanami. She gradually began to like the idea of going back to be with Izanagi. Izanami said she would ask the other gods of Yomi. Like the famous Western myth of Eurydice and Orpheus, Izanami made Izanagi promise to never look at her in the light. After waiting an age for Izanami to come back and let him know the decision, Izanagi took matters into his own hands. He opened an entrance into Yomi and lit a sliver of wood from his hair comb as a torch to help him find the way.

After he managed to find Izanami’s chamber, he was horrified to see her former beauty in a state of putrefaction and decay. Her body was being eaten by maggots and its main organs had been taken over by the eight horrible kami of thunder. Izanami immediately charged Izanagi for breaking his promise and looking at her. She had become the Queen of Yomi and commanded him to remain at her side for eternity. Terrified by the prospect, Izanagi ran for his life. The Queen then sent an army of ‘awful hags’ in pursuit to bring him back.

Izanagi saw the hags gaining ground and decided to distract this army. First, he found bunches of grapes. As he scattered them on the earth, the hags could not refrain from stopping and eating them. Izanagi then took his bamboo comb and threw the teeth on the soil. A harvest of bamboo shoots appeared and the hags were eager to eat those as well. This failure of her army was way too much for the Queen of Yomi. She commanded the eight kami of thunder in her body to gather 1500 warriors and go and get Izanagi.

By then, Izanagi was far away. Sword in hand, he was rushing up the last hill towards the Central Plane of Reeds. Making it to the top and out of the final cave, Izanagi rolled a huge boulder across the exit. This closed off the Land of Yomi forever. Although the queen of Yomi shouted curses and threats, Izanagi countered them with his own threats. Even with the help of the eight gods of thunder and their warriors, the queen could no longer reach Izanagi. The battle was over.

New gods emerge

After escaping, Izanagi needed to clean himself of putrefaction from the land of Yomi. He immersed his body in the mouth of the nearest river. Through undressing and submerging in the water, Izanagi’s actions created many more kami. When he washed his right eye, the brilliant and shining Amaterasu was born. Washing his left eye, the dark and mysterious god, Tsukuyomi, came into being. The act of cleaning his dirty nose, engendered the petulant and temperamental Susano’o.

Izanagi removed his jewelled necklace and placed it around Amaterasu’s neck. “I command you to rule the High Plain of Heaven and give light to the world,” announced Izanagi. Thus Amaterasu became the famous sun goddess. Izanagi then turned to Tsukuyomi and commanded him to rule the night and the moon. Lastly, he said to Susano’o, “The turbulent seas and storms shall be your domain.”

The stories continue with the commitment of Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi to their tasks which gained the appreciation of Iznagi. Suzano’o created problems. He cried like a baby, so much that his beard grew down to his waist and lands were flooded. Is this another sign of conditioning through Suzano’o shameful example? Get on with your job and ‘real’ Japanese men should never cry.

When Izanagi took Suzano’o to task he said that he wanted to go to the Land of Yomi to be with his mother, Izanami. This is something of a puzzle. Suzano’o was born after Izanami died and became the queen of Yomi. Could it be that Izanagi, carrying Izanami’s vibration, was still imbued with her energy when the gods were born in the river? But the legends as a whole contain many inconsistencies which the Japanese people learn to simply live with.

Sibling rivalry and the world plunged in darkness

Before going to the land of Yomi, the delinquent Suzano’o visited Amaterasu in her palace, ostensibly to say goodbye. Instead, these ‘sibling’ kami created a contest. In the spate of rivalry that followed, the peeved Suzano’o threw excrement all over the palace walls and destroyed Amaterasu’s rice crops. It is stated that Amaterasu calmly cleaned it all up and continued with her life. But not for long as the challenges and taunts from Suzano’o finally got to her. She retreated to a cave and shut herself in. This left the world plunged in darkness.

Nobody was happy, including all the other gods. They devised a unique way to entice Amaterasu out of her cave. The gods gathered outside the cave entrance and created a party, albeit in the dark. The party became more and more noisy and raucous, culminating in a striptease by one of the beautiful goddesses. At the climax, when she removed her last garment, the cheering, shouting, and clapping reached a peak. It was so loud that Amaterasu could not resist poking her head out of the cave to see what was happening.

The gods were well prepared for this. They had created a large shiny mirror. As Amaterasu brought a glimpse of her light out of the cave, her bright face was reflected to her by the mirror. While she was stunned by the appearance of another sun goddess, the god of strength grabbed her arm and pulled her whole body out of the cave. The cave was then blocked by some more gods using a massive rope of rice straw, a shimenawa.

Once again, light prevailed on earth, or, at least, in Japan.

Eventually, Susano’o also got on with the job of ruling the storms and oceans. In this way, as a life-threatening domain for humans, Susano’o linked himself with the land of Yomi.

In most records, Suzano’o features in heroic deeds, not just as a petulant trouble maker. Some scholars even thought there could be two gods with the same name. A more likely explanation is that the formerly powerful clan in Izumo, in western Japan, were being displaced by the Yamato court in the east. The Yamato court used stories about Suzano’o to shame and discredit any kind of unruly or rebellious behaviour. This helped to consolidate obedience to their power.

To be continued…